Real Talk Co.

I’ll be explaining why football players should wrestle.

I’ll be sure to make it clear, all sports matter.

They do great things, but this one’s dedicated to the football players and wrestlers.

I believe they can be known as best buds.

You could think of one and think of the other if they have the right relationship.

Why football players should wrestle

In football, there’s a special strength that carries over to wrestling. Vice-versa! and in addition there’s mental perks you get as well. But for the physical, there’s training you get for gaining muscle (as well as using it effectively). These physical training methods can be breaks from the constant weight lifting football players are expected to do. That, and you get valuable life lessons that come from mindset.

Special strength Carries over

In football (as well as wrestling) there is a special strength that carries over.

It’s hard to say what specific things you’re going to want, it’ll take you understanding yourself or talking with your coach.

But an instant benefit of doing wrestling instead of putting all of your time into football is a break from the weights.

Break From Weights

There’s some danger that you face when you spend all of the time you have in the weight room (when you’re off the field).

There’s a lot of things that could injure you or keep you off the field.

As an athlete, it’s reasonable to want to keep the grind going, but there’s safer ways of going about it then making out on your deadlift daily.

Balance

Balance is a useful skill in football that you get from wrestling.

It’ll at least make it a little better than what it was if you already had it.

Flexibility

Flexibility is another physical attribute that comes to you more naturally in wresting than it would in the weight room.

There’s a lot of odd positions that wrestlers are put in often that they’re used to after more practice and competition.

This experience could prove to be extremely valuable for football players in terms of staying healthy in pile ups.

Explosiveness

Explosiveness is another strength that’s emphasized heavily in wrestling that could transition well to football.

Whether it’s a standup you’re performing or running through a double on a shot, explosive motion is constantly used.

Agility

You might’ve heard of the weird when playing Pokémon, but it’s ability to maneuver or evade an opponent’s attack.

In the game, if you use agility enough, your opponent will eventually miss their attack.

The same works with football and wrestling.

A football player with agility can dodge tackle attempts better than one without it.

A wrestler would be able to avoid takedowns and being put in positions that would lead to a takedown.

Quickness

Quickness is yet another attribute that football players can earn from wrestling.

There’s wrestling drills and positions that require being quick.

And this is quickness that’s different from running a 40 in a decent time.

Your speed will increase in legs, feet, and more areas than what’s demanded from in football.

Coordination

The coordination that you get from both sports translate really well to the next.

All it is (would be) using your movement in a rhythm that makes sense.

It would be wrong to say that one sport’s movement is better than the other, but when you learn more movements, it only helps.

There’s a way to think outside the box in both shoes and having a way to move down could be helpful depending on you situation.

There’s actually really successful wrestlers that mimic boxing movements.

Endurance

Endurance is yet another form of strength that serves to be valuable to both sports.

In wrestling, there’s either six of seven minutes that go into one match if it goes the distance.

To be competitive, you’ll have to sustain the physical strength and cardio you’re using to be successful.

The same has to be done in football.

There can be arguments made for wrestling requiring more because even though the time is shorter, there’s undeniably more contact.

Mentality

The mentality of what it takes to be a wrestler is unmatched when compared to other sports.

This is a claim that’s shared by other experts who never even participated in the sport.

There’s actually a book from a very successful combat sports specialist ( Olympian, Ben Askren) called Funky.

He actually speaks specifically on the mentality it takes to be successful in the sport.

Aggressiveness

Aggressiveness is one of those qualities that could never be taught.

But I do believe that you can acquire it through law of association.

Your may get it from teammates, but in wrestling, it seems as if the entire community’s attitude rubs off.

And aggressiveness is surely one of them.

Discipline

Next is the quality of discipline.

This is yet another thing that’s hard to teach, you see it in the greatest of every sport, but it appears to be the standard for wrestling.

Without a doubt, the football players that wrestle carry this over to their sports and are usually the leaders of their team as a result.

“Winning Attitude”

A winning attitude.

It’s something that is shown in both sports, but it’s something that impacts both sports in different ways.

This winning attitude that you can get from wrestling will add another element to your mentality.

Because many wrestlers see it as being an individual sport in where their success is more in their hands than most sports.