Hi 👋

Welcome to Week #66 of the Wrestling Snacks Newsletter.

I hope everyone is doing well. Yesterday was a great day here in Idaho. I suited up again this year in my wetsuit for the 5th Annual Jerome High School Wrestling Polar Plunge. It’s a fun event that has become a great fundraiser for the local high school program. The kids jump into the freezing cold Snake River and collect pledges to take the plunge. I suit up in a wetsuit and float in the water as part of the safety protocol.

I don’t have any pictures from this year’s event yet, but here’s one of my favorites from a few years ago.

Be sure to check out the DI Live Streaming Guide (1/22–1/26/2025) for this weekend’s duals. Over 35 matches will be televised today and tomorrow!

Let’s GO 💪

News Bites

• Cleveland State to Discontinue Wrestling Program and Two Other Sports

• Campbell All-American Ghadiali Out for the Season Due to Injury

• Tulsa to Host the National Duals Invitational in November 2025

• NCAA DI Rankings Updated (1/21/2025)

• The First NCAA Coaches' Poll Is Here

• RBY tripped by the ref to lose in the last second in the quarters at the Yarygin...

• Coach Brands & Morningstar help shovel snow at 5am with #1 recruit Bo Bassett

• Reineri Ortega and Oklahoma State assistant coach Thomas Gilman will wrestle a freestyle exhibition following the Iowa State-Oklahoma State dual on Jan. 26.

• Olympian Austin Gomez vs Bryce Andonian Match Set For Feb 26

• 2026 NCAA Wrestling D1 Commitment List

• Team USA Wrestling Results At The 2025 Dan Kolov

• 2025 Yarygin Wrestling Tournament Brackets & Results

• NCAA Div. III Kean in New Jersey adds men's and women's wrestling

Snacks

This week's Snacks come from Joe Dubuque: Wrestled at Indiana University, where he was a 3X All-American and 2X NCAA National Champion. Dubuque is currently in his second season as Head Coach and 12th overall season on staff at Princeton. He has been instrumental in revitalizing Princeton wrestling, developing multiple All-Americans, including two 4X NCAA All-Americans, two NCAA Finalists, and an NCAA National Champion.

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: Wrestling is a unique sport that provides opportunities for kids who might not fit the mold in other sports. Size doesn’t matter—what counts is effort, toughness, and the willingness to compete. It’s an equal playing field where hard work and determination can help anyone succeed, regardless of physical limitations.

"When I was young, I was a two-sport athlete. I played football and baseball and didn’t get introduced to wrestling until I was in sixth grade. My brother, who was five years older than me, started wrestling and really liked it. The very next year, he basically forced me to wrestle. I didn’t do anything during the winter anyway, so it was a good use of my time, and I didn’t fight him on it.

Like most people, I thought wrestling was like WWE at first. But I picked it up fairly quickly and was pretty successful right out of the gate. I think that had a lot to do with being competitive. I’d been playing football since I was six years old, so tackling was something I loved. Learning how to do a double leg felt very natural for me. I was always the smallest guy out of my friends, on my football team, and on my baseball team, so I always had a chip on my shoulder. I prided myself on being the toughest kid and working really hard.

Wrestling was exciting for me because, for the first time, I was competing against kids my size. It was an equal playing field. That challenge really motivated me. I could get physical with someone my size and see how good I could be...

My parents didn’t know much about wrestling, so they never gave me advice on the sport. What they did do was show me how to work hard. My mom worked as a bank teller Monday through Friday, and on weekends, she worked at a banquet hall until 1 a.m. My dad worked as a maintenance guy in our school district and did extra jobs on weekends to make more money. Seeing their hard work made me understand the value of effort. They never got on me if I lost. They just told me to make the most out of every practice and competition and give my full effort.

My brother was the driving force behind my workouts. He saw potential in me and took me to tournaments. He exposed me to high-level competition by taking me to the Edge Wrestling Club in New Jersey, one of the most prestigious wrestling clubs in the country. NCAA champs came out of there, and I was fortunate to train with Ernie Monaco and high-level wrestlers. My brother made sure I had those opportunities, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him..."

Parent Tip: Winning matches at 10 years old doesn’t define your child’s future in the sport. What matters most is fostering their love for wrestling and focusing on effort and attitude. Avoid negativity when they step off the mat—screaming or overemphasizing results can turn them away from the sport and make them resent it.

"So, I would say my first tip or piece of advice for kids just starting out, from ages 6 to 10, is to really focus on the basics. Also, fill them with positivity and focus on effort and attitude—things that are 100% within their control. Results aren’t always in their control. They can go out there and wrestle their hardest with the best attitude and still lose the match. If you're only focused on results, it creates a negative experience for them.

It’s important to take pride out of it and understand that winning matches at 10 years old doesn’t determine anything about their future in the sport. Hammer down on effort—don’t concede during matches, give it your all in practice. Focus on attitude, win or lose, and maintain respect and positivity. Teach them to pride themselves on being hard workers. Once they’re old enough to handle wins and losses, you can start being a bit more tactical, offering feedback and advice based on your experience.

For my son, I hammered the fundamentals of wrestling while keeping it positive. I always told him I loved him, that I was proud of him, and I kept our conversations honest and real. The only time I ever told him I was disappointed was because of his effort, not because he lost. I told him it wasn’t about winning or getting his hand raised—it was about competing hard for six minutes and giving his best effort.

Where parents lose their kids is when they step off the mat, and it’s all screaming and negativity. That turns them away from the sport, and they start to hate it. I was a multi-sport athlete, and I think that was beneficial for me. It gave my body and mind a break from wrestling, and when I came back, I was ready and eager to get back into the wrestling room.

Everybody is different. Right now, so many people focus on recruits like Bo Bassett or Jax Forrest, who are constantly competing. That’s not a bad thing, but they’re the small minority of kids who can do that and still achieve success. Not everyone is the same, and the formula is different for everybody. Knowing your son or daughter is crucial to their success. Those are just a few pieces of advice I would give."

Coaching Tip: Allow athletes to express their personality while teaching them the importance of respect and teamwork. Recognize when they’re ready to level up and guide them to the right opportunities. At the same time, lead by example—show them what toughness, passion, and hard work look like by embodying those qualities in your own actions and attitude.

"It’s interesting because, when I was in youth wrestling, I had young coaches who were close family friends with a lot of wrestling experience. They allowed me to let my personality influence my style, which was cool. I was a confident kid—some would even say cocky—but they knew how hard I worked. It wasn’t just talk; I backed it up with my work ethic and performance. They let me be myself, within reason. If I was ever trying to showboat against kids who were levels below me, they would pull me aside and remind me there was no need for that. But if I was wrestling someone on my level, they encouraged me to have fun, let my personality shine, and showcase my skills.

They also recognized when I was ready to jump levels in technique. They helped guide me to the Edge Wrestling Club, knowing it was the right environment to push me further. When I went to high school, my head coach was a blue-collar guy from Pennsylvania who was all about the team. He taught me the importance of being a leader and supporting my teammates, whether it was cheering them on or coaching them from the corner. He emphasized that as the best wrestler on the team, a lot of people looked up to me, and I had to set the tone with my actions.

In college, my coach, Dwayne Goldman, was one of the toughest people I’ve ever been around. He was a four-time Big Ten champion, four-time NCAA finalist, and NCAA champion. Even in his late 30s and early 40s, he would do every workout with us. These were intense, old-school Iowa-style workouts that pushed everyone to their limits. Seeing him outlast us and keep going was inspiring. He taught me that toughness is a choice—you can choose to be the toughest or the weakest person in the room. Once I made the decision to embrace the hard things, my career flipped.

Beyond wrestling, my football coach in high school was incredibly inspiring and motivational. His passion and energy were unmatched, especially on game days. He had a way of making you want to run through a wall for him. He was articulate and passionate, and his influence left a lasting impression on me.

Each of these coaches contributed something unique to my development. I’ve taken pieces from all of them and blended them into my own coaching philosophy. And that's where I think I am today—a tough, passionate, and flamboyant coach."

Athlete Tip: Be coachable and trust the process your coaches have designed for you. Their experience and insight are there to help you grow, but it requires you to fully commit and believe in their plan. Let them guide you, shorten your learning curve, and push you toward your goals. Success comes when you align with your coaches and put faith in their direction.

"You have to be very coachable. At every level, the coaches or people in coaching roles have likely done what you want to do or have the experience to help you achieve your goals. They either know from their own experiences or through coaching others. If you’re not coachable and you’re butting heads with your coach, you’ll end up moving in different directions. But when you align with your coach, you give yourself the best chance for success.

That’s the biggest thing I tell my guys—through good and bad experiences, we’ve been there. Take our advice and let us help shorten your learning curve. That doesn’t mean it should feel like a dictatorship where you just blindly follow orders. Coaches need to have the awareness to give athletes some say and ownership in their wrestling and careers as they mature.

That said, there are times when athletes need to just listen to their coach. It’s about trusting that the coach has been there, done that, or worked with someone who has. Buy in, trust the process, and believe in what your coach is doing to help you achieve your goals. If you can be fully committed and trust your coach, that’s the best approach to succeed in wrestling."

Negative Impact Tip: Introducing weight cutting too early can ruin a child’s love for wrestling. Pushing young kids to drop weight not only risks their physical health but also shifts their focus away from the sport itself. Avoid turning wrestling into a weight-cutting exercise—let kids wrestle at their natural weight and focus on skill development and enjoyment instead.

"I think it always comes back to weight cutting. Parents absolutely control when their kids are exposed to weight cutting. In my opinion, there’s never a situation where a child under the age of a teenager should experience weight cutting. That is the number one way to make a kid hate this sport. Most of the time, it stems from parents. Parents need the courage to say, even if their kids insist they want to cut weight, “Winning isn’t important right now. Focus on getting better at wrestling.” There’s no need for a 10-year-old to cut weight for a meaningless tournament in June.

If all a kid knows is making weight, the sport stops being about wrestling and becomes all about weight cutting. In my experience, my parents never once told me to cut weight. It was always my choice, but even then, it took a toll on me. Now imagine parents or coaches pushing kids who don’t even know how to process it yet. Telling a nine-year-old who weighs 70 pounds to drop to 60 pounds and not eat? Of course, they’ll do it because they love and respect their parents or coach, but it’s damaging.

Parents and coaches have huge roles and responsibilities to protect their kids and preserve the sport’s integrity. I’ve heard stories about kids dropping 10 pounds when they’re young. I didn’t cut 10 pounds until I was a sophomore in high school, and even then, it was hard—and that was my choice. It’s easily the number one negative aspect of wrestling.

That said, when kids are old enough and understand how to cut weight properly, it can be part of the sport. In the right circumstances, for the right athlete, it might be the right move to be successful. However, those situations are far less common than people think. Thankfully, the culture is shifting. Wrestling today, especially at the high school and college levels, has moved more toward encouraging athletes to wrestle at their natural weight. The weight-cutting culture is nothing like it was 20 or 25 years ago."

Wrestling Growth Tip: Focus on creating a positive first experience for young wrestlers and their parents. Growth starts at the grassroots level, where youth coaches have the most direct impact. Prioritize fundamentals, effort, and attitude over results, especially at younger ages. Building a wrestling ecosystem is essential—connecting youth programs, high schools, and colleges creates a supportive network that keeps kids engaged and invested in the sport.

"I think the way we grow wrestling is by keeping it in a positive light. I believe it’s the greatest sport in the world, and we need to talk about its benefits and continue to bring exposure...

At the grassroots level, youth coaches are the most important because they have direct contact with kids who have never wrestled and parents unfamiliar with the sport. That first experience matters most. If a coach runs kids out of the room with military-style practices every day, or screams negativity, solely focusing on results, they’ll lose kids. I’m not saying you can’t have tough practices, but if every day is like that, it sets the sport back.

We need to educate youth and town program coaches not only on the fundamentals but also on fostering a positive environment. Many coaches in these programs don’t teach solid wrestling basics or focus on things kids can realistically achieve. Instead, it’s outdated techniques or advanced moves kids aren’t ready for. It’s important to emphasize fundamentals and focus on effort and attitude, not winning. At six years old, no one cares how many Tulsa national titles a kid has. Winning youth tournaments in fifth grade isn’t what matters in the long run.

At Princeton, we talk about building a wrestling ecosystem. We have a youth program with kids from six years old through eighth grade. At one point, the practices were run by myself, Chris Ayers (a D1 All-American), Sean Gray (two-time All-American), Reece Humphrey (two-time All-American), and Nate Jackson (two-time All-American). Not every program has access to that level of coaching, but college programs could still invest a little effort in influencing wrestling at all ages and levels.

That’s how we grow the sport and grow programs. For example, we have over 100 kids in our youth program, and they show up to almost every home match. It creates a strong fan base and benefits everyone. A little effort in youth and local wrestling goes a long way."

Growth Bite

This week's Growth Bite comes from a quote by Doug Schwab:

Community Treat

This week's Community Treat comes from all the chatter surrounding the National Duals, set to take place in Tulsa next season, November 15-16. The event sponsor, Paycom, will be offering more than $1 million in payouts to the participating teams. The tournament winner will take home $200K, while all participating teams will receive $20K for attending the 16-team event: