Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan won the program's first team championship, one of only 12 schools to ever do it. He talks about focusing on controllable details like recruiting and hiring, staying authentic, and building a team culture that balances family with institutional discipline.
Questions this video answers
Two times.
Twelve teams.
Ohio State's first-ever team wrestling championship.
Toledo, Ohio State's the first ever team championship in sport wrestling. And that was certainly the pinnacle of my coaching career. Only 12 teams ever done that in the history of the sports.
You're a two time NCAA coach of the year. How hard is that to kind of have that dual mentality of you're trying to create a little family for yourself. You've got this tight knit group, but you're also part of the mothership where you got to follow the rules.
I'm really focused on the small things that I can control and that's recruiting the right people and hiring the right people and truly having their best interests at that. Believe in your mission and they know your belief system and they buy into your belief system. They know you're authentic and they know that what you're, what you're trying to build is an authentic way. When you do things that way, people just help. You know, they help. They want to be part of something that's really authentic and real. Anyone that's come to the Ohio State wrestling program and they believe they've arrived, you're in trouble. Listen, you have moments in time where, hey, we can celebrate this in your life, but there's always a chance for improvement.