Every year I watch talented kids get cut from varsity — or plateau at JV — not because they lack athleticism, but because they have the same three fixable problems.

1. They only drill offense

The wrestlers who make states are the ones who are impossible to score on. Most kids spend 80% of practice on takedowns and zero time on their bottom game. If you can't escape or reverse, you're giving up free points every match.

2. They don't study their own footage

You have patterns you don't know about. A tell before your go-to shot. A habit of stalling on top. Five minutes of film review per week will teach you more than two extra hours on the mat.

3. They train for fitness, not technique

Running more does not make you a better wrestler. Drilling the same shot 200 times with perfect mechanics does. Conditioning matters in the 3rd period — technique wins in the 1st.

Fix these three things and you will outperform kids who have been wrestling longer than you.

I built GrappleUp specifically to give high school wrestlers the technical depth they can't get from a 2-hour practice. If you're serious about making varsity or qualifying for states, check it out at whop.com/grappleup.