On Deck: A RUDIS Wrestling Podcast: Recent Episodes
RUDIS Wrestling
RUDIS is proud to introduce the brand new podcast On Deck with host Ben Askren. On Deck is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top athletes, coaches, and personalities of the wrestling world discussing current events, life stories, and everything in between.
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by 2000 Olympic Champion Brandon Slay. For the past four years, Slay has served as the executive director of the Penn Regional Training Center. An alum of the University of Pennsylvania, Slay was a 2x All-American and NCAA Finalist for the Quakers. Askren and Slay talk all things development, from Brandon's personal experience developing as an athlete forged in the Texas panhandle, to the ways he's transitioned into a coach, helping to develop some of the greatest wrestlers of the current generation. Askren and Slay also discuss regional training centers and the impact they have on the development of American wrestlers, as well as the impact they have on the surrounding community.
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by 2000 Olympic Champion Brandon Slay. For the past four years, Slay has served as the executive director of the Penn Regional Training Center. An alum of the University of Pennsylvania, Slay was a 2x All-American and NCAA Finalist for the Quakers. Askren and Slay talk all things development, from Brandon's personal experience developing as an athlete forged in the Texas panhandle, to the ways he's transitioned into a coach, helping to develop some of the greatest wrestlers of the current generation.
2x NCAA Champion Tommy Rowlands joins Ben Askren on On Deck, a RUDIS Wrestling Podcast, to discuss the Dake vs. Burroughs conversation, the 2021 NCAA Team Race, and the wrestler's mentality.
On this week's episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by World Silver medalist, 3x NCAA All-American for Iowa and Big Ten Champion Thomas Gilman. Gilman was formerly training at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club under the helm of the Brands brothers and Mark Perry, but amidst Perry's exit from Iowa City, Gilman announced that he would be taking up residency at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Askren and Gilman break down how a trip to Russia changed Gilman's mindset, the factors that went into the decision to move to State College and his thoughts on his competitors at the senior level.
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by first-ever three-time All-American for Stanford, Tanner Gardner. Gardner, who holds Stanford's all-time record for most career wins at 145, is now a Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer for Athletics at Rice University. Gardner provides us with the perspective of an Athletics Administrator on topics like what an athletic department considers when it is faced with the reality of needing to cut an athletics program, what the absence of college sports like basketball and potentially football means for the rest of college athletics and ways in which universities are struggling financially due to the Coronavirus. In light of Old Dominion University cutting its wrestling program last week, Gardner discusses how coaches and fans can support programs in ways that make a team more valuable to the university.
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by wrestling vigilante Canaan Bower and revered hall-of-fame wrestler and Superbowl Champion, Stephen Neal. Bower, a 16-year-old from Las Cruces, New Mexico recently went viral across the country for a video showing him storming into a gas station and physically taking down an alleged kidnapper, pinning him down until the police arrived. Bower is a district wrestling champion for Mayfield high school. Neal, a 2x NCAA Champion, 1999 Hodge Trophy Winner, World Champion, and 3x Superbowl champion, started his wrestling career relatively late, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most revered athletes in the wrestling community. He and Askren discuss everything from the importance of participating in multiple sports to how he applied what he learned in wrestling to becoming an offensive lineman for the New England Patriots.
Show Notes
0:00 Show Introduction
0:41 Canaan Bower
7:33 Stephen Neal
10:48 Specializing in More Than One Sport
14:54 California High School Career
16:18 Getting to Cal-State Bakersfield
17:17 Winter Sports Played in High School
19:28 Playing Football in College Too?
23:23 Reacting to Tom Brady’s Move
24:52 CSU-Bakersfield Contributing to Success
30:31 NCAA Titles
33:23 Freestyle Career
36:38 Goals for 1999
43:48 Lessons Learned in 2000
46:20 NFL Career
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by 4x All-American, 2x NCAA Champion, and co-founder of Young Guns Wrestling Club, Jody Strittmatter. Strittmatter, current assistant coach at University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, has coached Division I prodigies including Penn State’s Jason Nolf and Vincenzo Joseph and Iowa’s Spencer Lee to name a few. Askren and Strittmatter discuss all things club wrestling from athlete development to how to get athletes and parents to buy in.
Show Notes
0:00 Show Introduction
2:37 Coaching Influence
4:57 Recruitment Out of High School
7:16 Transferring to Iowa
11:20 Dan Gable
14:05 Tom + Terry Brands
15:42 Jim Zalesky
16:54 Young Guns Wrestling Club
20:31 Club + Development Morals
23:20 Tailoring Coaching to Athletes
27:05 The First Big Name From YGWC
28:10 Jason Nolf
33:10 Spencer Lee
35:49 Vincenzo Joseph
37:47 When Did You Go From Good to Great?
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren sits down with 2019 U23 World Silver Medalist and Olympic hopeful Kayla Miracle. After qualifying the 62kg women's freestyle spot for the United States at the 2020 Olympics at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier, Kayla reflects on her performance, and looks ahead to the coming weeks of training for an Olympic Trials with no set date. Askren and Miracle also discuss life at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and reactions to the NCAA Wrestling Championships being cancelled.
Show Notes:
0:00 Show Introduction
3:40 Kayla Miracle Intro
7:00 Wrestling Events Being Cancelled
10:20 Pan American Olympic Qualifier Recap
11:38 Hawkeye Wrestling Club Depth
17:58 Preparing for a Delayed Olympic Trials
21:35 Iowa Training Partners
24:00 Reaction to Cancelled NCAA Championships
24:57 Things To Do During Quarantine
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren sits down with World Silver Medalist, former Hawkeye, and Olympic hopeful Thomas Gilman to discuss his trip to Russia, relationships with Iowa wrestlers in the light of Big 10’s and the Olympics, as well as his mindset approaching the Pan American Games. Then Askren talks with Purdue Wrestling Head Coach Tony Ersland to recap Purdue’s impressive performance over the past wrestling season as well as at the Big 10’s, and what’s behind Purdue’s rise over the last five years along with what to expect for the future of the program. Show Notes: 0:00 Show Introduction 0:58 Thomas Gilman 19:57 Thomas Gilman Recap 22:06 Tony Ersland 36:00 Tony Ersland Recap 36:23 Show Close
On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren sits down with Campbell Camels Head Coach Cary Kolat to discuss the way he and his staff have been able to make tremendous progress in developing the team in just a few short years. In addition, Askren also gets Kolat’s thoughts on the Iowa State controversy as well as what is different about this generation’s wrestlers vs previous generations. Then Askren talks to NJRTC Head Coach Reece Humphrey about the turnaround at Princeton and Rutgers as well as how the NJRTC is able to flourish. Askren picks Humphrey’s brain on the addition of an “insta-death” rule concerning excessive riding time during matches as well as his predictions for NCAA’s and more.
Show Notes:
0:00 Show Intro
0:50 Cary Kolat
19:14 Cary Kolat Wrap Up
20:10 Reece Humphrey
40:50 Show Wrap Up
On this episode Ben sits down with the Head coach of the undefeated NC State wrestling team, Pat Popolizio to discuss the benefits of a Dual Meet National Championship alongside the current system as well as talk over the recent controversy with Iowa State. Then Askren talks to Keith Gavin head coach of the Pitt Panthers to recap his season and look ahead to Pitt hosting the ACC’s for this year. Show Notes 0:00 Show Introduction 0:50 Pat Popolizio 17:30 Pat Popolizio Wrap Up 18:20 Keith Gavin Intro 32:20 Show Wrap Up
On this week’s episode of On Deck, Ben Askren sits down with coaches from three of the NCAA’s top up-and-coming programs. Jake Sueflohn, assistant coach with #10 Purdue wrestling, Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos and associate head coach from Army Ned Shuck all discuss their seasons up through this point, and look forward to their conference tournaments and the NCAA championships.
On this episode of the On Deck Podcast, Ben Askren sits down Princeton head coach Chris Ayres and #8 at 184lbs for Michigan State, Cameron Caffey. Ayres, hot off an Ivy League title win over Cornell, talks all things wrestling from growth and development in both the sport and in his own program over the past few years, to what factors played into the decision to pull senior Matthew Kolodzik’s Olympic redshirt. Caffey and Askren discuss their similarities on and off the mat, from wrestling style to hairstyle. Caffey also breaks down his growth in collegiate wrestling.
On this Episode of the On Deck Podcast, Ben Askren sits down with #3 at 165lbs Evan Wick, Northern Iowa Head Coach Doug Schwab, and Nebraska Associate Head Coach Bryan Snyder. Askren Discusses Wick’s upcoming match with Vincenzo Joseph, Northern Iowa’s success in the latter half of January, along with the NCAA policy on celebrations in wrestling with Bryan Snyder.
On this episode of On Deck with Ben Askren, Ben sits down with NC State Head Coach Pat Popolizio, UNC Head Coach Coleman Scott, and number 1 ranked, 2x NCAA Champ and Hodge frontrunner Zahid Valencia. Askren discusses the Hidlay brothers impact on their team as a whole, the growing strength of the ACC, along with admiring Valencia's response to Aaron Brooks, along with his underground MMA history.
Show Notes
0:00 Introduction
0:30 Pat Popolizio
14:32 Coleman Scott
29:24 Zahid Valencia
42:40 Show Wrap-Up
On this episode of On Deck with Ben Askren, Ben sits down with World Silver Medalist and Matteo Pellicone Champion Sarah Hildebrandt, World Gold Medalist and 2x U.S. Open Champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock, as well as #1 ranked at 141lbs Luke Pletcher of Ohio State. Askren Discusses Hildebrandt's big move to 50 KG for the upcoming 2020 Olympic trials, Mensah's experience in Rome and her adjustments following the Matteo Pellicone, as well as Pletcher's most anticipated opponents in the coming weeks.
RUDIS is proud to introduce the brand new podcast On Deck with host Ben Askren. On Deck will be a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top athletes, coaches, and personalities of the wrestling world discussing current events, life stories, and everything in between. On this first episode of On Deck, Ben Askren interviews Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach and NCAA Champion Chris Bono, 2017 USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year and Nebraska Assistant Head Coach Bryan Snyder, and Ben Askren's own former coach Brian Smith of Missouri.
Show Order
0:00 Show Introduction
2:10 Chris Bono
16:50 Bryan Snyder
32:50 Brian Smith