The Girls Wrestling Off-Season Checklist: What to Work On Between Seasons

The off-season isn't a break from becoming a better wrestler. But it should include actual breaks.

When the last tournament ends, it's tempting to make a giant list of everything you want to fix before next season. Better shots. Stronger finishes. More confidence. More conditioning. All of it, immediately.

Here's a better idea: choose a few things that matter, give yourself a plan you can live with, and make room for rest and everything else you love.

The off-season is an opportunity to develop skills, build healthy routines, and return to the mat feeling prepared—not burned out. Use this checklist to figure out where to focus.

1. Look back before you look ahead

Before setting new goals, take an honest look at the season you just finished.

• What improved the most?

• What situations kept giving me trouble?

• When did I feel most confident?

• What am I proud of that had nothing to do with wins?

Write down three things you learned. Then choose one or two priorities to carry forward. You don't have to rebuild your entire wrestling game in one summer.

2. Choose a skill to own

Pick one wrestling area you'd love to feel more confident in next season: hand fighting, set-ups, finishes, bottom position, mat returns, defense, or something your coach suggests.

Get specific. "Get better on bottom" becomes "practice a stand-up with better hand control and consistent movement."

Ask your coach for age-appropriate drills and feedback. Keep notes on the details that are starting to click. Skill-building works best when you can repeat good technique with intention.

3. Build strength the smart way

Strength and conditioning can help support wrestling, but the right program depends on your age, experience, and overall training schedule.

Work with a qualified coach on good form, sensible progression, and an appropriate balance of strength, conditioning, and recovery. Don't copy an advanced athlete's workout just because it looks impressive online.

Track what you can do with good technique. Small, steady improvements matter more than chasing a number or comparing yourself with teammates.

4. Make time for mobility, movement, and recovery

Your body needs time to adapt to training. Recovery isn't something you earn only when you're exhausted.

Check in with your coach about warm-ups, movement quality, mobility work, and reasonable rest days. If something hurts, don't treat a journal entry as a substitute for medical advice. Tell a trusted adult, coach, athletic trainer, or healthcare professional.

Try tracking how your body feels throughout the week instead of measuring success by how tired you are afterward.

5. Fuel the athlete you're becoming

Food and hydration help support growth, school, training, and recovery. They aren't rewards for hard workouts or things to restrict when you're not competing.

Notice the basics: Are you eating regularly? Do you have energy for activities? Are you drinking fluids throughout the day? Do you feel recovered enough to enjoy training?

Avoid rapid weight cutting or dehydration practices. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that unsafe weight-control practices can harm young wrestlers. For individual nutrition or weight-class questions, involve a parent or guardian and an appropriately qualified professional.

6. Train your mindset, too

Confidence isn't just something you either have or don't have. It can grow through preparation, reflection, and doing hard things even when you feel nervous.

Choose a mindset goal for the off-season:

• Ask questions when you don't understand something.

• Try a new technique even if it feels awkward at first.

• Practice resetting after mistakes.

• Notice one good thing about each training session.

Write down the moments when you handled something better than you would have last season. Those are worth keeping.

7. Keep a life outside wrestling

You are a wrestler. You are also a friend, student, daughter, sister, artist, gamer, musician, or about a hundred other things.

Go swimming. Take a trip. Hang out with friends. Try another activity. Read something that has nothing to do with sports.

The goal is to return to wrestling feeling excited to be there. Personal growth counts even when it isn't happening on a mat.

8. Check in monthly, not obsessively

You don't need an off-season spreadsheet with 40 metrics. Try a short monthly review:

One thing I practiced: What got my attention this month?

One thing that improved: What's easier or more comfortable now?

One thing I need: More support, more consistency, more rest, or a different plan?

One thing I'm excited for: What am I looking forward to next?

If your priorities change, adjust the plan. That's not failure. That's paying attention.

Your simple off-season game plan

You can build a useful plan in ten minutes:

1. Write down one technical goal to work on with your coach.

2. Choose one healthy habit that supports your energy or recovery.

3. Pick one personal goal that has nothing to do with wrestling.

4. Decide when you'll review your progress.

That's enough to get started. Your coach can help you fit training around school, other sports, rest, and what your body needs.

Built different doesn't mean training nonstop. It means learning how to put in meaningful work, recover, and keep growing between the moments everyone else sees.

Explore the BUILT DIFFERENT Off-Season Journal, or check out the In-Season + Off-Season journal bundle if you want one home for your goals throughout the wrestling year. For more ideas, see how to track your wrestling progress during the season.