"Stop, everybody come in here for a second. Let's take a look at this", shouted Kevin Jackson his voice booming across the three mats of the Olympic Training Center.  The wrestlers formed a circle at the center much like their days of practices wrestling in youth leagues.  As the wrestlers took their seats on the mat Jackson, the National Freestyle Coach, handed things off to the instructor of the morning session.      Ike Anderson, the Greco-Roman Developmental Coach, proceeded to initiate the Freestyle contingent into some finer points of winning the clinch.  "Hips back will only get you in trouble.  You'll want your hips in, try to get him up on his tippy-toes."      The Freestyle wrestlers paid close attention as they repeated the process during the two-hour practices.  Breaking to practice individually, returning to refine the details.  The importance of the clinch was not lost on the crowd.      At the 2001 World Championships Tom Brands noted that three of the championship matches came down to the clinch.  Last year's highest placer for the United States, Brandon Eggum of the Minnesota Storm was one of the victims of the clinch in the finals.      The wrestlers steadily worked on the clinch skills that the Greco coach demonstrated.  The afternoon practice was the true test.  The Freestyle wrestlers assembled at 4:30 p.m. and right along side of them were numerous Greco wrestlers.      The afternoon session was a combined Freestyle and Greco practices.  The last two years Kevin Jackson has had the Freestyle team spend at least one practice working on clinches and gut wrenches with the Greco-Roman athletes.      According to World Team Assistant Coach Tom Brands, "The clinch is a position that a lot of guys don't want to work at.  There's a lot of pride exposed in the clinch."      The resounding thud of another wrestlers' heals hitting the mat seemed to be the exclamation point on what the Olympic Champion was referring to.     Throughout the first half of the practice the wrestlers went hard and live in the clinch.  Occasionally wrestlers would break from the action of the clinch to discuss finer points of the clinch.      Even an Olympic Champion like Tom Brands took the role of a student from a Greco wrestler.  Brands and resident athlete Daryl Christian from Oregon spent nearly twenty minutes on the finer points of an offensive strategy.      Christian voiced his strategy for Brands and several Freestyle coaches that were tuned into the lesson on gaining a tactical lock.  All the coaches were soaking in the technique.    "I bring my lock in at the same time.  I want my hands within an inch when my opponent locks," stated Christian.         The new and fresh perspective of the clinch was important.  All the athletes going into the World Championships are paying attention to the details as they approach the tournament in Tehran.     "Daryl broke everything down for me.  He was very specific about head, hip, and hand position," stated Brands.     Across the mat wrestlers continuously were throwing each other.  The pride of winning the clinch was celebrated by the wrestlers as they watched two competitors spar.  Kevin Jackson ended the work on the clinch as the athletes readied to battle in par-terre.      "This is a must win position for us."      *******************************************************************************    This article was provided by the National Coaches Education Program of USA Wrestling. Contact the NCEP Manager at twitulski@usawrestling.org to bring a Copper or Bronze clinic to your area