By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor

Editor’s Note: Two years ago, the Ohio State wrestling program finished 45th nationally. Enter Tom Ryan, the former head coach at Hofstra, and the Buckeyes have finished in the top ten the past two seasons, including a school-record second place at the 2008 NCAAs in March. W.I.N. editor Mike Finn recently spoke to Coach Ryan, who experienced both success and tragedy — his son, Teague, died suddenly in 2004 in 2004 — before accepting the Ohio State position.

Q How does a program go from finishing 45th in the nation to second just two years later?

A Having the right people, from a coaching staff standpoint to the student-athlete standpoint; from a leadership standpoint of the university. Having the right mission and everyone being on the same page; everyone having the same dreams and goals. And in general, I think there must be a tremendous amount of work.


Q Is your program ahead of schedule?

A I don’t know if second place puts us in a certain place on a timeline in regards to eventually winning a national championship. The reality is that we knew, with what was here from a student-athlete standpoint and what was coming, that we could certainly fight for a title in a short period of time.


Q Some people will say that Tom Ryan was the key to Ohio State’s recent success. Is that accurate?

A No. I am one of the keys. This thing is so much bigger than me. There is (assistant coaches) Lou Rosselli, Tommy Rowlands and Joe Heskett, (athletic director) Gene Smith, (associate AD) Heather Lyke, the student athletes on the team; from the best guys who won championships to the guys who are in the room training with all these guys. There are alumni who have done things and allowed us to get where we are. There are the fans; 5,000-6,000 showing up at matches. There were 500 fans showing up at the national championships.


Q Based on the number of Ohio State fans in St. Louis, it almost seems like your biggest role was getting everyone excited about the Buckeyes. Are you a marketing genius?

A This place is incredibly unique in the passion that people have for wrestling. You believe it is going to happen. You believe that if you win and put a product on the mat that is first class and that you wrestle hard that people will engage in the program. But when it does happen, it’s reassuring that the best days are yet to come here. After the NCAAs, we have alumni coming back and more people want to buy tickets for the national tournament. It’s a snowball effect. We plan on selling out St. John Arena (on the OSU campus) and selling 1,000 tickets for nationals. This is one of the special places in America.


Q Do you feel any pressure about keeping up with football and men’s basketball, which also had national finalists the last couple years?

A Everyday, I wake up and surround myself with people, who wake up and work as hard as they possibly can for as long as they possibly can and also spend time with their family. I don’t feel pressure. You get up and make the right choices and surround yourself with the right people and the end product is what we are seeing.


Q How did you get the head football coach, Jim Tressel, to sit on your bench during the Ohio State-Michigan wrestling match?

A I asked. He’s a man who understands how he impacts other people’s lives. It starts with him being that type of human being. And then it’s me and other people on our staff recognizing that he can help if we are willing to ask. He loves wrestling. His brother, Dick, had a son who wrestled at Cornell College in Iowa. There is a wrestling background there as well. I think he believes in our staff and the people who are here. He wants to help us anyway he can.


Q My sense is that you see wrestling on the same level as football and men’s basketball at Ohio State. Is that true?

A Our matches are so much fun to come to. Wrestling can be fun when you have the crowd and the environment. J Robinson proved that at Minnesota. People here are passionate about wrestling in the state of Ohio and they’re passionate about their Buckeyes. Our crowds will continue to grow as long as we continue to take one small step at a time and make good decisions.

Q What was the biggest thing that surprised you after your team finished second at the NCAAs?

A That I am so incredibly blessed it is happening. It’s the deep inner belief that if you work hard enough at something and your will is uncompromising that it will happen … and then it happens. The second thing was being apart of a student-athlete’s life which attained the highest level capable in this style of wrestling. So many people work so hard and never leave with that title and are so deserving. For me, J Jaggers and Mike Pucillo winning championships were firsts for me. It was overwhelming that these men will die national champions. They are men who understand their roles on the team and are great human beings. They will use their titles to impact lives the way they should.


Q Jaggers and Pucillo are natives of Ohio and everyone knows the state of Ohio produces other great wrestlers. Was that the No. 1 thing on your list; to make sure that Ohio wrestlers stayed home?

A Goal No. 1 was to establish to a young man in the state of Ohio that he can accomplish all the things that he wants in his life at this university; from a wrestling standpoint, from an academic standpoint, from a social standpoint, this is the place to be. We want to put a fence around Ohio and keep the best people home. And what this past year’s tournament did was prove to the young people in the state that, “Wow, if Mike (Pucillo) can do it and J (Jaggers) can do it, I can do it.”


Q Most people already know your history and the things that you’ve had to overcome in your life, including the loss of your son, while you were coaching at Hofstra. What did the Ohio State team success this year do for you personally?

A I believe the team success was partially a result of some of the trying times that I’ve had, including the loss of my son. Four years ago, my coaching strategy changed drastically. It became more about the team and impacting those around you; knowing that you are not around here forever and using this incredible gift that we have to impact lives. For a little while, we all come together. We forget about all the things in our lives and we cheer for other people. How great is it when one person can truly gain satisfaction and have the thrill to watch someone else do well. The loss of Teague really has impacted the way that I coach. I think the people who wrestle for me will be better because of that.


Q Has wrestling not allowed you to feel sorry for yourself?

A I think my faith in the next life has prevented me from feeling sorry for myself. There are times that I struggle and I say, “Why me?” He was a great kid and know I feel bad for my other kids and my wife. Teague had brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, friends. But ultimately, it’s the blessing of this life and knowing that in the next life I will be reunited so I have to do everything I can in this life to get to the next. You learn how to love.


Q In looking at the potential of your program, should we assume that you are hoping to be first next year?

A You do an analysis of what is coming back in the country and how many points scored will be back and we have some work to do. We were excited about finishing second but realize that we were only about eight points from finishing sixth. We have a lot of work to do to be No. 1. The goal is not to be No. 1 for a year. The goal is to be No. 1 for a long time. I couldn’t be happier for where the program is right now. But there is potential to be way better than we were this year.


Q I can’t help but notice the parallel between you and Tom Brands and what you’ve both done in just two years. The two of you were teammates at Iowa. Are you two still close and if so, it is hard to be close in a competitive environment?

A I got to live side by side with Tom Brands. He is one of the men who I respect most in terms of the way he lived his life, the way he trained. I think through that respect and seeing his work ethic first hand, I have a clearer vision of what we are up against. I think it’s a tremendous asset that I know who he is. He is someone who can pull away from you without the right people around you and total commitment. Our goal here is to win championships and we know that winning them is going to take us through Iowa City.


Q How different are your styles?

A I know that as a teammate, he was an incredible teammate and incredible leader. We both have an incredible desire to be great and impact the sport and our universities.

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