Wrestling the Right Way | Joey Blaze

Gene Zannetti talks with Purdue wrestler Joey Blaze about the mindset shift from freshman year, where he put unneeded pressure on himself as a higher-ranking recruit, to reframing wrestling as something he gets to do rather than has to do, staying level-headed after big wins to avoid the high that leads to the very next loss, how shifting his match evaluation from win or lose to did I do the right things keeps him from going too high or too low, what he says to reset mid-match when things go wrong, and his advice to young wrestlers that being a good person in all areas of life takes the stress off wrestling and lets you actually enjoy it.

Sponsored by Young Lee

Timestamps:

3:08 - Freshman year overthought things as a higher-ranking recruit

4:29 - Shifted to gratitude: I get to do this, not I have to do this

6:09 - Learned to stay level-headed after big wins to avoid the next low

7:52 - Evaluates matches on did I do the right things, not win or lose

9:00 - Pre-match routine: remind yourself how awesome this is, then go through the checklist

11:37 - Mid-match reset: if he can score seven points fast, so can I

14:01 - Marcus as the ultra-competitor big brother — healthy rivalry that fueled both of them

22:11 - Advice to young wrestlers: be a good human and wrestling takes care of itself

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