#85 Kevin Ward - Army Head Coach

Wrestling Changed My Life (Wrestling Podcast)

Wrestling Changed My Life

Sports

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2019

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kevin Ward was named Army West Point's 10th head wrestling coach on Aug. 1, 2014 and has led the Black Knights ever since. Prior to Army, Ward turned a wrestling program built from scratch at Ouachita Baptist University into a national contender Ouachita. Ward was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the NCAAs. Ward was also a major factor in fundraising for the wrestling squad. He helped raise more than $300,000 in donations to the up-and-coming program during his four-year stint. Over his first two months at Ouachita, Ward led the renovation effort of the team’s weight room, which hadn’t been updated in nearly 30 years. An accomplished wrestler at Oklahoma State, Ward started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Cowboys during the 2006-07 season, while earning his master’s degree in health and human performance. He assisted legendary head coach John Smith with drill sessions and preparing the team for competitions, as well as coaching at open tournaments.

Transcript

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0:00.0	on episode 85 of the wrestling change my life podcast with Army head coach
0:04.3	Kevin Ward. You know I look back at coach Smith you know and his attitude was just never ever
0:11.5	satisfied ever and it was just this relentless pursuit of knowing
0:16.7	that you can be better and always being measured by the expectations of the
0:22.2	program which are to be the very best.
0:28.8	We can endure anything and adapt and pivot and change. Wrestling gave us that ability. I would say nothing in life has impacted me more than the things wrestling has taught me in terms of self-reflection, resilience.
0:44.0	Toughness.
0:45.0	Some guys have it, some guys don't.
0:47.0	Adversity, 100% how to pick myself up and be a man after I failed.
0:52.0	And everything that has shaped my life
0:55.4	and where I'm at today would not be there without the values
0:59.0	and basically the lessons I've learned
1:01.2	through the sport of wrestling. For me, you're wrestling save my life because it allowed me to focus and channel my energy.
1:08.0	We're fortunate if you wrestle because if you wrestle,
1:12.0	natural talent helps, but it's 5% of the ingredient.
1:19.2	It pales in comparison to heart and technique and effort.
1:24.3	It humbled me, taught me humility.
1:26.1	Nothing can humble you more than wrestling.
1:29.7	I think it's the learning to adapt, right?
1:32.3	You learn, you learn how to adapt, you learn how to solve problems.
1:36.4	You know, if I look back at my time, I spent wrestling. If it gave me one thing more than anything else, it's
1:40.4	mental toughness. Welcome back to wrestling,
	...

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