6 MAY 2020 · 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.

28 APR 2020 · 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.

21 APR 2020 · 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.

14 APR 2020 · 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.

7 APR 2020 · 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.

1 APR 2020 · 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

24 MAR 2020 · 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?

17 MAR 2020 · 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

10 MAR 2020 · 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

3 MAR 2020 · 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