Gene Zannetti talks with legendary Olympian and camp director Ken Chertow about how he developed his mindset as an athlete through persistence and hard work despite not being a naturally gifted kid, what the biggest mental hurdles are for college wrestlers, why evaluating matches on process rather than outcome is what separates good from great, and how the Latin root of confidence, to trust, means you have to actually put the work in to have something to trust.

Timestamps:

1:33 - How Ken developed his mindset

3:13 - Intensity and calm focus need to coexist

9:50 - Joey Kangaroo: plugging away since sixth grade, now Harvard wrestling captain

16:51 - Biggest mental challenge for wrestlers: self-confidence and believing in yourself

20:25 - Wrestle the man's body not his name, Nate Carr's advice that still holds up

29:39 - Evaluate matches on process not outcome: did you make the first attack, did you hustle back

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Gene Zannetti talks with Nebraska state champion JT Smith about starting with Wrestling Mindset in eighth grade to fix a confidence problem that was holding him back despite having the technique and athleticism to beat top-level guys, how shifting from a prey mindset to a predator mindset unlocked his aggression on the mat, pinning his first two state tournament opponents in a combined 35 seconds, and his goals of graduating from West Point and making a U20 Greco or freestyle national team.

Timestamps:

1:41 - Started with Wrestling Mindset with a confidence problem

2:54 - The prey mindset: going in timid, not ready to attack or score

3:18 - Feels ready at 100% almost every time he steps on the mat

5:23 - Got sick mid-season, had to come back and rebuild conditioning

6:23 - Teched everyone at districts, pinned first two state opponents in under 50 seconds combined

8:36 - Two best friends lost in the state finals right before his match

10:11 - Took an injury timeout in the finals, refocused, and pulled away to win 11 to 2

14:52 - Going to West Point, wants to be an All-American and make a U20 national team

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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What does it actually take to sustain excellence for over a decade at the highest level of sport — and still feel fulfilled?

Gene Zannetti sits down with 6x World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Jordan Burroughs for one of the most honest conversations in wrestling. Jordan opens up about his career journey, building a culture as a parent and coach, how faith became the missing piece in his pursuit of greatness, and why the key to raising champions starts long before they ever step on a mat.

Wrestling Mindset is proud to partner with Jordan's All I See Is Gold Academy — a shared mission to develop wrestlers who win on the mat and lead with character off it. This conversation is the heart of that partnership.

This episode is essential listening for every wrestling parent, coach, and athlete who wants to win the right way — with character, integrity, and purpose.

Timestamps:

2:22 - Youth wrestling assessment

3:01 - What NOT to do as a wrestling parent

5:38 - Building virtue and character first

11:21 - Is winning always worth it? Olympic and World Championship ceremony

15:51 - Are you growing as a parent?

19:01 - Leadership and Communication

23:47 - 4 Mindset Principles

26:49 - Building a Winning Culture in the Wrestling Room

34:11 - Pursuing true greatness after 1st world title

37:26 - Dremiel Byers lesson

41:20 - Learning from his peers Coleman Scott and Tervel Dlagnev

45:01 - Bo Bassett pace

47:45 - Jason Wilson parenting lesson

51:14 - Why Jordan is NOT retired

52:08 - Competing and training with a large family

55:59 - Honoring your family name

57:11 - Joe DeSena lesson work-life integration

58:33 - Wrestling as a family sport

1:05:14 - Leading USA wrestling

1:09:27 - What it's like as a Professional Athlete

1:11:48 - How to Navigate Fear

1:12:42 - Tervel Dlagnev message before World Championship

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

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Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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Gene Zannetti talks with Tennessee state champion Reed Loeffel about winning his first state title as a senior after joining Wrestling Mindset just two to three months before the tournament, how staying present and surrendering the outcome were the two biggest tools that kept him from choking on the biggest stage, pinning a two-time state champion in the finals who had beaten him twice during the season, and why even wrestlers who don't think they have a mindset problem can benefit from just having someone to talk to.

Timestamps:

2:30 - Joining Wrestling Mindset two to three months before states

3:02 - Staying present and not thinking ahead

3:43 - Surrendering the outcome, learning how to actually apply it

4:02 - Even without a big problem, just talking to someone about mindset makes a huge difference

6:44 - Wrestling completely free after the comeback

7:27 - Finals day: staying present through eight to ten hours of waiting

8:17 - State finals: pinned a kid who had beaten him twice during the season

11:18 - Training five to six times a week with club, headed to Stevens Institute of Technology

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.

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Gene Zannetti talks with Virginia Tech wrestler and U20 US Open champion Ryan Burton about winning the US Open after moving back up to his natural weight and falling back in love with the sport, how stacking small daily wins in training gave him the confidence to compete at his best, why writing motivational phrases on his locker a month before the tournament kept him locked in on his purpose, and what it's like training alongside Bo Bassett and James Green at Virginia Tech as they build toward a national team championship.

Timestamps:

1:39 - Won the US Open U20 after moving back to natural weight and enjoying wrestling again

2:21 - Trusting the training and stacking small wins to get over the hump

4:39 - Faith at Saint Joe's: Vir Fidelis and a religion teacher who changed his life

6:08 - Iron Horse Wrestling Club and the people who shaped his career

7:26 - Ditching traditional lifting for lean explosive training with John Wilkins

9:23 - Mindset going into the World Team Trials finals

11:39 - Finding purpose in training: everything I'm doing is preparing me for this

13:10 - Virginia Tech training with Bo Bassett, Japanese world-level wrestlers, and James Green

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

🥗 Eat Clean Bro – eatcleanbro.com

Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.

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For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email [email protected]

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Gene Zannetti talks with Maryland state champion Cash Wheat about his three-year journey with Wrestling Mindset from a confidence-struggling sophomore to a dominant state champion, how building a confidence anchor using a simple leg slap helped him attack instead of hesitate, developing a warrior alter ego that transformed him the moment he stepped on the mat, and how the mindset work spilled over into his daily life giving him the confidence to talk to new people and feel like he belongs with high-level guys.

Timestamps:

1:44 - Focusing on confidence

2:34 - Bounced back with Coach Mike's help

4:25 - Confidence anchor: building the leg slap into a competitive trigger

5:50 - Alter ego strategy

7:10 - Mindset built confidence off the mat

9:13 - Committed to D3 at University of Lynchburg, targeting All-American

11:18 - The setback that fueled the state run

14:53 - Won the state finals 12-0 before pinning his opponent in the final period

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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.

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Gene Zannetti sits down with legendary wrestling coaches Ernie Monaco, Jeff Buxton, and Steve Rivera to discuss the biggest forces reshaping wrestling today, including why parents treating coaching as a transactional service undermines everything coaches build, how the club hopping epidemic creates gaps in wrestling IQ instead of linear development, why building champions starts with parents working on themselves first, the difference between coaching a boarding school environment versus a club where parents never fully let go, and why loyalty and long-term relationships are the foundation of every great wrestling career.

Timestamps:

1:54 - How Ernie saw the club wrestling explosion coming decades ago

5:09 - The transfer portal is destroying team culture

13:00 - Parents treat coaching as transactional and miss what coaches actually invest

22:00 - The European art metaphor: chipping away everything bad until beauty is revealed

31:56 - Building a champion starts with parents working on themselves first

34:15 - Blair's boarding environment built independence by removing parents from the equation

50:05 - Steve letting Sebastian take a year off in 8th grade and never questioning his commitment again

1:03:26 - Club hopping creates gaps in wrestling IQ by skipping from page one to page 200

1:14:00 - Gratitude as the bookend that puts every match in proper perspective

1:53:32 - The magic of coaching is always in the relationship, not the technique

2:20:00 - How money entering the sport is eroding the integrity of youth wrestling

2:57:00 - Wrestling's evolution: how athletic and physical the sport has become compared to 30 years ago

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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Gene Zannetti talks with Montana state champion Tegan Jones about winning his first state title as a senior after placing fourth the year before, how four years of mindset training helped him through trial and error to find what worked best for him, why hearing "believe in yourself" from an outside perspective who had accomplished what he wanted to do made all the difference, and how he applied the same wrestling principles of hard methodical work to get accepted into Penn and Brown while aspiring to become a surgeon.

Timestamps:

1:22 - Four years of mindset training through trial and error

3:44 - Placing fourth at states then pivoting for senior year

4:03 - Building self-confidence wrestling older guys as a freshman

5:06 - Why it's different hearing advice from an outside perspective

7:24 - Not worried about wins or losses, just focused on performing

9:20 - Fortune favors the bold: Aristotle quote before state finals

12:38 - Applying wrestling principles to get into Ivy League schools

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to the podcast and go through the archives to hear more great episodes.

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Gene Zannetti talks with Pennsylvania state champion Chase Randolph about winning his first state title and then the US Open freestyle championship just weeks later, how mindset training helped him stop losing to kids he should beat and start beating kids he never beat before, why surrendering the result and focusing only on effort and attitude made him feel free on the mat, and how he wrestled 12 matches in two days at the US Open after losing first round in Greco then flipping the switch to win freestyle.

Timestamps:

1:13 - Skeptical of mindset training at first

2:20 - Felt a lot more free at Kids Focused on Nationals

2:36 - Surrender the result and focus on what you control

4:12 - Wrestling for myself, not caring what people think

5:08 - Trusting his mindset coach's knowledge and experience

9:03 - Losing first round in Greco then winning six straight in freestyle

11:45 - Finding the good in every day and fixing weaknesses

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

🥗 Eat Clean Bro – eatcleanbro.com

Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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 [email protected]

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Gene Zannetti talks with Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion Jordan Burroughs about the partnership between Wrestling Mindset and All I See Is Gold Academy, why mindset becomes more important as you get older in the sport, how youth wrestling is 100% mental because young athletes lack physical strength and technical skill, and why he trusts Wrestling Mindset's approach.

Timestamps:

1:15 - Wrestling mindset percentage depends on where you are in life

1:46 - Youth wrestling is 100% mental at this age

3:33 - Why Wrestling Mindset: you're wrestlers who've been in the game

6:18 - Memorizing foundational mindset principles

7:51 - Goal one: learning to fail forward without losing enthusiasm

8:33 - Goal two: creating people who are insanely driven and disciplined

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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 [email protected]

🎙Stay connected with Wrestling Mindset

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Gene Zannetti talks with New York state champion Ryker Cox about winning his first state title as a junior at 160 pounds, how working on his mindset helped him jump levels in wrestling by staying focused one step at a time, why his reset button became raising his eyebrows to mentally reset between sequences, how key losses during the season lit a fire under him and made him a completely different wrestler, and wrestling through pneumonia and the flu to win a tournament just weeks before states.

Timestamps:

2:14 - Following his dad's footsteps

4:46 - Placing fourth at states lit a fire for the offseason

6:00 - Mindset helped him jump levels in wrestling

8:23 - His reset button is raising his eyebrows

10:00 - The loss that changed his whole season

10:43 - Wrestling through pneumonia and the flu

11:40 - Breaking through his mental block at Eastern States

13:28 - Hiring an assistant coach for practice partners

14:12 - Coming in as the one seed and establishing dominance

🎯 This episode is sponsored by:

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Use code MINDSET for 15% off your order

💪 Champion Athletes Sports Nutrition – champion-athletes.com

Use code MINDSET25 for a special discount

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 [email protected]

🎙Stay connected with Wrestling Mindset

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