As fall quickly approaches, it reminds me that wrestling season is not far behind. Many of you have put in a great deal of work this offseason in an effort to reach your goals on the mat this year. Others have probably slacked a little bit or taken more time off than was necessary. I admit, the summer months can make it difficult to stay focused and not get side-tracked. The weather is nice. Everyone is outside. Your friends are all hanging out, swimming, playing video games, and pulling all nighters. It’s a lazy time.

For those of you (and you know who you are) who have done some summer training don’t let up now. Maintain the course. The season is not far off. Continue your work ethic into the preseason and throughout the regular season. You should be excited to show everyone how much work you have put in. It’s a great feeling to come into the first day of practice and dominate people because they haven’t done anything since the previous season. It’s an even better feeling to upset someone in the first competition that you had no business beating last year. That’s how you make a statement.

If you’re one of those people who have done nothing this offseason, you best get in gear now. And by now I mean today. Make a plan, get focused, and start getting better. It’s not too late. Preseason is where you lay the ground work for your entire regular season. Get your conditioning up now. Shake the rust off now. Fine tune your skills. Come into the season ready to work and put it on some people.

Trust me, a month or two from now you’ll wish you did something today. And come state series time, you’ll be wishing it even more. Everyone practices during the regular season (Oct/Nov – March). Everyone works out from 3-5pm. How can you expect to get any better if you’re doing what everyone else does?

So eliminate the excuses. Nobody is going to care come season why you didn’t do this or that. Your opponents sure don’t care. Start making some sacrifices. Make the decision to begin making changes today. Right now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. This instant. Do it…Now!