# 85 From Coach To Podcaster: Part TWO with Steve 'The Stilts' Leurquin

Have you ever wondered what it's like to hang up your competitive wrestling singlet and step onto the sidelines as a coach and then to podcaster?? The astute Steve "The Stilts" Leurquin from the Wisconsin Wrestler Podcast, covers that exact arc. We take you through the highs and lows, from the final whistle of his competitive days to the deep bonds formed as a mentor. Steve's story, from athlete to impactful coach and educator, proves that passion and hard work can carve out new paths in college wrestling and beyond.

Transitioning from the mat to the coach's chair brought unexpected delights and challenges, all of which he encountered head-on. He recounts tales of camaraderie and building a wrestling program in Cambridge. The tales from "the pit," where underdog triumphs and personal connections reveal the very fabric of a community's spirit, paint a vivid picture of the wrestling world he's been privileged to be a part of.

Beyond the tales of coaching, we reflect on his decision to prioritize family over the relentless demands of coaching. Steve and I also unpack our podcasting partnership, from technology foibles to the first episode jitters, promising a mix of humor and earnestness that only true wrestling aficionados can deliver. As we chart our course into TikTok territory with his daughters at the creative helm, we extend an invitation to join us as we grapple with stories, reflections, and a shared love for wrestling on the Vision Quest Podcast.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 3:17

Alright, we are back for another episode of the Vision Quest podcast. I am Brad, I am the host and we are joined here for part numero dose with none other than the Wisconsin wrestler podcast. Steve the Stilts lurkwin how you doing, steve?

Speaker 3: 3:34

I am doing good. You know, that nickname you gave me is kind of sticking, so I am thinking of Stilts. Have you seen Kale? Lease Gang from Seymour, oh seriously.

Speaker 2: 3:44

Can I comment on this for just a minute? Because? I don't know if there is a guy that can climb up that kid's legs and still take him down. He is huge.

Speaker 3: 3:54

So I was doing the Battle in the Bay broadcast with Ryan Willnuts and I didn't realize the Seymour coaches were sitting right next to me. Kale comes walking by me and I am sitting in a chair and I look up and I go holy cow, how tall is that kid? The coach just nonchalantly turns to the left and he looks at me and he says well, he was six foot eight last month. Last month, because, keep in mind, the kid is a sophomore right. So I mean he might get a couple more inches Mind blowing. Now I know why you needed a part two and why I talk so long. Because here we are, you didn't do the intro and, by the way, how many two parts do you need ever for a podcast?

Speaker 2: 4:33

Oh man, I'll do them all the time. I love repetition. Repetition makes you better at stuff, right?

Speaker 3: 4:37

Well, the last time it was the technology, the nine o'clock and something that the internet turned off in the school here, or something. But I'm telling you what, brad, I'm convinced that I am a curse to technology. So if you want technology not to work, just get me around it, and that's what will happen.

Speaker 2: 4:53

It's lights out.

Speaker 3: 4:55

They should, I should become a spy and they should infiltrate me into some country and Sammy start working on their computer systems and the whole thing will just flat line. That's the way it is Done, done.

Speaker 2: 5:06

Well, and you be careful, because you're about to get hit by a tornado. It sounds like over there the wind goes off.

Speaker 3: 5:11

Everybody I did it right before Brad and I were talking we're getting Green County, which is just so we're kind of next to Jefferson Rock, just the county over to our left, little Madison, is Green County-ish somewhere around there, so dedicated You're a dedicated guest. I appreciate it. I'll take. I'll take shrapnel through the window here for you guys.

Speaker 2: 5:29

That's awesome. So, steve, when we were talking, we talked about some of the earlier years with you where you know, just starting out and kind of, we're getting through college, we're getting to the end and you're kind of talking about you're talking about La Crosse. La Crosse stuck out in your head a lot as far as the kind of the well, the last hurrah of wrestling. I guess we'll say competition wise for you when you were coming to the end. You were talking about how you felt, like you were just kind of like. I think the comment was I was just done. I realized then I was done competition wise, right, because we're starting to kind of sound like we're getting in your coaching.

Speaker 3: 6:04

Yeah, the big thing was, I think I mentioned it was kind of like, you know. So I wrestled D3 college, right, which is still amazing, but yet you realize that you have lives and I was about raised to and teach. I just met my wife, the love of my life, right, that was my wife at the time, you know, and I think what happened was, even though I still had the passion for wrestling, is I started to realize that the next phase of life is beginning, right, student teaching, which kind of takes us into our coaching. Before I do that I just wanted you know I talked to before we got on the show is really I want.

Speaker 3: 6:31

My message of my college career to anybody listening is that if you have the heart and passion to wrestle at the next level, take your high school career and don't look at it because I didn't. I mean, I was a not a very good high school wrestler up at, obviously, my senior year. I had some good development but I didn't really didn't come physically to most. I know it's hard for kids nowadays because you see so many freshmen coming in and they're just studs, right, and then, oh man, those kids are going to go on, but sometimes doesn't work out. I, you know, like I said, I, in the practice room, I remember state champ after state champ sometimes coming in, those kids are sometimes the first ones to wash out, you know, and at the D3 right, and so I just want people to know that, hey, if you have the passion to do it, keep working hard and do it and you can right. And you know, especially, like I said, at that D3 level, maybe not the D1 level, but it's still there's opportunities. I see every now and then.

Speaker 3: 7:21

You know, I'm watching watching St Sparks talk about this kid and you know, I just, I just, I don't know this for sure, but there was a Northwestern kid that I just called the action for and I couldn't find any accolades on him, and there he's wrestling for Northwestern. You know, he's in the starting line. So it's, it can, it can happen. But you know, with that being said, I think I think that was I didn't really get burnt out per se. I just started to realize like there was a transition in my life happening in the next phase, about where you started, and part of that was, you know, family and getting married and getting a, you know, getting a teaching job.

Speaker 2: 7:52

So you're growing up, man, I mean and everybody has. You know, you make a decision in life what you want to do, what you really want to do, I mean you place a value on it, right, there's something's always got some type of value to you, at least, anyways. So with that, with that being said, I don't think it didn't sound like that you were necessarily ready to get out of wrestling, like you said. You weren't like burnt out and had to cut yourself off, like you know, just tried to make the Olympics and stuff like that. You're just kind of tired, right. So what were you? What was your? Did you take a break? Was there a little bit of time in between where you're just doing whatever?

Speaker 3: 8:23

You know the great part about it was that you'll like this transition, is that? So I started teaching at Walksaw North and, yeah, basically I kind of made the decision I was done. I kind of went to a few practices and then I was done and, you know, didn't go out and then soon taught at Walksaw North High School and got this is this kind of a cool story is I met my cooperating teacher was going to be working with and then I looked at him and I said, hey, you know, and if I could, I'd like to help out the wrestling team. He just gets this big smile on his face. You know, like kind of a man I can't swear in here, but this is a great and that's like something's wrong here, you know, not wrong, but wrong in a good way.

Speaker 3: 9:00

I'm going to introduce you to Greg Pacowitz. He walks me right down the hall. The Greg Pacowitz, who's great guy Greg has done a lot for me and coaching still has, and I see him, see him every now and then he was the head coach walks on north and he walks me in. So Brad Mossman walks me in and he goes. Hey, greg, this is Steve. He's going to be one of our cooperating teachers this year wrestle at Whitewater and he wants to help you out with wrestling.

Speaker 3: 9:20

And all of a sudden, greg Pacowitz just gets this big smile on his face and also he literally looks at me and says, yes, I never have to wrestle with Ian Berg again. And if you go back and you look Ian Berg for walks on north end up being a state runner up lost in a heart breaking last second take down, ian Berg looked like he was chiseled from granite. You know he just like if there's a magazine muscle. It was awesome. It was a great relationship. He and I figured out at that time I'm 21 years old, right, and Ian Berg's 18, right. So we got along pretty well and nice. You know. We got to wrestle together and stuff and him and Frank Wade and Spencer Dominguez was on that team.

Speaker 3: 10:00

You know, there's just some guys that were yeah but, yeah, that was a great and great experience, for Greg Pacowitz taught me a lot. I learned how to be a you know start of my wrestling coaching career and you know it's kind of funny, I learned how to student teach and student student wrestling coach. Right.

Speaker 2: 10:15

Well, I mean, I was just going to ask about that now. Obviously you had the wrestling experience, but what was that? What was that like for you going from the competition part to? I mean, I'm not boom instantly, but then you're jumping right into the coaching. Did it feel natural?

Speaker 3: 10:31

Yeah, I did. I mean because I coached before, like I would go back with Matt and I coached with the little kids and stuff and I've always had like a coaching. You know, even when I was a wrestler I was still coaching, you know. I mean like yeah, kind of that team captain role, where you're the extension of coaching staff. So I've always had that mentality.

Speaker 2: 10:52

Okay, so you're coming into your first season. Obviously, you gotta sounds like what it's going to create a tight core. You know, coaches, how long were you guys all together?

Speaker 3: 11:03

You were talking as far as.

Speaker 2: 11:05

Well, you originally started with. How long were you guys together coaching?

Speaker 3: 11:07

Oh wait, I walked north just just for that year. I mean, I saw a base with him from, you know, christmas on, and then after, after I graduated, I was you know then I moved on. Then I moved on to, I taught. I taught one year at Kim, really, and I was the assistant coach with Chris Chris Runquist, oh, okay, okay, I don't remember that name or not, but he was a head coach and I had an okay experience there. I don't have anything. I learned a lot from Chris, great guy, yeah.

Speaker 3: 11:33

And then it was so my wife, I would say she's a southerner, right, she's a southerner of the of the Wisconsin. She lived in Washington and we moved up, you know, got married, moved up to the Green Bay area and she got, you know, she taught at Luxembourg, casco, I taught at Kimberly, we lived in the middle and Howard, green Bay area, and she got really homesick. And I tell you what you know as a man, you do, you do what you got to do to make your wife happy and so we moved, you know, we started looking more in the southern part of the state.

Speaker 2: 11:59

Well, you, learn that lesson pretty quick, because some guys don't learn that lesson for quite some time.

Speaker 3: 12:04

I did. You know it's funny. You said we're just. I was just having to talk with my daughter about you know there's whatever I will go too far to, but somebody I'm teaching has been having a hard time with the relationship and I'm just like. You know what I don't like I'm. So I've such a such a great wife by the way, it just a great marriage it's almost like hard for me to I feel so sore for people that don't have. You know it should go too far. Next, I know that's a sensitive area, but I really say when they say I married up, I really did and I always think about that. The bad news is, if I married up, what happened to her?

Speaker 2: 12:40

yeah, With coaching. What was your most memorable experience? Your first year?

Speaker 3: 12:50

Do you mean as your first?

Speaker 2: 12:52

year coaching, when you as an assistant, whatever, what was the most memorable moment that year?

Speaker 3: 12:57

Yeah. So I would say, you know, I'm going to take it from my student teaching your coach. It was just. Yeah, it was the.

Speaker 3: 13:04

I mean, I just like those three guys that I mentioned, and there's others I wish I could remember their name, but I think it's just the, the camaraderie, right, the camaraderie, you know, obviously that would be the overall, the memory, but my memory is just, you know, going to go into our sometimes and you know, just being with the guys, like when, when we qualified those three guys and then the other one I shoot, I cannot remember his name, but just me at the state term with those guys is probably, you know, one of those memories. And but I will tell, oh, it just came to me is that Ian Burke's parents, when we, when we had the banquet, they were so appreciative and they gave me this, I'm gonna say gold plated it wasn't gold, right they gave me this really nice pen and they handed it to me and they said, steve, this is your pen that you can sign your first teaching contract with. And I was like that to me just meant a lot. That's pretty cool.

Speaker 2: 13:55

Yeah, that's pretty cool. So, as you said, you guys moved back up here towards in the Fox Valley. Where did your coaching pick up up here, yeah, at. Kimberly.

Speaker 3: 14:04

I had one here at Kimberly.

Speaker 2: 14:05

So you were yeah, that's right with RunQuest. So how did that go? What was that assistant coach Like? How did that situation go for you?

Speaker 3: 14:13

Yeah, it was pretty good. I mean it was, was that one year? One year? Yeah, first RunQuest, like I said, we had great kids, we were, I think we were in and you know the conference right. Yeah, I mean we had one win, we had one tie I think we tied Manasha and I can't remember who we beat and then Ties.

Speaker 2: 14:32

What's that?

Speaker 3: 14:32

Yeah, I know it doesn't happen anymore, right, but we had really good kid. They worked hard. I don't think we had any state qualifiers that year, if I remember, but I will tell you this and it just so happens. You know you're from Kikana, I just remember. You know I was a passionate coach.

Speaker 3: 14:46

Like I don't care, I want to say this the right way, because I think sometimes people take it the wrong way. Like they say, oh, it's okay to lose, right, just try your hardest. Like I think people use that as an excuse I don't care if my kids lose, right. Yep, I want them, and not for wrestling, I want them to like when they're and here I'll go into this is that like if I have a kid and he's wrestling a state champ and he really, let's be honest, does he have a shot? Yes, he does.

Speaker 3: 15:16

Like I say if a kid's going to wrestle a Koi hop, he does he have a chance? Yes, absolutely, he does. Right, you gotta figure it out. Not a very good one, but you better go. And I just want my kids to go out there because life's gonna grab you by the, they're gonna grab you by the throat sometimes and you gotta fight right. And those Kimberly kids I remember that year as we went to Kokona and I was like I'm hey, I'm walking into Kokona and Kokona's like just they're not even where they are now they're like.

Speaker 2: 15:42

They're just starting to kind of make that path, yep.

Speaker 3: 15:45

And I'm still, you know, like I'm 22 years old at this time, 20, whatever it was and I'm the whole week long.

Speaker 3: 15:51

It's fricking, we're battling, we're battling, we're battling. I remember just pacing around with those kids and I'm looking and I think part of that I'm getting the chills talking about it Part of it is looking those kids in the eyes and them believing that you're out in the mat with them. Yeah, you know, and I was so proud, I mean we got killed, but every single one of those kids fricking fought so hard and it was like we had a couple of matches that were tight and the Kokona fans are yelling down and you know I probably did some things I shouldn't have, you know, whatever, but you're young and that was fun. Like when they came off, even though the score, I'm just gonna say was 60 to 12, I don't know what it was. Right, right, right. Go to the bus rides home. When you get back in the locker room where you're, like you're, I'm so fricking proud of you, you know, and it's like you can be your frothing at the mouth because you're pumped at them.

Speaker 2: 16:33

So back then I mean, you got piss and vinegar left in me, all right, and you and you want and you got, you have a passion for these kids to want to win, like. So I kind of understand what you're saying because I'm as a dad I mean, I've coached Liam since he was five. But now, like I wasn't worried about technique, once we got into, like, middle school, I wasn't showing him that stuff anymore. So I wanted 110%, right, cause that's genuinely that's really all I can ask of him, that he can produce instantly and all the time, whereas a move maybe not. So I'm not gonna be like you gotta do a blast double. I'm gonna tell him I want 110%, I want to see you go out there and if it's something you want bad enough, die for it. You know, die breathe, you know, just die for it. And that sounds like you looking at those kids. That's kind of what you're putting into them. So that's awesome. That's awesome. So you had the one year in Kimberly. What happened after? Where'd?

Speaker 3: 17:25

you go after that? Yeah, well then that was the kind of the next step and I don't want to say only stuff, cause I've been coaching off and on since but my main gig was that I got a teaching job in Cambridge and as a 23 year old, I mean I know it sounds crazy, but 23 year old became the head coach at Kimberly. Nice, kimberly, I just said Kimberly. Kimberly joined Cambridge High School. Holy cow, where the heck is that coming from?

Speaker 2: 17:49

It's awesome. It's awesome. So you're the head coach, you got the position. Yeah, what I think about now just cause, like going to USA wrestling, you got to take it. You know, take your coaches, test stuff like that, and you can see that next level, what you got to do to coach. Now I don't know what you got to do in the state of Wisconsin and the high school, especially at that time. Right, what are you thinking? You've been through a couple of coaching processes now and seeing a couple of different guys. Did you group a little bit of what you learned from those guys together to kind of put a game?

Speaker 3: 18:17

plan together. Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean I learned a lot from Chris as far as relatability, like PacWitz, but my main influence was Bill verbatin. Right, I mean Bill, bill, I like that. It's like he and and and epitomize, if that's right word. He embroiled team right and team concept and so you know, that's as far as experience. I think at that time it was pretty much just Fogger mirror. I could fog a mirror and you know, head coach, but if you ask, like if you got Bill or Matt and I've seen Matt, matt quite a bit if you ask them every, every day, I always my dream, I'm always like Bill, I'm going to take up.

Speaker 3: 18:51

That time Michigan was in our conference and they were, you know, a pretty good program now, but at that time they were bottom of the barrel. Yeah, and I would go Matt, I'm going to take over Michigan and I'm going to come back and I'm going to, you know, and I talk about all these things and they just, you know, they stick or they believed it right, and I didn't mean Michigan per se, but I meant a program like that. I didn't, I didn't want to go, with all due respect, I didn't want to go to like a. You know I didn't want to go to a program that was already established. I'm going to take a program that was down here and rise them up. And really, cambridge was that opportunity, because it was. It was very similar to to Michigan. They were, you know, a little bit down our lock. They had low numbers and kids really weren't. I was just different. I was different than what they were used to.

Speaker 2: 19:31

Let's just say that, sure, yeah, well, and so the other thing is, too is like I said, you still have that passion, right. So you kind of it was almost like you kind of smack the the team in the mouth and like, whoa, hey, what's what's going on? There's a guy like this, and I mean honestly, that's a motivator, right. I mean, if the kids are out for wrestling, they got to understand that there's going to be some hard things coming their way, whether it's pushups or something. But if the coach has energy and it's like you said, you're, you learned relatability and you, you know you learned, you already had the energy to do it. So it sounds like you had, you know, the fixings to kind of make some noise. So how, what was? Do you remember your first duel? Ha ha, yes, yes, I do. Let's talk about that, let's talk about your first duel.

Speaker 3: 20:13

It's funny because they're very memorable, right? Well, let me go back a little bit. So I, I, I, I go. So I'm teaching in Cambridge and I go into the. I have to go to the clinic in Cambridge to get a, to get a physical through the school. Okay, and this late I walk in and this lady and I won't say her name, I can still, I just still don't know her last name she goes oh, lurkwin. She goes you're the new wrestling coach. And I'm like yes, I am, I'm like don't you know.

Speaker 3: 20:36

Yeah, here I am. I'm thinking, yes, they already know me, she looks at me and I go. Yes, I am, and she goes. She looks at me, she goes. I don't like wrestling. I'm like welcome, welcome to Cape, right? I mean, here we go. Gabor's not not known for the wrestling, right? So I, my first year we had I don't know how many they had, the year before it wasn't a lot, it was less than 10. And then I got 18 kids out and I kid you, not of the 18, probably only I want to say 12 had ever wrestled before, right?

Speaker 2: 21:07

That's right, that's all right, that's all right.

Speaker 3: 21:09

It is. It is because I could shape them and I could mold them and I ended up having like seven or eight fresh when that year that ended up being you know that core group that we had, you know that. But my first duel we had a full team, 13 win classes, full team, nice. Really proud of that, yes, and cause at that level right In the conference.

Speaker 3: 21:28

We were in that level. You have a full team, you can win some duels. So I'm all excited, we're wrestling Houston's first, right, houston's first. And Dan Simon, great guy, always has great individuals, not a lot of numbers. Hey, steve, I'm going to fax you my lineup. He faxes me my lineup, or his lineup. I look at and they have three wrestlers right. So I'm like, hey, I'm one, and oh, we already, you know one. And oh, as a head coach, we already got this dual one right. And I still remember we win the dual. My parents, you know, keep in mind, my parents were used to going to right stone matches, right, sure.

Speaker 3: 21:57

Yeah, and pretty old gym and all that kind of stuff. My parents drive down from right stone to Cambridge. They walk in like five to seven. There's maybe oh, I'm going to say negative 10 people in the bleachers, right, and can't believe that. And we start the duel at seven, exactly at seven, at seven, 10, we're done. Wow.

Speaker 3: 22:18

We shake hands, I turn around, there's a mom. There's a mom from one of our wrestlers and I won't say who it is yeah, yeah, he was a senior. He was a first year kid. She had no idea what wrestling is. She meets me center mat right after I shake hands with Dan Simon and she's yelling at me that she wants her money back because she just paid and she only got this. And I'm like, oh, my goodness, what is going on here? Right, here's $4, relax. I had no idea. I was so floored because I'm thinking, oh yeah, everybody's gonna be so happy. Because I remember one of my kids went to not that duel but the next duel, a big duel we had with Waterloo and not beaten him for the first time in years. And one of our kids went to the local gas station and the younger worker there said, hey, how'd it go? Oh, we won. And she goes. Huh, I don't remember the last time we won a duel or something like that story, but so that was pretty fun.

Speaker 2: 23:13

That's pretty cool that you were able just right out the back I mean, it wasn't even about really winning, but you were able to drum enough energy in the school to be able to have that many kids go out for the sports. So you have a full roster Now. You just mentioned the duel that you talked about. That was they hadn't lost or you guys hadn't beaten them in years.

Speaker 3: 23:32

Yeah, I had one in years, one in duel.

Speaker 2: 23:35

So what was that experience like then? So what was the first kind of real duel I mean real duel that you had to compete against?

Speaker 3: 23:44

Well, that one was, I think, the big one where people started to realize like we had some potential that year, right, yeah, yeah, we wrestled Waterloo and you know, waterloo now is kind of like they're a pretty good team. At that time they were still pretty good and my kids I tell you what they really I don't wanna say they had no business winning that duel, but the only reason why they won that duel was because they believed it right, ability-wise, technique-wise, condition-wise like my kids were conditioned right.

Speaker 2: 24:12

Is that anything?

Speaker 3: 24:12

nobody's gonna out-condition us, and I think that at that time that conference wasn't ready for that. We would come out and punch in the mouth. We didn't know a lot of wrestling, so we better know how to punch right.

Speaker 2: 24:21

That says something to do about coach, that's for sure. Yeah, yeah, hell yeah.

Speaker 3: 24:25

We had a duel and the kids like, really, we had three matches that we shouldn't have won. We did. In fact, we had one kid CJ Roush, end up being a state qualifier for me and he's wrestling this kid from 1A9, right, the different weight class he's wrestling 1A9, he's wrestling this kid. And, brad, I kid you not first and one of the things I'm so like we do not get pinned right. We do your arms better get ripped off before you get pinned Right, and it's a mindset I still know kids are gonna get pinned, so I don't wanna go crazy, for sure, yeah, yeah, cj Roush spent.

Speaker 3: 24:58

Out of the six minutes he spent the first period, I wanna say he spent a minute 30 on his back. The second period he spent another minute 30-ish on his back. The score was 12-0, maybe 12-1. And in the third period he's on his back for another minute he fights. So I'm kidding.

Speaker 3: 25:16

Add this up maybe four minutes he fights off and then eventually puts the kid to his back. The kid's so dead tired we pin him, we end up winning that one and then we end up winning the duel and really it was like that was the point where kids started to believe, they started to believe and then the fans started and I told the kids I said you're gonna have to wrestle this gym.

Speaker 3: 25:35

It's really cool. In Cambridge there's two gyms and one of them's a smaller gym. I liked it. We wrestled in the pit. We would have a ball right. I remember one time we wrestled in Marshall a couple of years later, when us and Marshall became these big rivalries, and I'm coaching and there's fans standing literally right next to me because there's no other room for them and it's just loud. But I told the kids I said you have to put out a product that people wanna come see. And then they're like hey, we should probably put you in our big gym. I'm like no way we'll cram them in, we'll figure out where we'll come from the rafters.

Speaker 2: 26:10

Because people talk about that and they wanna come back every time. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 26:13

Cool absolutely.

Speaker 2: 26:14

So that reminds me, actually, of the Appleton West Gym. They have that balcony, so the wrestlers and the coaches are down on the basketball floor, but there's the balcony up above where everybody sits, all concrete, concrete seats, you know, and it's literally all the fans are looking down on the mat. And I walked into that gym. I was like this is pretty cool right here, like this is something where, if we could get an event together, like just a duel right here, and you get like 150 people up on top, yeah, yeah for sure.

Speaker 2: 26:44

So that's a great environment. And not only did you create a great environment, but you're creating a great team, team. Just the kids are coming together, like you said, with that what we say. I was back for like four minutes and four and a half minutes and then the kids you know.

Speaker 2: 26:58

So I mean that's crazy. So you've created this dynamic and, as you're going through, that first season was there. I mean, what was the kind of? Because now you're telling me about ties and stuff so what was it like to qualify for state as a team? Like, how did that all go for you guys?

Speaker 3: 27:14

Well, we never. That was the thing. We never qualified for state as a team, right? We? Yeah, we, we, so so in my seven years there we qualified for, I want to say we qualified for regionals four, five times, I mean, I think after my first year. No, after my second, gosh, I can't even do that. Oh hey, everybody, that's my four. Tornado's coming Yep. Sorry, buddy, we got a tornado warning going on here, so I should probably not. That is crazy.

Speaker 2: 27:43

It's February and you're getting tornado warnings.

Speaker 3: 27:45

Yeah, I keep seeing the thunder going on here. No, so my goal, you know, and maybe this quickly transitions us to you know, the end of my career. Yeah, it's all kind of together, but it's like so many great stories, you know I got to. You know you talked about story. I'll tell this one, corey. Well, I'll go back.

Speaker 3: 28:03

Heart. I think if someone wants to be a good coach, it takes heart, passion and it takes energy. Right, it's belief and belief in kids. Right? I don't claim to be. In fact, there's many times where I think you know I kind of got out, coached this and that and I was learning that process of it. Right, I was learning how to peak kids at the right time. I think I don't want to say I cost my kid a state title, but I think I got out coached. I got a kid that made the final. Robert Degg made the finals twice, I think his second time I got out coached. You know what I mean, all these things that you learn, but I and that's what I was going to develop right, technique. But if you have, if you believe in kids and you have passion for the sport and you have energy, people feed off that and they want to be around it, which I think is you know really why we're able to be successful because the kids did. I had awesome, awesome kids, right, and they just believed, right, they just believed in what we were doing and we had a lot of fun and we had this. You know, we had the statement that and I believed it. I said once it came to Dressler always it came to Dressler, you know, I'd like the kids would always come back and it was fun. It was a lot of fun and I can't remember oh, I got to tell this story real quick. This kind of puts the two in together. So Corey Sted I mean he'll probably listen to this and he's kidnapped out wrestlers and he was like my first, he was one of my first, he was my first state medalist, right, and I got to him as a junior and I think I didn't do anything for Corey other than just bleed belief into him right. Yeah, I just believed in him more than he believed in himself and eventually he got the confidence and ended up taking he was a sixth place medalist and my first year, so he didn't qualify his first year, but his second year he did, and my first year it was kind of around this time.

Speaker 3: 29:49

It was like before conference I wanted to do something different. So we took the kids to the pool, down to the elementary school, and Corey Stendzim's this farmer and he has like negative 8% body fat. Right, he's just, you know, skitties a bone. And he looks at me and he goes. I take him to the deep end. I'm like, all right, everybody jump in. We're gonna tread water for five minutes, kind of get warmed up.

Speaker 3: 30:07

And Corey Stendzim looks at me. He goes coach, I can't swim. And I look at him thinking, you know, these guys, he's five years younger than me or whatever, it is eight, six years, I think. He's pulling my leg and I go, shut up, I go get in the water. Well, he's so like Corey, run through that wall, corey do this. He just looks at me and he jumps in the water and he sinks to the bottom like a stone right Down. He goes. I'm like, so he jumped in or I can't remember what happened if he'd on and we came back up. And Corey and he goes coach, I told you I couldn't swim. I'm like he jumped in Everybody.

Speaker 2: 30:35

Corey's fine, corey's okay he jumped in.

Speaker 3: 30:39

But transitioning to that to I can't remember what year, oh, as far as you know, we did like and Brad, I believe this and I'm not a what-a-should-a-could-a guy, right, but, and we'll kind of talk about why I got into coaching and maybe that's the transition to it but I really did believe that we had an how do I say this? Right way, I knew that had I been able to continue at a level of what I was doing, we would have been, I can't say two years, three years, but we would have been a state qualifier program, we would have been a state level pro, we would have been hitting the top and I had a great coaching staff. I had Steve Wethel, I had Derek Benthouse and these guys were just, they were nothing. For the reason why I got a coaching. I can talk about what we go here, but we really did believe and we qualified for team sectionals four, five times At that particular time. We weren't. So Wrightstone was D3, just kind of ironic that the nemesis to us, one of the nemesis to us, was Wrightstone. We would go to team sectionals and I can't remember if we wrestled. I think we only wrestled them once, but they were always there. But I tell you what, what an honor, what an honor in the sectional final, to square off and over is Bill and Matt verbating across from the mat, from you, and my goal was to beat them right, and we, we, we did. But it was still kind of fun, though.

Speaker 3: 32:03

We had a time where we were wrestling. I think we only won. I think we only won one match, right, but my kid same thing. My kids battled, they all battled, and I was so like I'm getting you can't see my arm, but I'm getting like all the I was. They knew they were wrestling for me. They were. I'm like don't wrestle for me, wrestle for me. They're like no coach we're. We lost 12 matches but every kid went out there and just fought, and it was one time.

Speaker 3: 32:30

The refs maps. Refs didn't cost us it, but there were two particular matches where the ref the ref. Basically, one time we had a chest crusher in and Chris, chris Wenger's, got a chest crusher in because he didn't turn his hips. The other way, the ref gets flat on his back and he's stuck and the ref looks and he goes. He's not pinned because he didn't turn around. I'm like you freaking jazz man, what? Yeah, it was, it was.

Speaker 3: 32:55

And I'm yelling. I'm about I kid you, not, brad I'm about ready to get kicked out of this because I'm just I'm yelling at this guy. He's like being, he's literally. He had this cocky smugness to him and I'm just looking at me like you know, seen it, yep, and I'm yelling. I'm about ready to get and all of a sudden I hear Bill, my old coach I'm sorry, not old, my still coach, who's, you know, never made. I can tell you this I'm about ready to wrestle them in team sectionals.

Speaker 3: 33:21

We won our first ever regional title and I didn't know how to coach from there. Right, I didn't know how to. What do I do, right, how do I get guys ready for Tuesday and Saturday? Matt's about ready to wrestle us and he's given me advice on hey, you gotta do this, gotta get mentally, gotta talk about this, right, that's how good of a guy man is. And I'm yelling at this ref. I'm about ready to get kicked out. And all I hear from across the way is in his coaching voice he yells over. He said Bill always called me Stevie. Right, it was always. When I wrestled, it was always Stevie. He goes Stevie, you gotta settle down Like he's like the whole gym hears him coaching to me and it wasn't like Steve's. Shut your mouth, hey, it was Stevie. You gotta relax a little bit and let this go.

Speaker 3: 34:00

It was one of the coolest. Yeah, it was just anyway, but Nice. Yeah, we were kind of going from there and then you know, like I said, I we at that, I we had a good thing going, we really did. And I, and there's there's a lot of, there's still parts of me that regret walking away. But you know there's, everything happens for a reason, right.

Speaker 2: 34:22

Well, you built the culture, you know, and I think that's that's something that it's hard to do and it's not to say it's a you know if, if one team doesn't do it, it's not necessarily it was a coach's fault and sometimes it's just you're dealing with demographics. You got kids that are they're able to go out for the sport, so they go out for it and that's what they're there for is to, you know, and so if a I think a coach can kind of smell that and if it's not something that they want to do, you get away from it. But you also wound up being in a program that you said, like you said, you want to be able to build something and you get, man, I, it's kind of great that you were able to start with the great foundation, the way that you did, you know to to have some of the kids that had some veterans or veteran veterans is that a word? Probably not, I don't use it anyways. But to kind of be an anchor for the younger group cause you said they're like seven and be able to kind of go with that. That's that's pretty special to be able to have.

Speaker 2: 35:14

I would say, something you built. You know that, that you were able to put together and great coaching staff. You got to have that as well. So, with that environment and with the way that it was going, you're kind of talking about how the end came. So why did that? How come you have all that cohesiveness? What happened?

Speaker 3: 35:31

You know it was well, so I you know talking about it. I remember you talked about numbers of kids. Think about it. Camers at that time had about 250 kids. There was one year we had 33 kids.

Speaker 3: 35:39

That's right 33, typically we had about 25, 26,. You know and you know, so it was, it was good. So I think it kind of goes with. This is that my, my career kind of started a wide now and it was all self-inflicted. I, at that particular time I burned myself out, and not because I overworked or anything like that, it was more mental, like I could not, I could not separate wrestling from life and everything was about like we would win and I would feel good for about oh, about 32 minutes and then, as soon as it was constant worry. I had problems with anxiety back then and just constantly worried about, you know, if a kid left, if a kid had terrible practice, I was worried all night like, oh, how's he doing? What's the oh? No, and I was just, I couldn't shut my brain off. I would, I would. If we had to wrestle a good duel, I would be up at three o'clock in the morning still with papers all over the floor of possibilities that that teams could analyze?

Speaker 3: 36:43

What's that? That could have happened. Yeah, like, what if they do this? So I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this, and I couldn't shut my brain off. But here's the bad part, brad If we were wrestling a team that we knew we're, I like, had no business, I would be doing the same thing and I couldn't, I couldn't, I just couldn't shut it off, and I and I'll tell you it's, it's. And another thing was that I would, when I was with my kids and I was with my wife. I wasn't with my kids and I wasn't. Does that make sense?

Speaker 3: 37:11

I was totally with them in body, but I was somewhere else. You were there, but you were not there, yep.

Speaker 3: 37:16

And that was Wayne, my wife. My wife is fantastic and she was very, you know, like, but that's Wayne and I, you know, I I'll tell you this is I learned this later on but Grayson Clark, who we had in our podcast, he gave the best advice ever. He puts it. He puts it what I learned. Eventually, he put the best that I've ever heard. We had him on. So what's what advice he got for young kids? And he said be where your feet are, uh-huh yeah.

Speaker 2: 37:41

Be where your feet are.

Speaker 3: 37:42

And I'm like dude, that is the best way.

Speaker 3: 37:43

He goes, he goes yeah, four state titles and all this is good because it's like, it's, it's the people, it's this and I'm like, and and here's the thing is that I, I, I talked about it, I, I find coach, I got one coach that I'm thinking of in particular and if he hears this, he'll know exactly cause I've, I've, I said I'm going to give you unsolicited advice because you remind me a lot of me. He's younger, he's probably, you know, I don't even know his age, right, it's like 20s or 20s.

Speaker 3: 38:06

And I said I'm going to give you unsolicited advice and I go and you're going to take it. And I was kind of just talking about you know, hey, you're passionate at this, but you got to figure out how to separate it. You got to, you know, take your wife out and dates. You got to do this. You got to do and even and and and um, I think I can give young coaches that and I think it was um, I kind of knew it was done.

Speaker 3: 38:28

I was done when I was already kind of like mentally like there, but what, what set me over is I you know, I'm not saying what I did was right or not, I'm not late, but I had an interaction with one of my wrestlers, my one of my wrestlers, and the parent didn't like how I had done it. Yeah, and they and now it didn't hurt Brad, but this, this parent, took their finger and they jabbed it into my chest and I and I still is right here, I, I still it did like I said it didn't hurt, but I can still feel it, feel it, yeah for sure, and I remember at that particular moment I go Yep, I, I knew I was at that moment, I knew I was walking away. So there's.

Speaker 2: 39:06

You know I've. I've had some or heard some instances of it's crazy how, especially when you're a coach that puts your all into it like you know, kind of hearing about you that's exactly how it sounds and knowing that there, you know there are other guys that are out there that have that. You know there's. There are parents that don't see the value behind what you're giving these kids. You know you're Because we do, you hear about it and you see it in posts all the time that you want these wrestlers to be Men on the mat and off the mat, right what men or women, you know it doesn't matter which gender, it's just the. Then you have the certain parent that they think that they're entitled to certain things and that their opinion matters and that they're angry and you need to listen at that moment and you know being told especially that you're. You know you don't have my you know Child's best interest at heart and that's all you're putting into. It is your heart, you know that's rough, that's hard.

Speaker 3: 40:00

I'm with. That being said, they had their kids best. You know what I mean. Like, yeah and I'm not. I Maybe I should just said that maybe I shouldn't, but I'm not blaming that parent. What I'm, what I'm saying is that I didn't do, I didn't, I wasn't necessarily happy with how even myself as I reflect back on it but I'm also not blaming that parent, particularly for being, For being a parent right. In that particular moment. They were upset. They thought I wronged their kid and I could all read you have Kids, right. Yeah, I could only imagine if somebody wrongs my kid, you know what I mean. Yeah, you're gonna react with your way, but yeah, that was that, was. That was kind of it. And then the bird.

Speaker 3: 40:37

I don't get it kind of a wrap-up question with Cambridge, but but that's kind of. That's kind of as far as I had coach coaching, yeah, that's kind of where that's where it fizzle out for you.

Speaker 2: 40:47

Well, that makes, I mean, that makes sense. I especially I said that and that's kind of where I was coming from with that when you put your heart into it and You're, you really are interested, have a vested interest in these kids and what they're doing, and then just to kind of Understand that, well, maybe it really isn't. You know, this is, this is not what I got into it for, this is not why I was doing it. So then you lose, you kind of lose the, the luster of it and and so you're done. So what, the coaching ended when you kind of sat down and we're like you obviously your head teaching, so it's not like you didn't have anything going on. But you start teaching and you because now we're gonna start diving into the podcast thing a little bit, right, we're, you're living life for a little while. Right, this podcast thing didn't pop up right away, did?

Speaker 3: 41:29

it. No, no, yeah, I coach a few. You know I did some like Help it, you know, to help it out. I helped out with Fort for here and I coached. I coached at the middle school as a head middle school coach For a little while and you know, enjoy, enjoy, all aspects of it. I would go to a few times coaches would still ask me hey, can you come up and wrestle with this kid? Or go wrestle with this kid, nice, you know, nice, still young enough and to do all those kind of things.

Speaker 3: 41:52

And and then really a kind of you know how to bring Shane sparks into it is that Shane sparks did an amazing thing with Badger, badger State Wrestling, right, and I don't know when he stopped doing that, but when he laughed he left a huge void, right, just because, oh, what you know what's in. And when I and I start to get thinking and I'm like I want people here is I had no urge to be, you know I'm not, I've no urge to become Shane sparse, shane sparks as his own entity, but there was a void that I wanted to try to fill right. I had this urge of man, I want to go out and broadcast matches. I want to. Just, I just love wrestling, yeah, and yeah, it sure did it, you can.

Speaker 3: 42:31

You can only imagine Brad be with technology. It's like I, I'd, I'd, oh, yeah, I'm gonna go do this, and then things don't work. I and like, yeah, when people speak to me about, oh, plug this USB cord into this gigabyte and this gigabyte, and all this kind, it's like Spanish. It's so like all I heard was turn the computer on and okay, and, and I asked me walk through step by step. And so I kept trying to do it and just fail and miss. Or I had a couple successful ones, you know, I did a right stone, what's more match, but I had Tony shafts help and set it all out. You know, like all these things. And then the cool thing was and I'm forever in his dad is to Tom McGarvey, from the guy that used to run, or founder of Wisconsin, wrestling right, oh, okay.

Speaker 2: 43:12

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 43:13

Well, so he would, I would talk, and sometimes he would send me out under his name like hey, go to broadcast this, and then I would and it would suck and I wouldn't do it right, and I felt so bad. But and then I want to say it must been five years ago now. If you do do the math, with all you know a long time span. But yeah, he, he goes. Hey, there's this guy and he just started a podcast and that got. This guy was this guy, was Teague. Right, yeah, I should introduce you. And then he gave me his number and I and I reached out and Teague and I kind of connected and then you know, there's a story in there, right, yeah, yeah, that was, that was and it was right from the get-go. You know it was a great partnership because Teague, well, yeah, teague is like Teague, right?

Speaker 2: 43:58

I mean that's nice. He is the brain, he's that guy is Unbelievable right.

Speaker 3: 44:03

And he, he, the knowledge right, that in the technology, yeah, and then I just I don't know what I provide to the, to the group, but it's. Stop self deprecating, stop it. I'm glad that he but he did so. He did the podcast a year before I joined him. They all okay and then and then, and then we joined him and it's a great partnership. You know, he's he's. He's a little bit younger, I'm a little bit older, right? I think we we give each other. We balance right, right yeah he.

Speaker 3: 44:36

Well, good, what was the first episode you did with them? The first episode we did was we did a. So this is June now, right, so state has already happened. Yeah, 2020, I think it was, and it was June, and we did a recap of the state tournament and we recorded it once and we got done. We're like that sucked. And then we recorded again the next day and it's so funny because someone on and then we posted on the forum on Wisconsin wrestling that oh, we just did a recap and someone puts in the comments and said Wasn't that in February? They were like you know, you're thinking you're gonna get. Oh yeah, I hate people are gonna be appreciative and some of those, oh yeah, one slight, you know, whatever, but there's always that dude out there.

Speaker 2: 45:21

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, so as you kind of, as you were going through the years here with with Tegh, because it's interesting, yeah, I, I think my first interview I did was in like 20 I think it was. 2019 is super basic.

Speaker 3: 45:38

You know I'm going right behind your head there that I see it says established 2019.

Speaker 2: 45:42

So 2019 there it is. So there I got. So I got to me We'll talk about that later but I started with just a phone next to recording, next to my laptop, because I didn't understand software. I didn't understand any of it, right, I was kind of like you guys, like I was by myself, but I was just interviewing people, just kind of going with the flow, and I think I interviewed one person and talked about something. It was again, it was late and someone made the same kind of comment Like hey, it wasn't, didn't they do that? Like well, this, so, so what, I want to talk about it now.

Speaker 2: 46:19

Like I didn't get to talk to him then you know, so that just kind of the process of going through it, what were you kind of thinking, as you're, as you're starting out to, you're talking wrestling, something you love. You didn't have the stress of culture, compete, so you're able to kind of do this thing within the sport. Did you, did in? I'll ask, just like I asked an athlete, did you? Were you ever like I don't know if I want to do the same, or I'm kind of did a couple episodes, I'm good, or was it like this is awesome, I want to do this forever?

Speaker 3: 46:45

Um, I still feel that way, like, um, I think T, so I didn't realize this, but T, when I called T, he was thinking about not doing the podcast anymore. Right, he was a year into it and I was trying to get in that little bit of like eh, you know, and I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think he'll tell you that he goes. If I didn't call him, he probably might not exist, Right. So I mean if I give him anything I do, I do give energy.

Speaker 3: 47:11

We'll just say that, right yeah you do, but um, I don't, I can't say I mean I get tired, right. I mean sometimes it's um, you know I'll, I'll be gone Friday and I'll ref all day on Saturday and then I'm going over notes doing podcast, you know cause it takes. It takes to do a recap notes. It's probably anywhere between three to five hours, depending on you know, if you want to do a good job, or on the five hours, right and um, sometimes there it's like man, I'm a little tired, but as soon as T says welcome ladies and gentlemen to it, you know, as soon as he actually before that off camera, it's always this is our little like he goes. Well, let's give it the old colleague try. He says that every single time before he does it, yep.

Speaker 3: 47:53

And as soon as he says that it's like yep, um, let's, let's go you know it's go time, it's awesome, yeah.

Speaker 2: 47:59

So how did you, how did you feel that dynamic felt right away with that first episode? Did you cause it? Here's the thing, steve, is you. You don't give yourself enough credit. Okay, you don't. You're like I said, you're very self deprecating and I understand where you're coming from, but did you, did you find yourself kind of like, uh, did you find a sweet spot? Do you think there's a? What do you think is your sweet spot with this podcasting thing? I don't know if I can find my own other than just liking, liking, talking to people. But what do you think is it? Put the numbers together? Is it just kind of? Is it talking with T? What do you think your sweet spot is?

Speaker 3: 48:30

Um, you know, I don't, you're right, I don't give myself a lot of credit in much, much, you don't. The only thing that I do say that I am good at it out and I'll, and I'll tell people, I tell you know, in school, and this is that I'm good at finding the strengths of other people and telling them about it. Right, okay, and I feel the gaps. I don't. I don't have to be the leader. I'm not. But if I walk into a situation and I need to lead, I will. I don't want to be, but I will write.

Speaker 3: 48:56

And, um, if I need to be like I'll walk into situations, I'm like, oh, this room needs energy. Well, I'm going to figure that out. I'm going to walk into a room. I can walk into a room and realize that many of those areas are already being covered. I have no problem taking a step back and being like this is, this is covered, it's just. And I would say, um, you know what I, what I bring the podcast to Teg is, I fill in. You know there's a, there's a I said this to Teg once, but it got to be careful because it's Rocky and uh, uh, adrian, right, so Rocky says to Adrian is like. Well, I think it's. Paulie says to Rocky what, what, what do you like her so much? And he goes. Well, I got gaps and she got gaps and went to room work together. We got no gaps, right, you know, that's the famous word by Rocky.

Speaker 3: 49:42

Say again it's a good way to put it that's what, that's. What I provide is a Teg skill. You know, his I saw. I sometimes feel guilty because he does so many like he does the re-record and then he kind of does the editing, gets the podcast out and he does all those the setups in there and and, uh, you know, sometimes I feel like gosh, I want, I want to do more, but I don't. Teg has never expressed that he doesn't like, see, if I want you to do it, it's like I tell them. I tell them, uh, you know, it's like that's, that's what he's good at, that's what he's gifted, right, and uh, so I would think that's what I bring.

Speaker 3: 50:13

You guys are going to let those pieces fall together.

Speaker 2: 50:15

You know, as, as you've been doing it through the years, you're like, okay, well, you're going to this, you're going to this and you let the good times roll. It's fun listening to you guys because you do put so much information together, you know. So, like you said, three to five hours worth of work, I mean, and then being able to to go out and ref, I mean you're, you're still in it, you still loving the sport, you're still able to be around it and not exactly you know the environment in ways that you would probably not want to be around it, so you're able to take the the most of every situation in the sport. We, we love listening to you. I mean Christina listens to you. I know Liam once in a while throws up a couple of the episodes and listens to him. So I mean you guys carry a certain amount of value that that comes with what you're doing. So we all appreciate it. So that's for sure. We, we definitely want to make sure that you guys keep going. So as long as I'm on, I'm going to keep having you guys on.

Speaker 2: 51:05

And now, now that we've had part two and we've completed your story, now we can have Tigue back on and we can have you Tigue me, zach, and we can do the whole whole big, just mind blown type type episode. So what do you what? What are you? What are you looking forward to most? I guess with this season, you guys have done a lot. I mean, I get sectional previews you guys did. I mean it's just, it's insane, with what you guys have put together information, what are you looking together? It is as just you, not together. But what are you looking forward to this year to cap the year off? Is there something special you're waiting for? Is there a matchup you're looking for that could be happening in Wisconsin, that you're thinking about, that you want to see?

Speaker 3: 51:53

Well, yeah, I you know what I'd like to see. I'd like to see Kakaon and Luxembourg dual it out on the. That's what I'd really like to see Me too, me too. Yeah, no kidding. I mean I'm looking forward to I mean hypothetically it's got to happen, but I'm going to kind of get more. You know Tiggs going up to they're splitting up the band right.

Speaker 2: 52:12

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 52:13

T, but I'm excited. Tiggs going up in the nominee and I just proximity wise with me teaching and trying to get back. I can't go with him. So he's going up there and I'm actually going with Jake and we're doing Fetta more. Nice.

Speaker 3: 52:23

Well, yeah, anyways. Well, it's at Fenimore, right, I mean. But you know, think of those teams. It's gonna be either Fenimore Aquinas or, I, Grant Aquinas, so that you know the winner is like those three teams. Someone was breaking that down. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's gonna be fun. I'm you know. I don't know if you know this or not, but with the four of us are doing a on Wednesday night before state at the Cole Center. We're doing like a live show. Huh, I don't know. I don't know if I'm supposed to say it.

Speaker 2: 52:48

It feels like an idea I threw out there at some point in time. That's interesting. Oh, did you?

Speaker 3: 52:51

really shoot. I don't know if I was supposed to say that out loud or not. I think it's public knowledge. It doesn't matter.

Speaker 2: 52:55

I wanted to do it at a bar. I didn't want to do it in a hotel room or anything like that. Oh, gotcha yeah.

Speaker 3: 53:00

Things like that, but I don't know. It's like we're, tegan and I, are always trying to figure out. We know what we do is good. Right, I'm not trying to, but we know what we do is good and it provides a value to people. Because people listen, right, and I think you know we, our favorite thing is when people just come up and say hey, thank you for mentioning me. I mean, we talk about every like we'll mention kids that you know are 20 and 20, right, they don't have to be the superstuds and we try to like really, find those kids.

Speaker 3: 53:30

Many ways you can, and that's awesome, right. And so Tegan and I are always trying to figure out how to make you know, like we don't, we go in seasons, right? So after team state we kind of that's the end of a season, yep. And then we try to figure out like okay, how are we going to get better? What can we, what can we do to improve? You know, and I think that's-.

Speaker 2: 53:50

Here's a question have you guys ever thought about trying to cover state freestyle and Greco stuff?

Speaker 3: 53:55

Yeah, it's, we talk about it. Yep, so our niche so I have learned this in my short time in business it's that, it's you find a niche and you and you feel it right. I think we're, we're organizations. There's a book guy by Jim Collins called Good to Great. So it said that what, what good companies do is they find their niche and then they, they stay within that niche, right, and then when companies fail is, oh, they start having success, and then they start, they start doing you know, and then, and then, as soon as that happens, now you're, you break down, the leadership breaks down. So our niche is high school wrestling in the state of Wisconsin, right, yeah. And if we stay there and not try to explain, you know, people always ask us, can you?

Speaker 3: 54:37

do that or do this, and as soon as we start to do that, yeah, then it. You know like oh hey, you guys should cover college. Yeah, that's true, but we'll, you know, yeah. So freestyle, yeah, these are all things that we want to start being able to do. And then, you know, people got to realize, too, that Teg and I both have full-time jobs. You know what I mean. It's like we don't care.

Speaker 2: 54:58

We want information, we want shows, that's true, that's true.

Speaker 3: 55:02

But you know, to be honest with you, I wish this was my fault, right? I mean because it's a yeah, I just love looking at brackets. I wish I had Teg's memory. Oh, because I could. I can look at a bracket and then turn it off and go wait. Who was I looking at again?

Speaker 2: 55:13

But I love looking at it. Tell me about it. You know that guy's memory is insane. That's a, so it's kind of it's kind of crazy especially knowing the dynamic that you guys have that that there's a the amount of information that he's able to get, but you still get a decent amount of information. So I mean you guys still compile, like just you talking about you know the, you know just the name of a kid that's, you know 20 and 20 or whoever.

Speaker 2: 55:38

It is the amount that you guys dig. You know it's not just the, the information that you're bringing to us, but how much you dig into these teams because you guys have relationships with the coaches. You guys have relationships with some of these parents that maybe it's their second kid coming up and you actually saw their older child come up through wrestling. You know things like that. So you guys have put in a lot of time in gyms. You guys have put a lot of time in just doing the podcast and looking on track wrestling or you know wherever you can to get information and contacting coaches. So as long as you guys are doing it, I think it's, I think it's only gonna be a great thing for Wisconsin and Wisconsin wrestling. So you guys. Better not quit you two specifically.

Speaker 3: 56:21

I have. No, you know, I always go by like I'm not gonna say I'm gonna do it forever. As long as people want what we do and I enjoy doing it, I'm gonna do it because I'd hate to keep doing something that people don't. You know what I mean. That's the thing.

Speaker 2: 56:34

That's a fear.

Speaker 3: 56:36

That's my kind of like when I was the head coach, even though this wasn't the case. But when I'm like, wait, they don't want and I interpreted too much. But well, when they don't want me anymore, I'm gone. You know what I mean. You ever see the movie Legend of Baker Vance?

Speaker 3: 56:50

Yes couple times. Yeah, one of my I love scenes from movies and one of my favorite scene error was when the guy's winning. He hits his last pot and he wins it and Will Smith is walking down the beach away from the situation. Right, and basically the symbolism was is that he wasn't needed anymore. So that's why he, that's why he's gone right, he's done.

Speaker 3: 57:10

Gosh, it's just, it's like I wanna be part of you know, that's kind of why I got into refing, because I probably wouldn't have, but there's such a need for it. Right, there's a and if, and if I'm not, and I'm studying, I try to get better. I'm only in my second year of varsity. I'm always trying to get better, but if there ends up being a whole bunch of refs that are better than me and I'm not like, and I'm lowering the bar for refereeing, I'm gonna get out of it. Right, I don't wanna be that guy that's holding up refing, but I enjoy it. I mean, I love, I think I'm doing an okay job. I'm trying to get better and better. I'm always asking Ryan McGuire and Neil Steak like, hey, can you guys come watch me? I wanna get better. Hey, bring a notepad and tell me. Right, and you know, and I just had a situation you were talking about dads and stuff, and here I was refing a youth tournament and there's this dad and he's just yelling at his kid get up, get up.

Speaker 3: 58:00

You know, like the kid's got here's what I wanna do to a parent that, a youth parent that yells at their kid to get up. I wanna throw them down, not throw them. I wanna put them down on the mat. Get me on top of them and have me get a pry bar out and I'm gonna start yelling in the air get up, yeah, get up. You know. And here's the funny thing and this is where I don't stick my nose in too much business but I'm going to try to make an impact.

Speaker 3: 58:23

And this kid was wrestling hard. He really, really wrestled. Good, he wrestled, you know, I lost like eight or something, but he wrestled hard all the time and I raised his hand I'm sorry, not raised his hand Raised the other kid's hand. I said great job. And I put my arm around the scruff of this kid's neck and I walked to the mat, walked to the edge of the mat, walked him off the mat and I said, buddy, you wrestled so hard. That match Great job, I'm really proud of you. And I looked right at the dad, right in the eyes, and the dad just shut his mouth, put his arm around his son and walked away. And I hope, I hope he got the message.

Speaker 2: 58:53

Yeah, tell us you're a loud parent without telling us you're a loud parent. You know, you basically told him he was a loud parent without telling him. That's right. No, it's, hey, I've been guilty of it too. I mean Liam's what? 15 now, so I'm gonna be 16. I've had plenty of moments when he was younger where I was kind of probably a little out of hand. But then as you grow, hopefully that guy learned from that. You know.

Speaker 2: 59:11

Hopefully, and that's again, you have this ability to create a culture, like I mean, just doing that mat side and not creating a scene and not having to say something directly is just eye contact with a statement to the child Good to go. You're creating a culture every time you go somewhere, and that's again the podcast and the show that you guys do it. It creates a culture People keep wondering about. You know there's not enough banter.

Speaker 2: 59:37

I was just reading that today. There's not enough banter on the forum. You know stuff like that. People are able to kind of get out and listen to things you know, like your podcast, our podcast and talk about things and be able to kind of so sometimes it gets put somewhere else it's not always on the forum, you know, but at the same time again, I don't think a lot of those people would have information without you guys. So we appreciate everything that you guys do you and Teague, but especially you, because this show's been about you and I'm going to get out of your hair, so that way you survive a tornado that could be possibly coming your way.

Speaker 3: 1:00:10

I was going to tell you that I was going to interrupt you. When you were talking, there was hail hitting the window about five minutes ago.

Speaker 2: 1:00:15

You got to get home, you got to get to school, you got to go on. But again, steve, we appreciate you coming back on. Hey, no technical difficulties, right, we're good, we got the smooth show right. So has there been a. You've had a lot of shows that I've seen that didn't get cut off, but have there? This is just kind of a weird question have there ever been? Has there ever been a show that you guys have done where you saved the day? You mean like technically, Technically yeah, oh, technology wise.

Speaker 3: 1:00:44

Yeah, no, he had me do a pot. I cannot remember who it was, but he couldn't come. I had to report the podcast. Oh, brad, I was. I was shushing my pants, man. I was like, oh, it was so bad, that's fun. But yeah it was fun. We didn't do that anymore.

Speaker 2: 1:01:04

Well, I hope I get to see you guys down at state. I know, are you guys going to do you guys go to team state? Do you guys do something?

Speaker 3: 1:01:12

down there. Yeah, we did the, so we did the broadcast last time. So we were that's right, yeah. So I did, I think I did D3 and he did, did he do D2, and then Joe did D1. Okay, okay, nice, nice.

Speaker 2: 1:01:25

Okay, again, I know what you guys do, but a lot of times I like to ask so that everybody else knows. But, yeah, so it'll be good to see you guys down there. We'll be paying attention to what you guys have coming up with, the sectionals and everything like that. But guys, check these guys out Wisconsin wrestler podcast. They are on Rockfin. They are also on social media. When you guys do your live stuff, you can see them on Facebook. Yep, they're on social media everywhere. They're on Instagram, they're on Twitter, they're on Facebook. They're on. Are you guys on?

Speaker 3: 1:01:55

TikTok. Well, that's a good my. So I don't know anything about TikTok, but my daughters are going to start a TikTok account for us, so be watching for that Nice. They're going to be the. They're going to make the content. And it's kind of funny because they're nervous because I told Tigue that they want to do it. He's like, yeah, and I said, tigue, I want you to take, I want you to talk to them though. And he's like yeah, I'll talk to them. The first three have to be approved by me, and this and that. And if you're going to start this, there's no, you know, we're not joking around about it. You're putting out content like once or twice a week. You know they're all like, oh, we got to talk to Tigue. You know they're all nervous. So like, oh, my gosh, you know.

Speaker 3: 1:02:29

So yeah, there will be we'll be starting a TikTok account to your time.

Speaker 2: 1:02:35

Good you guys can check out. There's other episodes that they have out on YouTube, just like on here. Go check them out. Wisconsin wrestler podcast. But hey, this has been Steve Lurkwin, wisconsin wrestler podcast guy. Wisconsin wrestling, I would say staple. So if you guys get the chance to an end of those guys, pay attention to what they're talking about, because they know everything about Wisconsin wrestling. So again, thank you, steve. That's all for going to talk for just a second, but we're going to let the folks go here. So you guys have a good night. This has been the vision quest podcast. Peace. Just a standing moment.