Brandon Slay: Developing a World Class Ankle Pick and Single Leg

Olympic Champion and USA National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay shares world class techniques on developing an unstoppable ankle pick and single leg series at the USA Wrestling Coaching Clinic (in conjunction with the 2016 Olympic Trials).

Coach Slay demonstrates the proper mechanics and position for stance, set-ups, and various finishes to the ankle pick and single leg that are being taught and used at the Olympic Training Center by wrestlers such as Kyle Snyder and David Taylor. Additionally, Slay shares examples of realistic match situations to illustrate how and when to use these techniques, as well as how to get wrestlers ready for competition.

Evaluating Your Opponent's Stance and Position

Even at the world level, stance and position are critical for success. Coach Slay reinforces the correct stance and position on your feet and shows you how to quickly evaluate your opponent's weaknesses and your potential scoring opportunities based on their stance. Through simple observation of your opponent's tendencies, he shows how you will be able to understand the key match strategies to employ based on if your opponent is a left foot or right foot lead.

Set-Ups: Why Most Collar Ties are Done Incorrectly

Success with the ankle pick starts with a proper understanding of how to collar tie properly. Most wrestlers use the collar tie incorrectly to passively hold their opponent's head.

Coach Slay will change the way you collar tie by turning it into an aggressive-offensive position. You'll learn the right way to push and pull with the collar tie, and then how to quickly move your opponent laterally to successfully set up the attack. He also reveals the three most common control ties used in wrestling and shares his thoughts on the best tie to use in both an offensive and defensive situation.

Coaching tips are provided on getting wrestlers ready for competition, including the use of offense/defense drills to simulate realistic match-like situations. Understanding the importance of when to go offensive and when to go defensive will stop your athletes from losing in the final minutes of a match.

Executing Set-ups and Finishes to Ankle Picks

Coach Slay covers the "Five Keys to Wrestling" that every wrestler should understand to keep excellent position when finishing any leg attack. By stressing the proper footwork, motion, control ties, and level change, he demonstrates the mechanics of the ankle pick that are used at the world level for Olympic-level athletes. Multiple finishes from these positions are taught as a plan for attacking both sides of your opponent's body.

How to Transition Into Other Leg Attacks

The ankle pick also serves as a great transition into other leg attacks, because you are now under your opponent's hips, and the nature of the attack makes it hard to defend against without exposing oneself to another take down. Coach Slay shows how to easily transition into a double, single and low-single leg attack when your opponent successfully defends the ankle pick, and how to finish these leg attacks (and potentially finish with a leg lace.)

Ankle picks are often used as a setup to transition into other leg attacks. This is great psychologically because the wrestler knows that if they fail, they have other options, allowing them to shoot without hesitation. In essence, the ankle pick is a great attack because it allows you to chain from one offensive move to another.

How to Finish the Single Leg Attack

After transitioning to a single leg, Slay shows the three most common ways to defend the single leg attack, and how to counter them to get the take down. You will learn how to counter when your opponent:

• Defends by hipping into you, like in folkstyle wrestling
• How to turn the corner when they have sprawled
• How to counter when they reach over the top of you

As a bonus, you'll also learn how to properly transition from an ankle pick to a single leg to prevent your opponent from defending with a kick out - a common defense used in international freestyle competition. Slay also shows how to easily turn your opponent's attempt to stall with a shin whizzer into an outside single leg attack.

The ankle pick, when setup properly, does not require a high level of athleticism or explosiveness. Wrestlers of all levels can successfully learn the ankle pick with a minimum learning curve. Slay shares the best techniques and strategies to help all wrestlers and their coaches to know what to do to continue to improve and reach their goals.

Produced at the 2016 USA Wrestling Silver Coaches Clinic in Iowa City (IA).

89 minutes. 2016.