Wrestling Mindset

Gene Zannetti talks with Ridge High School Head Coach Roy Dragon about the widening gap in high school wrestling, doing more than the top kids to close the distance, and why being a great person comes before being a great wrestler.Timestamps:3:49 - The evolution of New Jersey wrestling talent5:54 - Doing more than the top kids to close the gap7:17 - Social media's impact on young wrestlers10:34 - Watching and learning from elite wrestlers12:20 - The tight-knit wrestling community of the past16:06 - Public school mindset and representing your town20:06 - Creating great people first, wrestlers second21:45 - Wrestling is the toughest sport for parents too

Gene Zannetti talks with Warren Hills Head Coach K.C. Wanamaker about the importance of training your mind as much as your body, succeeding at public schools without making excuses, and why it's less about where you go and more about what you do when you're there.Timestamps:3:04 - Believe in yourself and train your mind4:17 - Wishing he had mindset training as an athlete8:18 - It's less about where you go, more about what you do9:00 - Building a high-level public school program11:44 - Stop making excuses and comparing to others15:03 - Competing against local powerhouse programs17:16 - Where athletes train and club opportunities19:29 - Building youth wrestling

Gene Zannetti reconnects with longtime friend and teammate Matt Stanzione, Head Coach of Mountain Lakes High School Wrestling, to talk about the highs and lows of coaching, the evolution of youth sports, and the lessons wrestling teaches far beyond the mat. From childhood memories and rivalry stories to navigating setbacks as a coach, this episode dives into why persistence, relationships, and resilience matter most.Timestamps:3:40 – Growing up teammates: football, baseball, wrestling, and more7:55 – Starting a coaching career while still in college13:22 – Building the Mountain Lakes program and early struggles18:48 – Stepping away after a low point and learning perspective25:10 – Coming back as head coach with renewed purpose32:14 – Balancing family, teaching, and coaching for 20+ years40:28 – The importance of multi-sport athletes and avoiding burnout47:15 – How COVID impacted feeder programs and rebuilding numbers53:20 – Why wrestling makes everything else in life feel easier1:05:44 – The power of rivalrie

Gene Zannetti talks with Parsippany Hills Head Coach Chris Wells about overcoming adversity in wrestling, how social media affects young athletes, and why building great human beings matters more than just winning matches.Timestamps:4:03 - The importance of mindset in competition8:16 - College struggles and rock bottom moments10:20 - Parents' unconditional support changing everything12:06 - Learning from losses more than wins15:27 - Wrestling the same opponent repeatedly17:06 - What the mind can overcome vs. hold us back from20:14 - Fear of failure leading to self-sabotage24:40 - Social media's impact on young wrestlers

Gene Zannetti talks with Coach John Azevado about the vocation of being a coach, the importance of pressure on wrestlers and their opponents, and why we change our mentality when wrestling a bigger name than us.Timestamps:6:45 - Showing freestyle to Kalika10:43 - Coaching from multiple perspectives13:03 - The vocation of being a coach15:34 - Wrestling culture on the East vs the West coast17:37 - Importance of pressure24:45 - How your pressure affects your opponent27:08 - Why we change mentality when we wrestle big names32:23 - The importance of faith

Gene Zannetti talks with Donnie DeFillipis about wrestling parents and how easily they lift up or bring down their kids without even knowing it. They discuss the messages parents send, how coaching the parents can help, and why it's so important to show their kids that they are learning with them too.Timestamps:1:15 - Parents are there to help10:05 - What messages are you sending your kids12:38 - There is a wrestling club on every corner15:58 - Listening to other parents more than coaches20:40 - Parents can't control themselves30:30 - Get better while having fun41:44 - Parents, admit when you're wrong45:46 - What's the best part of having a kid?

Gene Zannetti talks with World Champion Avtandil Kentchadze about his pressure-forward mindset, the training differences between the US and Russia, and the impact Coach Valentin has had on him.Timestamps:1:42 - Coach Valentin's impact4:58 - Pressure forward6:24 - Wrestling beginnings8:32 - Developing mindset11:50 - Everyone's system is different15:31 - American vs European style17:40 - Training in Russia20:16 - Competing at 86kg

Gene Zannetti talks with University of Pennsylvania Head Coach Matt Valenti about David Pottruck's $20 million donation to Penn, how this will impact facilities and training, and what the plans are for the team going forward.Timestamps:1:42 - Stake in the ground moment5:20 - Allocating funds9:00 - Impacting training centers 14:20 - The best wrestlers don't need the best facilities15:34 - Where the team is going18:58 - What colleges bring to the table21:34 - Penn history26:01 - New facilities

Gene Zannetti talks with US Olympic Coach Valentin Kalika about how it's harder to shift from Freestyle to Greco, why a Greco wrestler needs to have an engineer's mind, and why Judo is technically not wrestling.Timestamps:2:02 - Greco to Freestyle is an easier shift12:03 - A Greco mind needs to be like an engineer21:43 - Positions and angles25:29 - Tips for applying pressure34:00 - Mechanical difficulties in Freestyle38:42 - Judo is not wrestling43:47 - The best at applying pressure51:55 - Wrestling with a system

Gene Zannetti talks with Yianni Diakomihalis about losing and how it indicates the need to revisit and recorrect some minor issues. They talk about going up a weight class, the pros and cons of over- and underplanning, and touch on the topic of cutting weight and that it's not always the answer to a wrestler's problemsTimestamps:2:23 - Teaching at wrestling camps5:48 - Get in there and feel it11:09 - Thinking it through15:50 - Over and underplanning20:15 - Going up a weight class25:55 - Cutting weight is not always the answer32:31 - Navigating mindset through matches39:53 - A loss doesn't mean everything is off

Gene Zannetti reads the homily Pope Leo gave on the Jubilee of Sports. In his message, the Pope emphasizes the importance of perspective in sports and life. Through perspective, we gain spiritual strength to battle not just on the mat but through the difficulties of life, so that we consistently persevere to become better people.

Gene Zannetti gives his detailed Final X recap, going through all the weight classes and breaking down the wrestlers, matches, and surprises as Team USA starts to take shape. Timestamps:0:18 - Going through the weight classes5:42 - Competing when hurt8:36 - How age impacts performance16:30 - Yianni will be back24:21 - Feeling strong32:37 - Real Woods making World Team

Gene Zannetti talks with Josh Barr about his approach to life, how getting beat up on the mat will teach you more, which mindset to bring to which tournament, and the importance of staying relaxed.Timestamps:1:22 - Approaching life4:23 - Four themes of Penn State wrestling8:02 - It's good to get beat up9:29 - Mentality depending on the event13:47 - Staying fun and relaxed18:37 - Rapid questions

Gene Zannetti talks with Keegan O'Toole about wrestling through the season with an injury and his transition from wrestler to coach. They touch on wrestling paradoxes and how the one constant is glorifying God throughout his life.Timestamps:1:20 - Wrestling with an injury4:36 - Being a husband first9:19 - The paradoxes of the sport11:15 - God as a constant16:17 - The definition of success25:03 - How mentality equates to future successRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by:Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% offChampion Athletes Sports Nutrition, https://champion-athletes.com use promo code MINDSET25 for discounts. Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podcasts.For all

Gene Zannetti talks with Pete Reilly about balancing wrestling with other sports, how coaches are raising people, not just wrestlers, ensuring that they have a real childhood, and preparing them eventually for life when their wrestling careers is over.Timestamps:5:40 - Coaching different age groups8:26 - Balanced approach with other sports17:10 - Childhood should be an amazing time24:10 - Life after wrestling31:48 - Working through paradoxes38:17 - Raising people not just wrestlersRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by:Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% offChampion Athletes Sports Nutrition, https://champion-athletes.com use promo code MINDSET25 for discounts. Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-st

Gene Zannetti talks with U17 Freestyle World Team Trials Champion Keegan Bassett about his recent victory, the perks of growing up in a wrestling family, what motivates him more than anything, and how he'll use it, along with mindset training, to tackle the rest of the freestyle season.Timestamps:1:10 - Recapping WTT4:10 - Wrestling your partner8:28 - Being part of a wrestling family9:09 - Motivations and goals15:21 - Mindset training benefits16:23 - Approach to the freestyle seasonRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by:Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% offChampion Athletes Sports Nutrition, https://champion-athletes.com use promo code MINDSET25 for discounts.Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-st

Gene Zannetti talks with Coach Michael Blanchard about his newly released book, The Path We Take. They discuss how it's part Michael's origin story, part mindset guide, and how important it is the help kids find their own way in wrestling and life.Timestamps:1:00 - Extended wrestling camps6:04 - Looking at the bigger picture7:01 - The Path We Take book12:50 - Who the book is for17:05 - Letting your kids find their own way24:13 - Last year's winsRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by:Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% offChampion Athletes Sports Nutrition, https://champion-athletes.com use promo code MINDSET25 for discounts. Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podca

USA Olympic Coach Valentin Kalika and Gene Zannetti talk about the differences in wrestling around the world. From the money to be made, to switching between coaches, and how intensity and quality need to go hand in hand for a wrestler to truly succeed.Timestamps:3:56 - Champions are a family5:53 - The money in wrestling9:02 - The downside of jumping coaches11:32 - Wrestling around the world15:17 - Intensity vs quality21:12 - Coaching Team USA GrecoRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% off.Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podcasts.For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email mindset@wrestlingmindset.com

Kyle Dake and Greg Accetta talk with Gene Zannetti about their newly released documentary. They talk about how it started, how being filmed can affect your behavior, and how a business partnership became a lasting friendship.Timestamps:2:55 - How the documentary started21:38 - Injuries that would break other wrestlers33:40 - Greg and Kyle meet for the first time49:27 - Creating a friendship51:33 - Dealing with naysayers57:26 - How filming affects your behaviorRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% off.Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podcasts.For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email mindset@wrestlingmindset.com

Dean Hamiti talks with Gene Zannetti about the NCAAs and what's next for him at Oklahoma State. He talks about the coaches there, his mindset going into every match, and what his path to the Olympics will look like.Timestamps:0:36 - After the NCAAs2:24 - How to put on a show4:14 - Wrestling David Taylor7:05 - Oklahoma State Coaches10:50 - Upcoming plans13:11 - Looking to the OlympicsRemember to use code "30DAYPODCAST" for $200 Off our 30 Day Mindset Transformation: https://wrestlingmindset.wufoo.com/forms/m1bttd1d0487c56/This podcast is also sponsored by Eat Clean Bro, visit their website https://eatcleanbro.com/ and use our discount code MINDSET for 15% off.Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.If you want to support the podcast, please leave a 5-star rating & review on Apple Podcasts.For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email mindset@wrestlingmindset.com