When a four-time NCAA champion says training can be overrated, something seems out of place. But Penn State coach Cael Sanderson was only undervaluing the method when comparing it to competition. In other words, this Friday's match against Illinois will always trump a night of training for Sanderson. Still, Sanderson admitted having this past weekend off was a good chance for training and an opportunity to make progress. For Sanderson and his coaching staff, progress lies in attitude changes, which have been stressed since he's become the Nittany Lions coach. No. 11 heavyweight Cameron Wade said the main attitude Sanderson stresses is wrestling hard for a full seven minutes, making every second in a match important and letting the result take care of itself. The redshirt sophomore said Sanderson's seven-minute approach includes the ability to get angry at an opponent and to take on a confident but edgy approach. "Every time Coach Cael will come up and talk to me before matches, he'll be like, 'Just go out there and be a bully,' " Wade said. " 'Just go out there and wrestle hard, grab the guy and throw him down.' "

Clay Steadman, a 197-pounder, spoke earlier this season about getting his intensity back for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20. Steadman, a redshirt sophomore, aimed to work on intensity in practice, which he thought would translate to meets. "Everyone I'm wrestling is an opponent that I need to beat," Steadman said. "I'm not wrestling Dave Erwin, I'm wrestling an opponent. I'm not wrestling Cameron Wade, I'm wrestling an opponent. "I have to take their face off their head." Sanderson wants the tough attitude to shift to another area on the mat -- bottom wrestling. Sanderson said aside from attitude, technique is also important in bottom wrestling, and he thought the Lions have improved in the area. Wade said he has seen improvements in himself and others when using the aggressive approach Sanderson preaches. He said it allows a wrestler to focus on the opponent and not the score or clock.

Wade thought the No. 13 Lions could still improve in their approach and said everyone can wrestle for seven minutes, but it's whether or not a wrestler actually does it that makes the difference. There is no doubt what decision Sanderson wants his wrestlers to make. "Being determined to not let somebody hold you down," Sanderson said. "When we're down, we need to be able to get our escapes right away and wrestle our matches where we want to be."

Thanks to Brendon Monahan and the "Daily Collegian" (PSU) for the article