Riverton High School Wrestling

Riverton High School Wrestling This is the new page for your RHS wolverine wrestling team.

08/31/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Stop Protecting Your Ego

I read this post from Steve Magness and I thought it was great:

"We often give ourselves an out before we even start: "I didn't study much.", "I haven't started speed work.", "I didn't really care about it."

Underpreparation is a way to protect your ego. Our brain is protective. It wants to keep us safe. So giving yourself an out is a clever trick it plays. It allows you to numb some of the sting that potentially falling short brings. If you don't try, then you can always say, "If I would have tried, I would have won…"

But in trying to protect ourselves, we miss the chance to actually grow.

"I didn't study much…" → If I fail, it's because I didn't prepare, not because I'm not smart.

"I haven't started speed work yet…" → If I lose, it's not my fitness. It's my training schedule.

"I've barely been sleeping…" → Creates a buffer: I could've done better if I was well-rested.

"This isn't my main event…" → Distancing from identity, making the result "not count."

But performing is about taking a risk. In fact, it demands it. Putting forth real effort means risking real disappointment. It means confronting the possibility that even your best might not be good enough…yet.

Researchers have a name for this phenomenon: self-handicapping. It's when we deliberately create obstacles to success so they're an excuse if we fail. In the short-term it works. It limits the hit on our self-esteem. But over the long haul, it prevents us from both learning and developing resilience. We make avoidance our default way to cope with anything hard.

Self-handicapping is often framed as "not caring." But many of the people who self-sabotage actually care a ton, and put in the work. But they can't escape their ego and confronting themselves if they don't get the result. Ironically, the care (in the wrong direction) is what prevents them from showing up fully. It's what occurs when you tie your self-worth to the result.

True toughness is the willingness to show up fully. To prepare as best you can and leave it all out there, even if it doesn't meet your expectations. Real confidence is about being secure enough to risk losing. It's knowing you can put in the effort, give it your all and still be okay with the result.

Don't hide behind "not trying." Dare to show up fully."

Jason

08/24/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Gratitude

I competed at RAF in Cleveland this weekend. I have a cool walkout where I get to walkout through the crowd and come up on stage differently than everyone else. I love it.

Before I go out they have to take me up to the spot where I'm sitting before I go down and they try to keep me hidden so no one knows where I am coming from. So I have a hoodie on and I keep my head down.

As I was sitting before my match waiting to do my walkout, right before the match promo, a song called Remember the Name came on. It's a pretty cliche pump-up song for athletes but it reminded me of when I was young and I used to listen to it as a kid and how it motivated me.

It got me thinking back to when I was a kid and if I knew where I was today when I was a little kid I would be so pumped and grateful to be where I am. I had the opportunity to be out there running through the crowd to a mat to compete for the RAF championship belt in front of a massive crowd. And I was thinking that yes I obviously want to win, but just to be where I am at and have this opportunity that I am so grateful. So when I run out to compete, I am already winning and I can compete with freedom.

Anytime you have gratitude in your heart before competing is the best. No matter the level we are at, we all have something to be grateful for. To be able to compete is truly a blessing. Don't let pride or doubt or fear get in the way of loving to compete.

When you are starting to fear or worry, start thinking about everything you are grateful for. And if you take it a step further and practice gratitude every single day, you are going to be much happier and much more peaceful and have more freedom in your life.

God bless.

Jason

08/10/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Chop Wood, Carry Water

There's a book called Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf. If you haven't read it, get it — it's short and it's one of the best books out there for athletes.

It's about a young guy named John who moves to Japan to train under a master archer. He goes there to become a samurai archer. He's excited, ready to shoot arrows every day and get great fast. But when he gets there, the master has him chopping wood and carrying water every day. And he gets frustrated because none of it feels like it's making him better.

A big point of the book is to fall in love with the process. And there's a chapter in the book on being faithful in the small things.

We need to focus on the small things. The things we can control. Effort, conditioning. Knowing your system. Moving your hands, moving your feet. Pressure forward.

The problem is that the small things are often very boring. But being faithful in the small things is where your strength is and where your confidence will come from in the biggest moments.

"Everyone thinks greatness is sexy. Greatness is far from sexy. It's dirty, hard work usually required to be done in the dark when no one is watching while your dreams are so far off they feel like fairy tails." "Everyone wants to be great until it's time to do what greatness takes."

A lot of wrestlers are very outcome focused. They want the big tournaments and they want highlights. Which is all good! But most of the season is just chopping wood and carrying water. Driving an hour to club, tough practices, early morning runs, staying after when no one else is watching. Showing up even when you don't want to or don't have the motivation to.

And even after the season, even if you accomplished all of your goals for the year, it's just back to chopping wood and carrying water. Back to the boring work. A lot of the best wrestlers I know would win their state title or NCAA title and be back in the room the next day. Whether you win or you lose you just go back to work and that way you don't get too low on your losses or too high on your wins. You have to just keep working either way.

- Fall in love with the boring stuff. The drilling, the sprints, the extra reps.
- Stop measuring your day by results. Measure it by effort.
- Don't let a win make you coast. Celebrate it, then get back in the room.
- Don't let a loss make you too down. Feel it, learn from it, then get back in the room.

Chop wood, carry water.

Jason

08/07/2026

We just finished up two days with Bryce Meredith. This was a real treat! He shared some awesome tech and great advice. I'll share his closing remarks, which were very powerful.

We will continue with open mats on Tues evenings from 5:30-6:30 to get some reps on this new tech from Bryce.

08/04/2026

RHS Wrestling has a lot going on this week!

Bryce Meredith will be running open mats on Wed & Thurs this week starting at 5:30 pm. This is a great (and free) opportunity to get some instruction from one of the greats in wrestling! This is a team sponsored activity and we would like the entire MS & HS teams to be there. Please plan to attend.

Fri & Sat is the FCA WR camp in Lander. If you haven't been to a camp this summer, here is another opportunity. You should get at least one camp in this summer and this will be a good one.

08/04/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Be Happy When Your Teammates Win

Every room has that guy. A teammate gets a big win — makes the podium, beats someone he's never beaten — and instead of being fired up for him, this guy goes quiet. Says the right words, but you can tell he doesn't mean them. Deep down he was kind of hoping it wouldn't happen.

I get it. When you're not wrestling well yourself, it stings to watch someone next to you take off. It's easier to root against people than to admit you've got work to do. Misery loves company.

But that energy never makes you better. Not once. Hoping other guys lose keeps you small and bitter. You can't wish your way past someone — you've got to work past them.

The best rooms I've been in were full of guys who genuinely wanted each other to win.

When your teammate scores, you're the first one off the bench seat. And it's not fake — you actually feel it. That kind of room lifts everybody, and it lifts you too.

There's a verse for this, Romans 12:15 — "Rejoice with those who rejoice." Be happy when good things happen to the people around you.

Cheer for your guys. Clap when they win. Then go get better yourself.

Jason

07/28/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Be the Buffalo

In Colorado, cattle and buffalo graze the same land. Both of them see the same storms roll in off the Rockies. But they do two completely different things.

The cows run away from the storm. The problem is that the storm is moving east too. So they end up running right alongside it — soaked, cold, exhausted, stuck in the worst of it for hours.

The buffalo turn and charge straight west, into the storm. It's ugly for a few minutes. Wind in the face, rain coming sideways. But they punch through and come out the other side. Minutes instead of hours.

Same weather. Same field. Totally different amount of suffering — decided by which direction they chose to face.

When you are training in the room you have the same choice. You can go in the corner and find someone that you can beat easily. Or, you can go find the best guys.

Wrestling the best guys and doing the hard things now will be harder for sure right now, but it will prepare you for the rest of your life instead of struggling your whole life. Do the hard things now so you don't have to have a hard life. Cut weight the right way, train with the best guys, don't duck competition. The storm is always coming so be ready for it.

Jason

07/25/2026

Bryce Meredith will be in Riverton Aug 5-6. He will be running our open mats starting at 5:30 both nights. This is an exclusive opportunity for Riverton wrestlers to get some mat time and instruction from one of the greats in wrestling. He is scheduled to fight tonight in the UFC. Be sure to tune in and support him.

07/20/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Get Tired in Training

The best thing you can do to prepare yourself for competition conditioning wise is get as tired as you possibly can in training. When you are drilling or wrestling live or doing sprints you want to push yourself as hard as you can. If you do that and you get tired then you are a lot less likely to get tired in a match. If you can train full out for 1-1.5 hours then 6 minutes will feel like nothing.

Most kids are afraid of the uncomfortable feeling of being tired. To be honest, I get nervous before super hard lifts or workouts because I know I am going to always go hard. But the more you do it, the better you get and the less tired you get. You need to push your body to that uncomfortable tired feeling so that you can build your conditioning.

This is simple but important to know.

Jason

07/13/2026

Hey Coach Thoman,

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Be Optimistic

I love this quote by Mark Zuckerberg

"One of my favorite sayings is that there are two kinds of people in the world: optimists and pessimists. And the saying goes that optimists tend to be successful and pessimists tend to be right. And the idea is that if you think something is going to be terrible and it is going to fail, then you are going to look for the data points that prove you right and you will find them. That is what pessimists do. But if you think that something is possible, then you are going to try to find a way to make it work. And even when you make mistakes along the way and even when people doubt you, you are going to keep pushing until you find a way to make it happen."

This is very true. I also don't like when people tell me they are a 'realist'. To me, being a realist and being a pessimist are very close. Being a realist is just an easy way to justify excuses.

To be successful, you need to set extremely difficult goals and believe you can achieve them. It shapes the way you think, the way you train, and the way you treat your body.

Whether you think you can or can't do something, you are probably right either way.

Be optimistic and go chase what you want.

Jason

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2001 W Sunset Drive
Riverton, WY
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