Mason Beckman at the 2007 Walsh Ironman (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The list of high-profile recruits who failed to live up to their billing is miles long and chocked full of talent. Every year, athletes who have won numerous state, national, and sometimes world titles fall by the wayside and disappear from the public eye, never to be heard from again, save for the occasional social media post or forum thread. The debate that always looms over these situations centers around one simple question: what went wrong? Each recruit is different and so is their story, but the primary reasons why careers derail and talent goes untapped are usually a combination of unrealistic expectations, a lack of focus or love for wrestling, and the lack of a good support system. There's a lot to unpack with each of these three, and it makes sense to start with the one that most often affects recruits the earliest.
Part 1: Unrealistic Expectations
Right off the bat, many recruits are set up for failure because their environment has created an unrealistic set of expectations for their collegiate career and what defines success at the next level. To be blunt, a lot of this is created as a result of ignorance, whether it's ignorance of how big the jump is in terms of the workload from high school to college, how high of a level one has to reach to qualify for the NCAA Tournament (let alone stand on the podium or win the thing), or just the raw numbers of how small someone's chances are to wrestle on Saturday at NCAA's. Due to the fact that so many people - parents, coaches, friends, etc. - in a recruit's life often fail to understand how difficult the transition will be, they fail to prepare the recruit for it mentally, emotionally, and physically which sets them up for failure.
Oftentimes, kids will arrive on campus with lofty expectations - starting right away, becoming a four-time All American, and winning an NCAA title - and they quickly get brought back to reality once they set foot in the wrestling room and go weeks, if not months, without scoring an offensive point against the best wrestlers in the room. If the recruit went into their first day understanding that it's a long road ahead and that they have a lot of ground to cover, those first few weeks and months will still be difficult, but they won't come as a massive surprise because their support system prepared them for the climb. However, when a recruit comes in thinking that the transition won't be all that difficult or that they are going to be the best guy in the room, those first few months are a massive punch to the gut and they can destroy someone's confidence for a season or two, if not the rest of their career.
Unrealistic expectations spill over into competition as well, which can lead to athletes having their confidence dismantled when they lose a few bouts early in their college career and feel like they're failing instead of understanding that taking a few losses doesn't change anything. The long-term process remains the same and every goal is still there to be achieved, but having unrealistic expectations from the start amplifies the impact of the losses and that leads to cracks in the foundation of an athlete's mental makeup. Those cracks are incredibly hard to repair and often lead to an athlete's career struggling to take off, if it doesn't derail entirely.
Part 2: Lack of Focus or Love for Wrestling
It's been repeated time and time again, but the adage that "you have to love this sport to last" holds true at the collegiate level. Our sport is a cruel one - full of injuries, heartbreaking defeats, hungry nights, and soul-searchingly difficult workouts of all kinds. To truly thrive and make the most out of those college years, there has to be a deep love for the sport and the never-ending chase to master it. Sure, there are the outliers that can get by on talent and competitive nature alone, but the vast majority of successful college wrestlers have been molded and driven by a love of the sport and unwavering focus to never stop chasing a better version of themselves.
Brutal workouts and a strict lifestyle are two of the calling cards of collegiate wrestling. Anyone who has lived that life will tell you just how real they are. Whether it's waking up well before sunrise to run hills, practices that last for hours and go beyond exhaustion, or any other of the seemingly countless workouts that a college wrestler endures, being pushed to breaking point becomes a daily reality. Without a love for the sport and the fuel that it provides, those workouts quickly seem pointless and it becomes easier and easier to give less than a full effort which, in turn, leads to a lack of progression. It's always in those small moments, like when the alarm goes off in the morning or when practice is over, but there's still more work to be done, that loving the sport and the chase shines through and pushes some to do more while others resign themselves to having done enough.
Not only does possessing a love for wrestling provide consistent motivation, but it also provides a sense of focus that is difficult to mimic or duplicate otherwise. The college atmosphere is full of distractions ranging from partying, alcohol and drugs, to video games at all hours of the day and night, to the dating scene, and much more. For a young adult to navigate that environment and continually choose a more physically and emotionally taxing life, a great deal of focus is required. Without that focus, partying often becomes a problem and we all see the same end result that we've seen time and time again - an athlete with untapped potential and a program left wondering where they went wrong. Focus that is strong and consistent enough to last through all of those trials only comes from buying into a greater cause or purpose, in finding something that matters so much that nothing else can get in the way. That's where the love for wrestling comes into play and why it provides a certain type of focus - because it makes priorities clear. If chasing the dream and a mastery of the sport matters enough, distractions won't creep in and derail a career before it ever gets started.
Last but certainly not least, a love for the sport provides a work ethic and willingness to travel to deep water that can't be found from any other source. It's commonplace in life to see someone find their passion and devote countless hours to honing that craft - wrestling is no different. When somebody loves what they do, they never work a day in their life (or so the saying goes) and the recruits who have that love for the sport will find that saying to be true. Sure, there will be dark days when they are broken by workouts or stress piles up, but the work ethic and focus will remain and that will drive them forward.
Part 3: Lack of a Positive Support System
Even when a recruit comes into a program with realistic expectations, a love for the sport, and unwavering focus, they will still face a great deal of difficulties and hardships that will require them to lean on those closest to them for emotional and mental support. Anybody who has had success in wrestling will admit that it takes a village to survive the journey - that holds especially true at the college level when kids are away from their families for the first time in their lives and they are thrust into a great deal of uncertainty all at once. When they have a strong, positive support system upon which they can lean, it provides a level of stability and confidence that they can make it through just about any trial and come out on the other side still standing.
One of the things that often gets lost in discussions about why recruits do or don't pan out is the reality that all sorts of "real-life" events occur while kids are in college. Relationships come and go, family members and friends fall ill, school is more difficult than ever, etc., and the emotional toll of events like these can be extremely heavy. Without a proper support system and under the pressure of being a college athlete, a lot of kids will crack and find outlets other than wrestling into which they can invest their time. However, a strong support system will help keep them on track to remember their priorities. Think back to the first group that just about every NCAA Champion goes to see first after winning their title - family and close friends. It's the people who propped them up and got them through their darkest days, the people who provided belief when their minds filled with doubt, the people who never let them quit.
Needless to say, these three reasons are not the only pits into which recruits and young college athletes can fall on their journey through wrestling, but they are the most common (at least in my experience). For all of the coaches, parents and friends of athletes with a real chance to chase the dream at the college level and beyond, remember to support them in every way possible. Push them, but remember to keep expectations realistic and focused on the process and chasing improvement instead of results. Remind them of their love for the sport and that they need to stay focused to truly find out just how good they can be. Last, and most important of all, support them and be there for them through the good times and the bad. Be willing to tell hard truths and listen to them when they need to vent. Always be there, because things can hit the fan at any point in time.
Here's to hoping that the future holds more cases of realistic expectations, genuine love for wrestling, and positive support systems so we can all witness fewer instances of the elite recruits who vanish into thin air.
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