NYAC

I was in New York City over the weekend for the annual NYAC Holiday tournament. USA Wrestling intended me to be a kind of fill-in for National Team coach Terry Steiner when they flew me out as Terry was not able to attend. Nevertheless, the trip provided me with some valuable opportunities. Three athletes whom I have been working very close with in recent months were set to compete against some mid-range competition. It was an opportunity for them to see, and me to scrutinize their newer skill sets as well as identify other trouble areas. Katie Downing, Sally Roberts and Randi Miller were my primary targets.

While my focus for the weekend was one of criticism and low-key evaluation, I left the tournament on Saturday with a slightly elevated sense of accomplishment and a pleasant perspective on the future. Downing won the title at 67kgs, Roberts won her title at 59kgs, and Miller upset Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann at 63kgs as she was crowned champion. More important than the wins themselves, "my" girls competed well, listened even better, and are clearly improving at a quicker rate than other girls at the OTC (or other places). Such developments are good for me, good for the sport of wrestling in the US, and, ultimately, good for Patricia.

Patricia will be back on the mat in early December. At that point, her trek back to top-flight form will begin anew. I will be with her nearly every step of the way as she tackles new challenges and tries to get as prepared as possible to become Olympic champion. I have been thinking, and am now saying aloud, that Patricia will bring a style and a fervor in a lethal combination of techniques that will be impressive to watch when she gets the chance to put her new wrestling on display. We have been working for some time to make Patricia monumentally better than she ever was before. For the most part, I have been the thought and she has been the uncompromising work ethic behind what will eventually be her final efforts on the mat in the upcoming year. However, my coaching decisions have historically been unproven. My craziest thoughts and designs for Patricia's wrestling are little more than unsubstantiated theories guided by my, perhaps, unjustified belief in myself as a coach. Perhaps, in future posts I will explain the roots of my confidence as they are quite interesting to me. For now, let's simply say that I do have this confidence that drives me and steadies my faith in my instinct-- which, in turn, allows me to make bolder moves with a steadier hand.

But, I think, in New York over the weekend, validation began to materialize in the form of three hard-fought championships. Katie, Sally, and Randi all have drastically different styles from one another. I find it reassuring that I am able to help each without imposing a single-minded style on all. Furthermore, the solutions that I have helped generate are inventive, bold, and being implemented rather quickly. None of these girls, nor I, believe that winning the NYAC tourney is a major achievement, but I saw things during the course of the event that tell me we are all on the right track. When Patricia gets back on the mat in just over two weeks, she will get back on her track. With a renewed confidence based on some positive feedback, I will dump my efforts into pushing Patricia back into the forefront of the chase for Olympic gold. For mounting reasons, I believe she will get quite comfortable, and permanent, there.

(***Quick shoutout to my friends in NY who also helped make my weekend quite memorable as I celebrated a great weekend.***)

-Levi