John Klessinger's High School Wrestling Essentials Series

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

The ability to design a practice plan is vital for any coach that is looking to develop a successful program year after year. Effective practice planning will allow you to constantly reflect and modify your practices to ensure consistent team improvement.

Using a simple structure, John Klessinger demonstrates four key elements of practice design: warm-up, conditioning, skill development, and situational wrestling. He utilizes his athletes to demonstrate and explains how to modify each element throughout the season.

Warm-Up & Conditioning

Learn how to not only develop a warm-up to get your athletes ready for practice, but also improve athletic performance. Coach Klessinger explains how he uses fundamental and non-fundamental warm-up drills to prepare his athletes for practice and competition:

• Fundamental Drills - Neck bridge, hip heist, explosive stand-ups, and cut-outs.
• Non-Fundamental Drills - Speed ladder, line drills, and rope jumping.

Klessinger uses two-part conditioning at the beginning and end of practice to develop an aerobic and muscular endurance base. This approach not only helps develop necessary conditioning for the season, but also increases mental toughness for the biggest matches on your schedule.

Skill Development & Situational Wrestling

Understand why it is vital to not only teach new skills, but build off those skills with a systematic approach. Coach Klessinger demonstrates how his team reviews previously learned techniques with the cement mixer, plus how they build a series from it. You'll see Klessinger cover the cement mixer, block and spin, McNaught, and gator roll.

Finally, you will learn how to reinforce an athlete's technical skills through situational live wrestling. This provides you with the ability to assess your athlete's skill development and reteach specific techniques. Coach Klessinger also discusses his approach to practice closure by focusing on developing a winning mindset on and off the mat.

Coach Klessinger provides the tools needed to develop a successful practice plan in this video. You will learn how to use a simple and effective template, analyze your athletes' skill level, and most importantly, develop a winning practice plan!

61 minutes. 2022.

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

Coach John Klessinger of South River High School makes a point on how many programs overlook proper stance and motion. This is a mistake, as solid, fundamental stance and motion are a huge key to success!

With specialized and realistic drills, the stance and motion series presented by Klessinger in this video mimics realistic scenarios in order to build muscle recall for wrestlers of all levels.

Posturing and Positioning Drills

Learn how to approach common stance drills with dual purpose practice. Coach Klessinger explains the teaching points he emphasizes for each of his drills. You will see:

• A different look at pummeling and other common "skill builders"
• Hand and head position fighting drills
• Push/pull drills
• Shot drills

Performing Techniques from Motion

Coach Klessinger shows how good stances and proper motion set up a natural defense, while also strengthening a wrestler's offense. Snap downs, front headlock positioning, finishes and more are covered as part of his segment on motion.

This video from Coach Klessinger takes the end result of what's needed to score and reverse engineers it to the stances and footwork needed to make that result happen. The drills in this video are a must see for all coaches.

61 minutes. 2022.

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

South River High School head wrestling coach John Klessinger presents his best strategies for counter-offense and defense in this instructional video. You'll learn some great strategies to ensure your wrestlers don't succumb to common attacking methods and always remain ready to take advantage of opponent missteps.

Strategies for Defensive Wrestling

Coach Klessinger starts from a reference position and works backward, covering every angle from a defensive perspective. Having a good defense in wrestling can set up more points than any other position. This video takes Klessinger's approach from the end and walks you back through his fundamental program.

Defensive Position

Coach Klessinger shares a solid defensive drill series that enables wrestlers to instinctively move from a defensive position to an attack. He covers:

• Home position
• Drills to get behind the opponent
• Pinning series from behind
• Counters
• Defending takedowns and more

With his practice segments, Coach Klessinger covers tips and inside tricks that make this system simple to learn. You'll also see additional takedown attack counters and how they can be implemented to fit into Klessinger's defense series.

The layout of Coach Klessinger's defensive series quickly develops muscle memory and reaction from wrestlers due to the flow and ease of the system. You will be thankful to have this video in your collection!

60 minutes. 2022.

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

Controlling your opponent from the top position can totally change a wrestling match. Coach John Klessinger shares techniques and strategies on how to be a dominant top wrestler with several breakdowns and a series of turns based off of a near wrist ride. He does a great job of showing each move from different angles and going into detail on each technique.

Top Position Fundamentals & Breakdowns

Coach Klessinger discusses the basic rules of riding, including how to line up, staying under the arms, and making adjustments. He shows a drill that helps the top wrestler maintain position and teaches the bottom wrestler to keep their knees under them.

In this video, you are shown three different breakdowns, including a spiral, near arm chop, and far knee far ankle. Klessinger then shows two versions of a drill to reinforce chain wrestling from the top position. These breakdowns make a great foundation for any wrestler.

Near Wrist Ride & Situations

Coach Klessinger's near wrist ride series gives you seven options for turning your opponent, starting from a near wrist ride. Klessinger shows multiple ways to run a half, different bars, and various tilts all beginning from capturing the near wrist. You will also see a drill to flatten your opponent when they get back up to their base, as well as two different versions of a drill to focus on chain wrestling from the top.

To conclude, Coach Klessinger shows four situation drills you can have your wrestlers use during practice. These are practical drills that will help reinforce the techniques that are demonstrated in this video.

Coach Klessinger provides a great series to help your wrestlers dominate from the top position. The breakdowns, turns, and drills in this video can be implemented into wrestling practice at any level.

60 minutes. 2022.

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

Neutral position in wrestling must be mastered for any athlete who hopes to reach elite status in the sport. Coach John Klessinger firmly believes an aggressive neutral position requires confidence and repetition. This video takes his approach to the neutral position and breaks it down in an easy-to-follow manner.

Neutral Position

You will learn a solid neutral position drill series that enables wrestlers to instinctively move in on their opponent. Coach Klessinger takes the time to demonstrate:

• High crotch and singles
• Taking shots
• Fireman's carry
• Drags
• Shot finishes

Series Run and Finishing Techniques

Klessinger reinforces the idea of setting up shots to create an explosive and aggressive offense from the neutral position. Athletes counter and re-counter, running through the learned shots and flowing to available finishes. You'll also see Coach Klessinger cover additional takedowns and how the can be implemented in his practice series as well.

This neutral series is a must see for any program wanting to develop active and shoot-reshoot style wrestlers. Coach Klessinger does a phenomenal job covering the flow and ease of his system.

62 minutes. 2022.

with John Klessinger,
South River High School (MD) Head Wrestling Coach;
over 400 dual-meet wins;
12 Anne Arundel County Championships;
Multiple Regional Championships;
Regional Dual Qualifiers 12 of the last 15 years;
State Dual Finalist and Semifinalist;
6x AA County Coach of the Year;
NFHS Maryland Coach of the Year;
4 Individual State Champions and 37 State Medalists;
author of 'A Coach's Manual';
Columnist WIN Magazine and MatBoss;
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

Wrestling from the bottom position is one of the most dangerous, yet rewarding strategies in the sport. John Klessinger, South River High School head coach, firmly believes a bottom defensive position requires strong reaction skills first and foremost, and once those skills have been established, wrestlers can continue to build their bottom position toolbox. This video takes Klessinger's approach from the beginning and walks you through his fundamental program.

Bottom Position

Learn how to set up your bottom position and the mindset needed to "get out." Coach Klessinger explains the teaching points he emphasizes for each of the bottom position drills. You'll see:

• Bottom position setup
• Base and riding drills
• Hand fighting
• Belly down defensiveness
• Breakdown counters

Escape Techniques

With his practice segment, Coach Klessinger reinforces the idea of setting up the skills needed to explode out of the bottom position. A major emphasis is placed on spiral rides, which force the opponent to offer the wrist. You'll get many stand up variations and techniques, switch tips and tricks and a change over series. You'll also see Coach Klessinger utilize common match situations to role play the techniques into action to simulate live match action and urgency.

This video from Coach Klessinger gives you everything you need to know about wrestling from the bottom!

61 minutes. 2022.