Best of Series: Tom Ryan

The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Our Great Coach on this episode is Tom Ryan.

Tom Ryan is a former All-American college wrestler, and now coach of the Ohio State Wrestling team.

During his collegiate wrestling career, he was a member of the University of Iowa 1991 and 1992 NCAA and Big Ten championship teams.

He became a Head Wrestling coach at Hofstra University in New York in 1995 leading them to six consecutive conference titles from 2001 to 2006. He then moved to Iowa to coach, and in 2015 Led the wrestling program to the NCAA National Championship.

He has won multiple coach of the year awards, and at present is the owner of a 76% match winning ratio.

From the highs of winning championships and coaching Olympic Gold medalists to the unimaginable loss of his own child; Tom Ryan is a coach with a deep appreciation for the pain that can either de-rail or elevate your life.

His coaching philosophy is infused with a focus on truth and love, Truth to help you see the areas where you can develop; and love so you have the confidence that you will be supported as you develop and grow.

I chased Tom for 6 months to get this interview, and I am so glad I did. His lessons on leadership and life are truly universal; and some of the key ones for me were

How the coaches role is to reduce stress through controlling their emotions. This reduces tension in the athlete and allows them to focus on the task at hand.

Giving feedback the moment a skill is not being executed properly in a way that is productive . And how great athletes truthfully assess themselves in a way that allows an accurate development plan to put in place.

The great story he shares about the prisoner of war James Stockdale and the importance of combining optimism with realism.

And wanting to leave a legacy of helping people to learn to love deeply; and with a few Olympic and World Champions along the way.

This was a wonderful conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as Jim and I did.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [e-mail] or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

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