Wrestling Prep Podcast

Before an athlete decides what to do with NIL money, they need proof the money is real. In this conversation, Coach Carolyn Wester is joined by Drew Morgan, MBA, MACC, who trained with Carolyn from high school through the senior level and is now a certified financial planner working with current D1 wrestlers. Carolyn’s advice to every recruit is the same: get it in writing. Every promise a college coach makes on a visit or a call- scholarship, summer housing, NIL, sponsor perks- goes back to that coach in an email, and how the program responds tells you most of what you need to know. She also describes what she’s hearing from recent recruits: coursework that is almost entirely online, and athletes steered away from engineering or pre-med before they’ve enrolled. Drew takes the second half with two priorities. Know exactly how an adviser is paid, and walk away from anyone who can’t answer that plainly or isn’t a fiduciary. Then build a team: a planner, CPA, and eventually an estate attorney, whose job is the athlete’s goals, not a product. Taxes come first either way, since NIL payments arrive as 1099 income with nothing withheld, and the compounding example Drew walks through shows why a lump sum left alone at 20 matters at 60. Coaches and parents will leave with an order of operations: get it in writing, know the fee, build the team. IN THIS EPISODE: Drew’s checklist of questions to ask a financial adviser: https://wrestlingprep.com/advisor-questions Financial planning inquiries: Andrew Morgan, MBA, MACC, Financial Advisor – [email protected] Want to learn more about Coach Wester and Wrestling Prep? Instagram: @wrestlingprep Website: wrestlingprep.com Online courses: courses.wrestlingprep.com

Quick-fix prep clinics don't create lasting results; retention and application do. In this episode, Carolyn sits down with coach JJ Howland, who has built a large social media following around wrestling content and has coached a string of national finalists. JJ shares what stood out after meeting Carolyn at a Vegas clinic in April and why he traveled with three of his own athletes to a Wrestling Prep summer camp weeks later. The two compare coaching journeys that took unconventional paths, then turn to the clinic circuit: sessions full of advanced technique kids can't physically execute, weekend camps sold as shortcuts, athletes who retain none of it. Carolyn lays out where their coaching styles fit together: JJ's technique wins the tournaments being wrestled today, and her approach makes that technique work better. They close by revealing plans to join forces at clinics and larger events in the coming year.   In this Episode: Instagram: @jjhowland YouTube: @JJ-Howland Website: jjhowland.com   Want to learn more about Coach Wester and Wrestling Prep? Instagram: @wrestlingprep Website: wrestlingprep.com Online courses: courses.wrestlingprep.com

Before you spend money sending your athletes to tumbling class to emulate what you've seen from Wrestling Prep athletes, understand this: the two are fundamentally different in intent and execution. Coach Carolyn Wester breaks down why tumbling and her Body Leveraging movements can look similar, but don't transfer the same way. Tumbling chases a finished skill through disorganized effort, and rarely develops skills that carry into grappling; Body Leveraging uses Sequential Muscle Order to build, coordinate, and transfer force through a precise muscular sequence that maps directly onto movements during a match.  In this episode, Carolyn walks through the distinctions athletes and coaches need to understand: coordination, timing, force, control, appearance, and repeatable outcomes. The throughline is this: HOW an athlete moves through space is at least as important as the final result. Athletes sharpen the technique they already use, and open themselves up to the wrestling that Carolyn layers on top of Body Leveraging by training to order their muscles and transfer force.   Want to learn more about Coach Wester and Wrestling Prep? Instagram: @wrestlingprep Website: wrestlingprep.com Online courses: courses.wrestlingprep.com

After a big win, the real work begins. In this episode of the Wrestling Prep Podcast, Coach Carolyn examines how social media and well-meaning praise from parents, coaches, and prominent figures can wire athletes to chase dopamine hits instead of building genuine self-worth. She draws a clear distinction between the mindset work that takes place to prepare for a big competition and the deeper neurological process of tracing personal happiness back to overcome fear, avoidance, and self-doubt. Coaches, parents, and athletes will come away from this episode with a clearer sense of why that internal pathway matters and what gets in the way of helping athletes build it.   Want to learn more about Coach Wester and Wrestling Prep? Instagram: @wrestlingprep Website: wrestlingprep.com Online courses: courses.wrestlingprep.com

In this episode of the Wrestling Prep Podcast, Carolyn Wester, Drew Morgan, and Coach Cornell Robinson have an honest conversation about what happens when adult egos begin to outweigh athlete development, and the real consequences that follow. Carolyn and Cornell start by laying out the coaching principles that get lost when winning, perception, or control become the priority: serving the athlete, protecting long-term academic and personal growth, and maintaining ethical leadership even when it costs a coach professionally. Cornell then shares his firsthand experience navigating a situation where internal politics and power struggles ultimately led to his removal as head coach, despite clear athlete outcomes and progress during his tenure. Throughout the discussion, the group reflects on how rumor, fear, and “us vs. them” thinking damage programs, erode trust, and place kids in the middle of adult conflicts they never asked for. They also explore how experienced coaches develop perspective over time, learning to prioritize trajectory over individual results, and people over optics. In this Episode Vidal, Cheche (2024) Fair Competition: Sports competition and the pursuit of excellence as the essence of modern sports Want to learn more about Coach Wester and Wrestling Prep? Instagram: @wrestlingprep Website: wrestlingprep.com Online courses: courses.wrestlingprep.com