Character matters in life and sports, and Tom Ryan’s character is grounded in love.
Take a moment and recall words and phrases used by college coaches, no matter their division. For this discussion, though, let’s concentrate on the coaches in D-1 and consider words we’ve all heard them say: athleticism, dedication, drive, strength, speed, agility, being a team player, having the will to win, being a marquee player, and savvy.
Coaches use words and phrases to describe their athletics and their programs, and to explain why their athletes, programs, and coaches deserve our support and admiration. Such coaches are paid large salaries, often more than their institution’s president.
But a critical goal of participation in athletics is to help build and shape character, and coaches often say as much. But why do we not hear more of them use the word “love”–not the erotic form of love–but the philia or agape form of love? The former is not love but lust, a short-term emotion that, as the Pointer Sisters sing, “Comes and goes in a heated rush.” However, the latter forms of love are profound, deep, full of admiration, overflowing with respect, and are returned twofold.
I recently thought of that type of love when I heard of a D-1 wrestling coach using it. It happened after watching a video of Ohio State wrestling at Virginia Tech on Friday, November 10, when the #13 (at the time) Buckeyes upset the #4 Hokies in Blacksburg, VA.
Rock Harrison, an announcer for ACC wrestling, talked about his pre-match interview with Ohio State coach Tom Ryan. Ryan told Harrison that it was important for a coach to love his wrestlers and for wrestlers to know that he loved them. That message gave me pause for thought, so I searched videos to listen to what Coach Ryan had to say himself. It didn’t take long to locate a video from last season, and I heard Coach Ryan say how important it was that his wrestlers love each other.
College coaches at Coach Ryan’s level are paid to win. They are even forgiven for making huge transgressions if they win big and long enough. To win, coaches seek blue-chip athletes, and these days, that means securing NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals.
So, where does love figure into the equation? What strikes me about Coach Ryan–and how he approaches his job at Ohio State–is that he is a role model for what we need in collegiate coaching–he wins and preaches/practices love.
Ryan has coached individual national champions at Ohio State and won NCAA team titles there, too. His Big 10 record is .600+, and he has been named Coach of the Year several times. Ryan has been inducted into athletic halls of fame at both Hofstra and Ohio State. Ryan is a winner.
Ryan also dares to say that loving his wrestlers and them loving each other is paramount. He works his charges to be the best they can be, and the foundation of success is love. Putting it another way, you can say that love is the engine that drives the train of Ohio State wrestling.
I neither know Coach Ryan nor do I follow Ohio State, but as a former wrestling coach and fan, I admire him for wearing a jacket and tie during meets and how he instructs and encourages his wrestlers. I believe he has taken to heart the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Like all great teachers, Tom Ryan teaches more than just his discipline.
