West Delaware wrestlers set goals to improve mind-set

MANCHESTER - Whether it's fighting through a physically demanding workout or pushing through three periods of an intense match, wrestlers constantly find themselves in positions that require a strong mental mind-set.

West Delaware Coach Jeff Voss and the wrestling staff realize the importance of a strong mentality and strive to help their wrestlers develop one. Voss teaches his wrestlers the difference between a growth mind-set, understanding challenges bring improvement, and a fixed mind-set, believing improvement is impossible.

'I think a strong mind-set is important because the sport of wrestling challenges (the wrestlers) both physically and mentally,” Voss said. 'Without the mental skills, they can't develop physically as much as they possibly can.”

The wrestlers write down five goals they want to achieve at the beginning of the season in their assigned booklet. After recording an action plan, they carry out items on the list, increasing the number of actions accomplished each week. To stay accountable, the wrestlers evaluate themselves every Monday. Every day, however, Voss asks the wrestlers to rewrite their goals.

'The 3 percent of people that write down their goals every day outperform the 97 percent that don't,” Voss said.

Junior Harrison Goebel chose his five goals based on what he wants to achieve at the end of the season.

'Setting goals helps me stay focused on what is most important - the state tournament,” Goebel said.

The mind-set training has paid off for sophomore Jordan Bries. He recalls multiple tough workouts where he used the mind-set training to push himself and his teammates. In one practice, Bries wrestled with a partner for 30-second intervals, trading the dominant role with his teammate after each round.

'One of my goals was to be a better partner,” Bries said. 'I really wanted to push through the workout, so I could make both me and my teammate better.”

Growing strong mentally also gives the wrestlers an edge over their opponents. Sophomore Mitchel Mangold remembers wrestling a close match against an Independence wrestler last season.

'I could tell he looked nervous even though he was winning,” Mangold said. 'I knew that if I dug deep enough, I could beat him and ended up winning the match.”

A stronger mentality not only makes the wrestlers better athletes, but also benefits them outside the sport. Senior Kaleb Zieser said the training has taught him to have a better attitude toward difficult situations in life.

'If you have a good attitude toward everything, it makes the hard things a little easier,” Zieser said.

Voss hopes the mind-set training brings his athletes success in wrestling and life.

'I teach my wrestlers this because I want them to apply our goal setting process to other aspects in their life, whether it be job performance, career planning or even relationships,” Voss said.