Question for those smarter than me on wrestling…

[OhioLion]

…and, that’s not difficult.
I know enough about wrestling to enjoy attending and watching on TV.
I coached football for many years, and you found out about the opponent by watching film.
While it might be a very obvious question to most, I don’t know. Do wrestlers watch past matches of their opponents?
TIA

OL

 

[SleepyLion]

…and, that’s not difficult.
I know enough about wrestling to enjoy attending and watching on TV.
I coached football for many years, and you found out about the opponent by watching film.
While it might be a very obvious question to most, I don’t know. Do wrestlers watch past matches of their opponents?
TIA

OL

Yes. Much like any scouting process. Look for tendencies, strengths, weakness, etc.
Some wrestlers watch more than others. I'm sure there are certain guys out there that would beat whoever was put in front of them so they might not spend as much time watching film. Others love to study so they watch more.

 

[manatree]

One could probably watch film on an opponent all the way back to grade school if they plumbed the internet hard enough.

 

[SRATH]

There is no shortage of technique videos out there so serious wrestlers are used to doing internet scouting, both to learn new things and to scout opponents.

 

[GregPickel]

There is no shortage of technique videos out there so serious wrestlers are used to doing internet scouting, both to learn new things and to scout opponents.

Correct.

 

[GregPickel]

…and, that’s not difficult.
I know enough about wrestling to enjoy attending and watching on TV.
I coached football for many years, and you found out about the opponent by watching film.
While it might be a very obvious question to most, I don’t know. Do wrestlers watch past matches of their opponents?
TIA

OL

As @SleepyLion noted, every wrestler is different. Some cannot watch enough. Others don't care to watch any. It all depends on the wrestler's preference.

Speaking from the experience of having interviewed many Penn State wrestlers on this topic over the years, I would say the overwhelming majority of the guys who have competed under Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson, and Casey Cunningham would tell you that, by and large, they let the coaching staff handle watching most of the film and passing along anything that is a need to know. That's not to say these guys aren't watching film, of course. But, the Penn State mantra under Cael and co., has been to focus on putting the best version of themselves out there and doing what they do instead of letting the opponent dictate things. Thus, the focus is more often on self improvement and execution rather than watching to see what an opponent likes or wants to do, because in a lot of ways, that should be irrelevant if the Nittany Lion is enforcing his will and desire to do certain things on the mat.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[SRATH]

As @SleepyLion noted, every wrestler is different. Some cannot watch enough. Others don't care to watch any. It all depends on the wrestler's preference.

Speaking from the experience of having interviewed many Penn State wrestlers on this topic over the years, I would say the overwhelming majority of the guys who have competed under Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson, and Casey Cunningham would tell you that, by and large, they let the coaching staff handle watching most of the film and passing along anything that is a need to know. That's not to say these guys aren't watching film, of course. But, the Penn State mantra under Cael and co., has been to focus on putting the best version of themselves out there and doing what they do instead of letting the opponent dictate things. Thus, the focus is more often on self improvement and execution rather than watching to see what an opponent likes or wants to do, because in a lot of ways, that should be irrelevant if the Nittany Lion is enforcing his will and desire to do certain things on the mat.

I hope that makes sense.

I would only add I strongly suspect some of the things guys are being asked to work coincide with what the staff knows. Nothing is done in a vacuum

 

[gimb14]

As @SleepyLion noted, every wrestler is different. Some cannot watch enough. Others don't care to watch any. It all depends on the wrestler's preference.

Speaking from the experience of having interviewed many Penn State wrestlers on this topic over the years, I would say the overwhelming majority of the guys who have competed under Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson, and Casey Cunningham would tell you that, by and large, they let the coaching staff handle watching most of the film and passing along anything that is a need to know. That's not to say these guys aren't watching film, of course. But, the Penn State mantra under Cael and co., has been to focus on putting the best version of themselves out there and doing what they do instead of letting the opponent dictate things. Thus, the focus is more often on self improvement and execution rather than watching to see what an opponent likes or wants to do, because in a lot of ways, that should be irrelevant if the Nittany Lion is enforcing his will and desire to do certain things on the mat.

I hope that makes sense.

Makes sense. I would assume a lot of the time, the coaches will work with guys to overcome specific opponents too. I'm thinking Davis if he gets Ayala again type of stuff. Davis had no chance to take him down with the one knee down crap so they've probably been working on that. That one is pretty obvious. I'd expect the coaches to be looking a lot at potential opponents their guys haven't seen before too. Identify strengths and weaknesses and suit it to their own guy. Cael and co. are probably really good at it and another reason why we do so well at NCAAs

 

[PSUFANinVA]

I'm pretty sure the Michigan and Iowa wrestlers review a lot of film of dogs playing dead and nature shows that have high def footage of deer running away when there's any slight of noise nearby.

 

[GregPickel]

I would only add I strongly suspect some of the things guys are being asked to work coincide with what the staff knows. Nothing is done in a vacuum

Correct, for sure.

 

[OhioLion]

As @SleepyLion noted, every wrestler is different. Some cannot watch enough. Others don't care to watch any. It all depends on the wrestler's preference.

Speaking from the experience of having interviewed many Penn State wrestlers on this topic over the years, I would say the overwhelming majority of the guys who have competed under Cael Sanderson, Cody Sanderson, and Casey Cunningham would tell you that, by and large, they let the coaching staff handle watching most of the film and passing along anything that is a need to know. That's not to say these guys aren't watching film, of course. But, the Penn State mantra under Cael and co., has been to focus on putting the best version of themselves out there and doing what they do instead of letting the opponent dictate things. Thus, the focus is more often on self improvement and execution rather than watching to see what an opponent likes or wants to do, because in a lot of ways, that should be irrelevant if the Nittany Lion is enforcing his will and desire to do certain things on the mat.

I hope that makes sense.

Makes a lot of sense.
Thank you

OL

 

[Karl_Havok]

YMMV like others have said. RBY is a great example of a guy preparing for a specific guy (DeSanto). I don't think RBY prepared for many guys though. I have a feeling Carter doesn't watch any film of opponents. And it's not because I think he doesn't have a work ethic (he has an insane work ethic) it's because I think his philosophy is that he will dictate a match and it simply does not matter what the other guy does. He is that good. I think Aaron Brooks is probably the same. The younger guys probably scout their opponents more than the 5th and 6th year guys.

But then again, mabye guys like Carter and Brooks do scout guys and that's what makes them so good. This is all pure speculation on my part.

 

[Bwifan]

…and, that’s not difficult.
I know enough about wrestling to enjoy attending and watching on TV.
I coached football for many years, and you found out about the opponent by watching film.
While it might be a very obvious question to most, I don’t know. Do wrestlers watch past matches of their opponents?
TIA

OL

Yes and as well as listen to their teammates. If memory serves me correct Vincenzo Joseph said after his famous throw of Imar that teammate either Nolf or Nickal (can't remember which) I believe said to side step Imar and he would be vulnerable to an inside trip/throw. Vincenzo used that tip and tossed Imar to his back.