We Roll Out The Mats with Charlie Grygas, NYS High School State Place Finisher-3rd, 2019 @160lbs, 3x NCAA Division 3 Qualifier, NCAA D3 All American 2020 @165lbs., 2023 @174lbs. Charlie shares his thoughts on what has led to his success and the life lessons he's gained from the sport of wrestling.
This is Roll Out The Mats. From the studios of Marra Entertainment on the Marra Entertainment Network. Rob Giumarra here with you. And Charlie Grygas. A New York State high school, State Place finisher, third in 2019 at 160. And a three-time NCAA Division Three qualifier along with NCAA Division Three All American in years 2020 at 165 and in 2023. At 174 Charlie, thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me, man. Yeah, absolutely. So, we're going to get right into it. Of course, we want to thank our friends at Mary Entertainment on the network, where you can, as a reminder, make sure you smash those buttons, like subscribe wherever you get your favorite podcasts as well. So, we're going to talk about a few things here in this first episode of Roll Out the Mats. And it begins with the offseason. And then we'll get into our escape, our takedowns, and our back point segments later on in the show. But Charlie, let's just get right into it here. The off season. When does it start? You know, really depends on the mentality and it depends on the wrestler, but I think the best wrestling, the best wrestler’s offseason, it really begins right when it's all done. Take a little time to yourself and reflect. You know right when your season ends and figure out how things went and then. Right then get right to it in the following week, you know now do you. What does that look like? Or is that relative to each wrestler as far as physically, mentally, emotionally, maybe spiritually? What does that look like in terms of what that break should look like and what is it? What does it need to include and what does it need to include? Let's answer that question first. What does that that gap between? The last match. And. The this, That season, in between. What does it need to include? Um, well, first and foremost, like, like I was just saying, I think. I think it's really important, like when the season ends, to just start with a session, to just reflect on everything, that everything that you experienced and went through the season. So, kind of just by reflecting, I mean, you know, things that you think you did right and then the things you think you need to change in the season to come. So, I know I've definitely done this. It's something that I always have done. Unconsciously and I think it's really healthy to sit down alone with your thoughts for a while and this could be in different segments, doesn't have to be all at once, just you know when you have time to yourself just think about, you know how things played out in in the reason they played out that way. OK, so you're taking a mental inventory of the season in and of itself. As it relates to that time from the last time, you're on the mat. To the time you start your, your wrestling, your offseason program. Um, physically, what does that look like? What does that. What should that. Look like? We talked about it mentally, but physically there's the physical aspect of it. I think, I think a lot of people tend to take a break and just kind of let loose and let their body heal up because, you know, by the end of that season, I think so many wrestlers are kind of banged up. Nobody goes, nobody goes into that NCAA tournament completely healthy. Everybody's hurting. So, I think, I think a lot of people take a take some time. I know I certainly do like take your time to just let your body heal and that feels good. It's nice to not have obligations at the moment as you do throughout the season. But I think sometimes, I think sometimes people, uh. You know, they overdo it a little bit and they string along that time off, they start putting on weight. You see wrestlers. Quote UN quote. They get fat in the offseason. They always talk about, Oh yeah, I'm fat now. I think it's good to give yourself that time, but it's also good to Just be doing something. And you know, I always know I have to be doing something. I feel like a slob if I just start sitting around like immediately after just running and just making sure your body and mind are still connected. On that level, where you know when you're a wrestler, you're in top physical form, so. To let yourself go right after the season is I don't think it's good. I think it's necessary to keep things, keep things operating, keep your body moving, even if you're not wrestling right off the bat. Just to be doing something. So, you talked about something really important there for a second. So, I want to kind of park it there for a moment. You talked about the mental and physical aspect of it, of the wrestling season and how it's important not to kind of let yourself go mentally and physically. So, there's that portion of it. Now you have to marry. The two have to be married together, so. Mentally and physically. In high school? When you were in high school, how much time did you give yourself off in high school? Um, you know, in high school I didn't. I never really put much thought into the into the process. I just kind of did it. I just kind of did what I was told. You know, and I think that was, I think that was really good for me the way I the way I operate as an athlete, right. Because I just didn't. I just didn't ask questions. I didn't, I didn't even, you know, I didn't care really to take time off so. You know, so mentally, so mentally, you had already in the process of it all you had given yourself. You've already built it into your psyche that I'm going to take this amount of time off mentally, physically. I'm going to do something during that time. Nonetheless, it doesn't necessarily have to be wrestling. Affiliated with wrestling or any training or physical demands that wrestling puts on use for his bat time, or just even going back to the wrestling club, you did something that physically and mentally kept you sharp And then. You carried that into your collegiate career, So what was the difference between? Well, let me ask you this, Did someone have to tell you to do that in high school? Was that something that you did on your own? Um. No, actually, I don't think anybody really had to tell me, right. But I think, I think my, you know, my parents were so invested in my dad especially was so invested and he was, he was never the typical rapper, you know? You know, the crazy dad who's throwing me into everything he can. He kind of left it up to me, but I think subconsciously I kind of knew how much it mattered to him still, even though he was so chill about everything. Got it. But I think knowing how much he cared it, it made me want to just be the best I could, you know, for myself. But, you know, I think for him a bit too, you know? OK, so your kind of. You. Kind of. You kind of wanted to give something back to him in that regard, so in your collegiate career so far? What? What? How much time do you give yourself off between the between your last match and now as you gear up for your offseason? Well, it's funny this you know, I guess I I'm not practicing what I preach in this particular circumstance but OK when this when this past season ended, I gave myself quite a bit of time off and. It's funny. I actually didn't do like anything for like a few weeks after the season ended. I just, you know, I, you know, I did the sober season. So, I, you know, I don't drink at all during the season that that six-month period, right? And I think a lot of, I think a lot of guys do, actually even some of the top guys in the D3 world do like they're drinking throughout it. And so, I always felt like I had that edge on everybody. OK, gotcha. So, then I kind of told myself, you know, when it ended, I deserve this, I deserve some, you know, some time to go out and just be an idiot for a little bit after being good for so long, right? Give yourself or it's a self-reward. Yeah, exactly. But that being said. With the connection of the body and mind. When I think it starts with the body help, a healthy mind starts with a healthy body. And I think when you let your body go, your mind starts to go. You know, OK, so yeah, you get what I'm saying. Yeah. So, so you know, for our audience, it's we know when it starts. It starts when sounds like when you are mentally. Physically and emotionally or invested in the process. And that really comes down to a. Personal commitment. Yes, or no? Yes, and the standard that you set as a wrestler. Yes. So, in other words. From what I'm gathering and for our audience to kind of give it to them. Is that? It's up to you. To make the choice in your mind and your thought. And then translate that thought into execution in terms of what you. Are prepared for emotionally. And then physically, to get yourself in the right frame of mind, how do you do it? How do you do it physically in the offseason? How do I get myself in the right frame of mind? Well, how do you get yourself? Let's, let's, let's take it by segments. Let's take it here mentally. How do you get yourself prepared for the offseason? During the offseason, what do you do? I start trying to make progress again. I started trying to I start trying to lift, you know the offseason for a lot of athletes. I think any sport is you know, big time lifting and when you see those results in the gym that's going to help your mind. You know you want to you want to keep making those strides I think so that there's a pay that. Physical payoff of seeing the results of what you've invested in, OK. Yeah, I think it's a payoff. That's a good way of putting it. And when you see that payoff, it's just motivation. And that's, that's anything you do in life, you know? Yeah. When you see that payoff, it's like, oh, you know, I can't stop now, right? Whereas when you're sitting around for a little bit, it's like. You know, you can keep doing the, you know, put it off till tomorrow thing. Got it. But if you're seeing results and you're climbing the ladder, you know you don't want to go down even one step on that ladder. Once you start seeing results, what have you done mentally to prepare yourself in the offseason? I was actually just talking to my coach, um, you know, a week or two ago about, you know, he pulled me aside. He goes, you know, how's, how's the whole manifestation of this national championship coming? Because that, you know, that's the next goal, that's the next thing for us is the national championship, the D3 National Championship, right. And he said, like, how's that going mentally because. A big part that my coaches at, you know, try to try to implement into me is. You know, the mental manifestation. So, I just told him, I, you know, I've been visualizing a lot. So, I think the offseason is a good time for visualization because when you visualize, it becomes, you know, it starts to become a reality. When you just keep visualizing something, you keep seeing it play out in your mind. I've, you know, I've sat, and I've actually had dreams about it, which is funny. It's cliche, but you have dreams and you, you just sit, you have daydreams and then you dream in the night about, you know, you pulling off this feat that you want to pull off. Right. And when you can see it. Then you can speak it and then it can kind of happen, right? So, you're mentally getting your mind ready, your thoughts are gearing up your physically, emotionally. In that, in that in that capacity, because I like what you're sharing here. And I think it's important. Emotionally, now you park yourself in that lane. And when you think about the national championship, what are you feeling? I'm feeling what I think about the national championship. Sometimes I feel kind of like. This is it. You know, this is like, this is like what I've been training for in my whole life, you know, but I don't necessarily think that's the healthiest way of seeing it. So, you know, there's that, there's the company, wrestling, mindset, mindset, training for wrestlers. So, you know, the team did that and I had one-on-one sessions with the. With the guy Coach Bridge was named his great, great mentor for it and a big thing he would talk about is like, don't make anyone match more important than another match, even if it's a national finals match. If you're telling yourself beforehand, this is it. This is what we've been training for. This is what it all comes down to. You you're building it up, in a sense. Where that could be overwhelming that could be too much, right. So, he's where's if you see that match the same way you see the, you know the first match of the season where it's just another match you're wrestle free and relaxed how you should how you should wrestle got it so. So now there's this, you know I'm a big proponent. Of. Of. Of connecting the spiritual with the physical. And part of that is you know all that components of that. And when I say spiritual, I'm not trying to. I'm not trying to. Create a new religion or convert anybody? When I use that phrase, when I say it, I mean spiritual meaning. It there is a, there is a. Um, what I believe is a spiritual side of us that is has the capability of seeing things beyond the physical of what we see because we look at things in time and events and we often we have we look back. To measure our success. But what it sounds like he's trying to get you guys to do is to look forward. Towards your success. Because the past is the past. You know and what's ahead of you is the is a is a place in time. That can be something. More than you imagine, but it's the it's the human imagination that takes us into great thinkers, great philosophers or what have you. So, I I'm fully on board with that last question and this segment. You stay at your weight or do you go up? Next season or in the offseason, I think for let's talk about at the high school level, because the high school level, you see a lot of kids who will go up and wait and then. Or make way to the certain weight and then go up during the season. Let's speak to give me 30 seconds on. Highs for high school wrestlers stay at their weight or go up. Um. I believe everybody should lift in and get as strong as possible and then see where that takes them. I'm not somebody who's ever really had a plan. As far as weight, I think it's important to just kind of do what's best for your body and see where your body wants to go. Just allow your allow your body to kind of do what it wants to do, and then whatever you think the healthiest decision is, when the time comes, make the decision based on where you're already at. OK. In the in the collegiate ranks with the Division One, Division Three, let's talk to what you know about Division Three. Do you go up and wait, or do you stay where you're at? Personally, I stay where I'm at because OK, once 174 is a good spot for me because you know, I got to cut a little weight, but it's nothing crazy. And then if I go down to 165, I'm killing myself, 184 is too big, 174 I feel like I'm kind of just my body's good for that spot. But it really depends on how people are feeling and again, going back to reflecting on your season, what could have been done differently, maybe if I didn't suck so much weight. Uh, maybe if I stayed a little healthier and just rest with what I weigh. So maybe that's something to factor into your next season. It all comes down to reflection. Right, OK. Alright, let's go into our escape segment and in our escape segment here we want to ask three questions you need to ask yourself every day as a wrestler or. Blank. Well, I think one of them are. One of the things you need to ask yourself is um. You know, what's my goal for this season? Hmm. You know, manifesting that goal is important. So, what I do is I just, you know, I simplify the goal into, you know, like a four- or five-word phrase. And then I write it on a sheet of paper every single morning. And then some mornings I forget, but whatever, you know, and you just wake up, grab the pen off the desk, write it down on that paper. I actually had a little system. I had the paper tacked up on the wall right above my desk. I'd write 2023 national champion on it this year. And then after I wrote, I put the pen down, I'd slapped the paper. And then that was it. And. That's part of the visualization thing. Seeing it out and writing, putting it in writing, putting it in writing and then seeing it as minuscule as it is, it's a small win for the day. You did that. You know you wrote it out on that paper and now it's there. Now it exists, right? So, it's there. And it going. It ain't leaving. Gotcha. Alright, so. You got that. What's the second question? You're going to ask yourself every day as a wrestler. I think the second question is probably am I doing what needs to be done to achieve that goal? So those two kind of go hand in hand. You know, I've had to ask myself that question, or maybe not deliberately ask myself, but I've had realizations before. We're OK. Maybe things like that are not the best idea right now. OK, so you got to add. I think we'd all be naive and foolish. Third question you're going to ask yourself every day as a wrestler. This third, third question, Um. Well, let's see. What's my goal? Am I doing what I need to achieve my goal? And. Hmm. I guess I'm drawing a blank now to be honest. It's alright. Listen, those are two questions that if you can answer those two questions, maybe the third question is perhaps you know what are do I, what kind of expectations do I set on this season, I mean it's your goal but. Are your goals crazy enough? Meaning are they adventurous enough to push you beyond the realm of what you physically think? Maybe the third question is just really a challenge question to say. I'm going to push beyond. What I think these first two goals are possible to be and go beyond that. What's beyond that? And that's the maybe that's the question you can ask yourself. Alright, let's go over to our takedown section as we pivot over, it's what every parent needs to know about the offseason and these are questions that well we have about. Just under 10 minutes left in the program, what does every parent need to know about the offseason? How far should I push knowing when to back off asking the right questions to your you know, your collegiate and high school wrestlers? How far should parents push Charlie? Um. From my personal experience, I would say I don't believe parents should push that hard. To be honest, in the offseason, as weird as that sounds, I think a big part of the offseason should be enjoying the sport. I think in season it's intense. It's like it's important to, you know, push as hard as you can. I think the offseason. Should be in the hands of more the wrestler a little bit, right? And if the wrestler isn't somebody that wants to push themselves completely? Then maybe it's not. Maybe it's not the right thing that they're doing. If it's if it's the parent. Just I've seen so many parents I think like just drill their kids like, OK, we need to go here, here, here, here, here, all these tournaments every weekend. And I think it burns kids out because, like they genuinely don't want to be doing it. Right where is. I think encouragement and guidance is, you know, that's a whole different story. And that's kind of what I experienced. My childhood II was always just kind of encouraged and guided. And just with that, I developed like a love for it and I still love the sport, whereas I know so many kids that are like, oh man, I can't, you know, I can't wait to, you know, just to be graduating and be done. And I I've never felt that way because I was never, I was never burnt out and I think I was just kind of healthily pushed and that kind of. You know, I did everything I could in the offseason because of that because I genuinely wanted to. And then now when you're when you talk about that, your parents obviously had a conversation with you. You obviously would talk to your dad or your mom or both. And they were part of that conversation. Could you tell they knew when to back off? I don't think, to be honest, I don't think they ever had a problem coming on too hard where they felt like they had to back off, right? You know, that's just not who my parents are. They were always kind of laid back, but I'd say the time to back off when. You know. You see any ounce of like. Any ounce of discontent in in in the kid wrestling, right, I mean. Because at that point you might, you might make small strides drill in your child. In forcing them to do. You know certain things, but I don't think you're going to make like healthy mind and body. Powerful strides, you know, I don't think you're going to really make the strides you need to be making you. You're make some physical you. You might be in better shape or something at the time being, but you're not. You're not helping in the long run, I don't think. Yeah. So, you're not playing, You're playing the short game as opposed to the long game. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. Yeah. So, you're playing, you're, you're now. What are the right questions to ask? What are the right questions to ask as a parent? If you were a parent, or if you could, You've seen those parents in the stands. I've seen them. My experience as having. Three of my sons, one of which is your best friend and roommate. Yeah, but. It was. You know what the right questions are to ask because you know as a parent you always want. What's best for your kids? And sometimes the. What I appreciate about a wrestling is there's an honest assessment that you get right away that's sobering and if you can, last in a season. And you can mentally do it. It is exhausting, but the reward at the end of the day I've seen it, is the most. The most. Fantastic individuals I've met. Their mind, Their thoughts. Their work ethic. A wrestlers like they have an untenable. Thirst for greatness and doing things to a level where. You don't have to coach them up as much. Now, of course, as a kid, there's some maturity that you have to learn. But you know, like I've always asked my sons, you know, listen, how far do you want to go with this? How far do you want to push it? And sometimes I would, you know, make demands, and say, listen, you've got to do this if you want to be great. You can't talk it. If your checks, if you're going to write that check, you're asked to be able to cash it. That's it. You're writing checks on your own *** out there, so you better be prepared for that. So, are those the right questions to ask? Yeah, I think those are the right questions. But it's also such a hard thing to assess because you know, parenting is parenting as far as I know. I'm, you know, I'm 22, obviously I'm not a parent, right. Parenting something that, you know it seems it's never done perfectly, no matter how good somebody is, never done perfectly. So, you know, even, you know, my parents were great and I'm super, I'm super grateful to them. But yeah, there's absolutely things they that they that they were flawed in. Even in regard to wrestling. Yep. Yeah, I remember coming off a match and I beat the kid like 10 is an offseason tournament out in Lake Placid. The Pop and Flow Nationals beat them, beat them 10. And my mom's like, you didn't do anything. Why didn't you do anything? I'm like, shut up like. You want to get out on that mat. And uh, you know, sometimes things like that are like who? Who does that help? Oh, didn't help me. It just made me feel like crap. I was just like, OK, you know what? We're done. Let's go home. Oh, that's funny. Alright, so sometimes I think the right the right questions are just. Just really hard to figure out. And you got to figure out your son or your you know, your daughter for that matter too. You know, girls wrestling is huge too. Now let me let me ask you this. So. You. You can ask yourself the right question, but maybe the right question you need to ask as a parent, as yourself is. How is this going to help them? Is it is it only going to serve me or is it going to serve them? And I'm yeah, And am I prepared to listen to their response. For either, I don't want to talk about it right now. I don't have anything to say. I don't know or I don't care right now either way. That’s those are those signs that. If you had, if you had 30 seconds to say. To some, to summarize it, would that be? A wrestler who's just tapped out mentally like he just needs a break. Yeah, I think. I think sometimes it's a wrestler that needs a break. And that second, that second point you made, does it just serve me, or does it serve them as well? That's a huge one because that's how it is for so many parents, I think. I think you’re; I think you're right on. Hey, I think we got something to roll over into the next the next episode. So, I tell you what we got some things we didn't get to in this episode, but Charlie's going to join us in episode 2. So, what we're going to do is we're going to table that, but that's going to lead us into. Something that's far more interesting, and that's the perspective that we as parents need to have and have a healthier appreciation of it. Because eventually, you know, if you're not a wrestler, if you weren't a wrestler as a parent, as a child growing up and as a parent now to a wrestler, you really don't understand what those demands are. You don't. I think it takes a lot of a lot of. Inventory of yourself. But we'll table that for now. We'll put that on to the next episode. So, you'll have to come back for episode 2. How about that? How? Charlie, we're going to make them come back. We gave them a little taste. We're going to pull it back and now we're going to make them come back for more. How about that? It sounds good. I think it does too. Alright, I lost you for a second. Yeah, that's alright. You need to switch your phone. That's alright, Charlie. Alright, so we're going to wrap up this episode, Episode one of Roll Out The Mats One thank Charlie Grygas who's here with us and we want to thank him for joining us here on Roll Out the Mats One to think our friends at Marin Tournament who allow us to use their studios here at the Marin to Tainment Network. This has been episode one of Roll Out The Mats on the Marra Entertainment Network and of course, I'm your host, Rob Giumarra. We'll see you next time and the soon time. This has been Roll Out The Mats.