How to Build a Culture of Smart Weight Management in Your Wrestling Room
There’s a difference between extreme weight cutting and managing weight—and your team culture determines which one shows up.
As a coach, you shape more than technique and tactics. You set the tone for how your athletes view their bodies, food, and the pressure to "make weight." Coaches of female wrestlers must be hyper aware of the increased risk of eating disorders. High school female athletes are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders, with studies indicating that up to 50% of female high school athletes exhibit disordered eating behaviors, and 20–60% of female college athletes are affected.
I know too many wrestlers who were shaped by the culture of their wrestling room in ways they didn’t fully understand at the time—only to discover later in their lives, long after wrestling, that they had an unrecognized eating disorder that followed them well past their time on the mat.
We have an opportunity to help shift an issue that isn’t leaving our sport any time soon. The way we’ve been doing it? It’s been hurting us, and it’s time for something better. We can build a culture that supports safe, sustainable weight management. And as coaches, we can lead this movement.
1. Model the Mindset: Weight is Managed, Not Cut
Your athletes will follow what you normalize. If you frame weight as something to "cut" last-minute, you’ll get sauna suits and skipped meals. But if you talk about managing weight—like managing recovery, sleep, or strength—they’ll start to treat it as a year-round strategy.
What this looks like:
Replace “cutting” with “planning” and “preparing.”
Talk about nutrition early and often, not just at weigh-in week.
Address how weight changes naturally with menstrual cycles, growth spurts, and strength gains.
2. Stop Chasing Numbers, Start Teaching Habits
Wrestling culture is obsessed with numbers—weight classes, descent plans, and weigh-in charts. But those numbers mean nothing if the habits behind them are broken.
Instead of asking, “Did you make weight?” ask:
“What’s your plan this week?”
“What’s your fueling been like?”
“Have you been tracking how you feel in practice?”
Teach athletes to:
Eat balanced meals year-round.
Hydrate properly (not just after weigh-ins).
Understand their own body’s signals and responses to training and nutrition through tracking in a journal.
3. Create an Environment Where Fueling is the Norm
Many athletes feel ashamed to eat in front of teammates. That’s a culture problem. In a smart weight room, food isn’t hidden—it’s part of performance.
Simple ways to shift this:
Eat during team meetings, film sessions, or travel days.
Bring snacks to duals. Encourage refueling post-match.
Celebrate athletes who take their fueling seriously, just like you celebrate the little wins on the way.
4. Equip Athletes to Become Independent Weight Managers
Your goal isn’t just to get them on weight—it’s to teach them how to do it without you.
Use tools like:
Food journals
Menstrual cycle trackers (for female athletes)
Weekly planning check-ins
Visual examples of balanced meals
Remind them: they won’t always have you in their corner, but the habits they build now will carry into college and life beyond wrestling.
5. Challenge the Old School Narrative
If you’ve ever heard, “That’s just how wrestling is,” it’s time to push back.
Starving, spitting, and sauna suits aren’t signs of toughness—they’re signs of poor planning. And while you can’t control everything, you can create a system where better choices are the default.
That doesn’t mean everyone gets it perfect. But it does mean that your wrestlers know:
They’re allowed to ask for help.
Their performance matters more than the number.
They can compete at a high level without wrecking their bodies.
Coaches—You Set the Standard
If you're reading this, you're already doing the work to lead better.
And if you want a deeper, science-backed resource you can use to train your athletes, parents, and assistant coaches to build sustainable, safe weight strategies, check out our new guide:
👉 The Female Wrestler’s Guide to Weight Mastery
It’s packed with tools, worksheets, and practical plans—because wrestlers deserve to feel strong, confident, and in control of their weight without sacrificing their health.
