Hi 👋

Welcome to Week #68 of the Wrestling Snacks Newsletter.

What a great week it’s been! I had the opportunity to travel to Utah with some of the athletes I coach and my family to watch two UVU duals. It was an awesome opportunity to see some great wrestling!

Be sure to check out this weeks DI Live Streaming Guide (2/6 - 2/9/2025) that will be televised today and tomorrow!

Let’s GO 💪

News Bites

• #1 Overall Junior Bo Bassett Commits to Iowa

• #2 Overall Junior Jax Forrest to Oklahoma State

• #3 Overall Junior Dreshaun Ross Commits to Oklahoma State

• NCAA DI Rankings Updated (2/4/2025)

• Upsets From Week 14 Of The NCAA Season

• #1 Penn State defeats #2 Iowa, 30-8. Match Notes & Results

• Oklahoma State climbs to No. 2 in NWCA Div. I Poll

• Snyder, Lee, & Valencia Claim Gold In Zagreb

• Team USA Wrestling Results At The 2025 Zagreb Open

• 2024-25 Dan Hodge Trophy Award Rankings

• NCAA Awards Standings: Most Dominant Wrestler standings debut, with Hendrickson leading in Div. I

• Former wrestlers competing in the Super Bowl: 2025 edition

Snacks

This week's Snacks come from Chris Ayres: Wrestled for Lehigh University, where he was an EIWA Champion and NCAA All-American. He spent 17 seasons as the Head Coach of Princeton University, earning Ivy League Coach of the Year honors four times and playing a key role in revitalizing the program. Under his leadership, Princeton produced multiple All-Americans, including two 4X NCAA All-Americans, two NCAA Finalists, and an NCAA National Champion. Ayres is currently in his second season as the Head Coach at Stanford University.

Below are some excerpts from our conversation, along with key takeaways and tips that can be applied to improve yourself as a Coach, Athlete, or wrestling Parent.

Origin Story Tip: Ending on a high note can be the spark that keeps a young wrestler coming back. After losing 14 straight matches, winning his last four got him hooked. While winning isn’t everything, it’s crucial to balance early struggles with moments of success. If a young athlete only experiences failure and discouragement, they may lose interest in the sport.

"So I was really drawn to the sport of wrestling. I was a super hyperactive kid. School drove me crazy. I couldn't sit still. I was a bit of a wild man, to be honest. I didn’t start wrestling until fourth grade, but I had some family members who wrestled. My uncle, who was close to me in age, was still wrestling in high school when I was young. We'd go to his matches, and I was really into it.

They didn’t start wrestling at my school until fourth grade, but I had always wanted to join. From kindergarten on, I would ask the coach if I could come. That’s when I officially started wrestling. Even before that, on the playground, I was always getting into scraps. I was naturally drawn to the aggressiveness of it. It was just in me. Wrestling was the perfect outlet for me.

I played other sports too. In peewee football, I use to drive the coaches crazy. I'd get yelled at because I was so aggressive. If I had the ball in the open field and there was one guy between me and the end zone, I didn’t try to avoid him—I tried to run him over. I had a natural attraction to physical contact.

I started wrestling in fourth grade, and like many others, I was better than most first-year guys. They put me on the varsity elementary team, and I lost 14 matches straight. I just kept losing and losing. But then I won my last four, ending the season on a high note. At that point, I was hooked on wrestling.

I had my ups and downs with the sport. There were two points where I considered quitting out of frustration. But my origin story is simple—I was just naturally drawn to it. Before I ever joined a team or an organized program, I was already wrestling cousins and messing around. I officially started in fourth grade because it was what I loved. My natural instinct was to be aggressive and physical, and I also had family members who wrestled, which pulled me in even more."

Parent Tip: “Wrestling is unbelievably hard. These kids are out there alone, doing their best, and it hurts. The worst thing a parent can do is tear them down for not performing well… Parents need to step back and just experience the event as an observer… it should be about support, not about your personal success. Your kid’s success is not a reflection of you. It’s their journey, and you need to let them have that experience.”

"The thing I don't like seeing is when parents get too wrapped up in winning and losing. My parents weren’t focused on whether I won or lost; they just wanted to help me be the best I could be. I think it’s great for parents to be involved, and I don’t want to say don’t get too involved—especially in youth programs where you need all the help you can get to run things. The more parents, the better. But just don’t be negative.

I emphasize positivity with my college team, and I think it’s just as important with parents. Sometimes, you see parents get so emotionally wrapped up in a match that it looks like they were the ones who lost. They get visibly upset when their kid makes a mistake, and then you see them actually mad at their kid. You can’t live the event for them. This is especially true for parents who have never wrestled. Wrestling is unbelievably hard. These kids are out there alone, doing their best, and it hurts. The worst thing a parent can do is tear them down for not performing well.

Negativity around wrestling and being too focused on winning and losing is where the problem is. You can never be too involved if you’re positive, helping out, listening to your kid, and supporting them through the process. But you can absolutely be over-involved if your investment is solely in whether they win or lose.

That’s what really gets me—watching parents on the sidelines, so emotionally attached to the outcome that it’s almost like they’re out there on the mat. That’s not healthy. Parents need to step back and just experience the event as an observer. You’re going to get emotional—I totally get that because my kids wrestle, too—but it should be about support, not about your personal success. Your kid’s success is not a reflection of you. It’s their journey, and you need to let them have that experience."

Coaching Tip: Be authentic—don’t try to be someone you’re not. The best coaches understand their own style and coach in a way that aligns with who they truly are. There are many ways to coach, and forcing yourself into a mold of what you think a coach "should" be can backfire. Some coaches are fiery and loud; others are calm and calculated. What matters is that your athletes trust you and respond to your leadership.

"My main tip is to invest in the human. Wrestling is a vehicle to teach life lessons, and as a coach, you have to keep the human element at the forefront. We all want to win and be the best we can be, but it’s important to remember that coaching is more than just X’s and O’s.

One key piece of advice for coaches is to be yourself. Don't try to be someone you're not. There are many ways to coach, and the best approach is the one that aligns with who you truly are. The best coaches I’ve had were authentic—they didn’t try to fit into a mold of what they thought a coach should be.

Personally, I don't yell much. People expect a coach to have a whistle around their neck, shouting at kids to fire them up, but that’s just not me. I’m laid back—until I’m not. Sometimes I have to get fired up, but that’s who I am naturally.

The best coaches know themselves and don’t try to be someone they’re not... Be your authentic self as a coach. Wherever you're strong, lean into your strengths, and work on eliminating your weaknesses. That’s life—that’s how you get better at anything and that's critically important in coaching."

Athlete Tip: You don’t know what you don’t know—ask questions. If something isn’t working or you’re struggling, speak up. Wrestling is tough, but you don’t have to figure it out alone. Great athletes take advantage of the knowledge around them. Be curious, listen, and learn from those who’ve been there.

"Something that's on my mind now with my own team, and thinking back with other teams, is communication. We don't know what we don't know. I think that's a huge one. I don't know if you're looking for an exact wrestling tip, but you have to speak up about what's working and what's not. You just have to be respectful about it.

For me, we have a motto that reflects my coaching style—partnership, not a dictatorship. I engage with my athletes, and communication is really important. I hate when I’m doing a clinic and nobody asks a question. I can’t stand that. I've been in this game at the highest level for a long time. If you don't understand something, ask. If you're not feeling great, let someone know. Whatever you're going through emotionally, voice it.

Maybe that's more of a college thing. We have a lot of high-level athletes who want to tough through things, but they don't communicate well. As an athlete, you have to communicate and ask questions—those are the two biggest things. If you're around someone great, take advantage of the opportunity. I don’t know if you watch Ted Lasso, but be curious. Ask questions. There's so much you can learn from someone who's been through it. Communication is huge."

Negative Impact Tip: Wrestling is for everyone. Exclusivity in wrestling has held the sport back. For too long, the mindset has been that only the toughest, most talented athletes belong, weeding out those who don’t fit the mold. This has led to missed opportunities to grow the sport. Not every wrestler will be a champion, but every kid can gain something valuable from the sport. If we only focus on the elite, we risk losing programs and future wrestlers.

"Acceptance. I think the main root of the problem in our sport is that it's been treated like an exclusive club—only the best people do it, and there’s no reason to wrestle unless you’re going to be the best. But there’s plenty of room for kids who won’t be champions. There’s space for kids who need wrestling and can still get the same valuable lessons as everyone else.

I was guilty of that mindset too. Wrestling was seen as something that just weeded out the kids who wouldn’t be great, and that’s a terrible approach. The biggest example of this has been the inclusion of women. If we had been more accepting early on, we wouldn’t have lost so many college programs. Women’s wrestling would be much further along. But wrestling clung to a cult-like mentality—if you didn’t meet certain parameters, you weren’t welcomed. That mindset has hurt the sport. It’s why it’s not on TV more and why people struggle to embrace it.

Participation in wrestling is amazing—even if a kid never makes varsity or gets past the district tournament, they gain so much from the sport. We need to pay attention to those kids, not just the superstars. The old mentality of “weeding out” kids is ridiculous. There’s so much to get from wrestling, even without winning titles.

For me, the shift happened with my daughter. I’m now a huge advocate for women’s wrestling, but I was slow to accept it. I was stuck in the culture of what wrestling used to be. When we had our daughter, people asked, “Do you think she’ll wrestle?” and I’d say no. I assumed she’d do cheerleading or something else—falling into the usual stereotypes.

Then, in sixth grade, after putting her in cheerleading, we casually asked, “Would you like to wrestle?” Not expecting much, and she instantly said, “Oh yeah, I’d love to wrestle.” That killed me. We asked why she never told us, and she said, “Because I didn’t think you wanted me to, Dad.” That moment changed everything.

Watching her get involved, I thought, why shouldn’t she get what I got from this sport? Wrestling changed my life. It made me who I am. Why shouldn’t women get that too?

If a girl walks into a room full of boys, make her feel welcome. Do everything in your power to ensure she feels like she belongs. The same goes for anyone who’s different—the bigger kid, the un-athletic kid, anyone who doesn’t “fit the mold.” Give them more attention, get them hooked, because you never know how wrestling might impact their life.

We need to stop acting like wrestling is only for the tough-nosed kid destined to be a national champ. Participation matters. It’s time to accept that wrestling is for everyone."

Wrestling Growth Tip: Ensure youth wrestlers experience both challenges and success early on. Implementing skill-based matchups rather than only weight-based pairings helps keep kids engaged and motivated. Additionally, embracing women’s wrestling is important to growth—doubling participation, expanding the fan base, and strengthening the sport’s future.

"On the youth wrestling side, we had an amazing thing happen at Princeton with how they ran their youth competitive league. It was incredible and kept numbers high. I’ve seen a little bit of this start to happen elsewhere, but traditionally, I was 0-14 starting out in youth wrestling because I was just matched up with whatever kid weighed the same as me.

At Princeton, where dads helped run the league, we had a system where kids were matched up by skill level rather than just weight. At the beginning stages, the goal was for every kid to be around .500. If they won three matches, they moved up in ranking and were placed in a tougher group where they might lose three. Every week, matchups adjusted accordingly. Once kids improved, they graduated out of the system and onto the varsity youth team.

I think having rating systems for youth wrestling and ensuring kids experience some success is really important. There's this mentality of just throwing them into the hardest competition right away. At Princeton, they had an algorithm that automatically adjusted rankings—if a kid lost twice, they moved down. Even without an algorithm, this is easy to do just by communicating with other coaches about skill levels. How we handle competition is a game changer in growing the sport.

And obviously, women’s wrestling is the future. It’s insane—D1 wrestling was just approved as an NCAA sport. You have to push for women’s wrestling and be accepting of it because it’s the game changer. It doubles the number of people interested in wrestling. One female wrestler brings in two parents, four grandparents, aunts, uncles—it expands the sport’s reach exponentially.

We always talk about saving and growing the sport, and this is an easy way to do it. Women’s wrestling is the fastest-growing sport, and it’s so obvious. It smacks me in the face every day—we have to recruit more women into wrestling. It’s the easiest way to expand our numbers because they make up half of humanity. If you're not thinking about bringing women into the sport, you’re missing the biggest opportunity."

Growth Bite

This week's Growth Bite comes from a quote by Mark Manson:

Community Treat

This week's Community Treat comes from a throwback clip of Tim Flynn—one of the funniest wrestling clips of all time.

If you know, you know: