Jon Reader: Battered, Bloodied and always Dedicated (Part 2) - Ep. 26

Part 2 of Shane Sparks' discussion with current Wisconsin assistant coach and past NCAA Division I champion Jon Reader on Episode 26 of the Go Earn It Podcast.

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to the Go Earn It Podcast, where we bring you stories each week
of people who have battled through adversity, overcame the obstacles, and earned their
dream. You were born for greatness, and our mission is to bring you
the stories that will inspire you todream big and go earn It. Go

(00:27):
Earn It Podcast. I am ShaneSparks. This is episode number twenty six,
Part two with twenty eleven national championfor Iowa State John Readery, of
course, was a three time statechampion at Davidson High School in Michigan.
John, you are a passionate guy. Part one of this podcast was fantastic.

(00:47):
I want to ask you this questionout of the gate here on part
two. What is something within thesport of wrestling that fires you up the
most within the sport? Whatever itmight be. I just think there's there.
What fires me up about is thatI have one hundred percent control over
that that the discipline that I canbring into this sport or when I was

(01:11):
an athlete. I'm a very passionateguy. I'm not a I'm not a
like the kind of attitude. I'venever been a fifty percent kind of guy.
I've never been a half glass emptykind of guy. It's always been
a thousand percent all in. I'malways been extremely When I'm passionate about something,
I am one thousand percent in.There's nothing I won't do to go
get that. And I just thinkthat with that kind of attitude, and

(01:34):
you are in a program where theysay, hey, you know, here's
your nutrition plan, here's your strengthplan, here's your mentality training plan,
here's your rehab. I was athousand percent all in, and there's there.
I was all I was that athletethat was all in and I'm thirty
six years old now, was Shane, and I'm still that kind of mindset.

(01:55):
You know, That's just who Iam. So for me, I
was very drawn in this, especiallyat the Colesian level man where I had
one hundred percent control over because Iwas. I truly believed and I still
do believe, I got an edgeon my opponents because of that. I
was not a gifted athlete. Iwas not an athlete that stook out on
the strength meter or the agility being. It was because of what I was

(02:20):
willing to do. I was sodisciplined and everything I do. I tracked
my sleep, my nutrition, mymy hydration I was about. I was
fanatical, Shane, when the gamescome down to it, I was fanatical
in my pursuit to being a nationalchampion, and I was not. I
could not put my head down atnight and and and and know that I
cook corners. It did not,It did not, it done. It

(02:42):
did not sit well with me,and it never did. I couldn't.
I couldn't do that to myself.I couldn't cheat myself. I couldn't cheat
my teammates because ultimately, this boardis one on one and it's it will
come out in the in the inthe toughest of moments, in the most
high stress moments, the thirty secondsleft in the NC semi finals, those
are the toughest moments in this sport. And those when you cut the corners,

(03:06):
that's when they're gonna come out.And that was in whether they do
or not, I believed it,and I truly was. That's how I
lived my life in my career.And I know it's funny now I'm thirty
six, like I said, andI'm far far removed from my own athletic
career, but I still you know, my wife still makes front of me.
I track my food. Still Itrack my what I drink. I
track all of that, but it'sbecome who I am, and I like

(03:29):
the way I feel what I'm doingthings right, and I try to be
a reflection and I try to besomeone that my athletes can can model after
living in a clean life lifestyle anddoing the right things on how they treat
their teammates, how they treat people, and the whole thing right. But
I've always been fanatical, see,and that's what I love about this sport

(03:50):
that if you can put your headdown and you can do all the right
things, man, you're going tobe in a great situation to accomplish your
goals. And like I said,I tell my athletes all the time,
you're not guaranteed anything in the sport. You can do all those things right,
and you can do all the thingsnecessary, you can still fall short.
But that's life. That's okay,listen, that's all right. You're

(04:10):
gonna get back up and you're gonnakeep moving forward. But man's that's one
thing that fires me up for sure. If you could change anything in college
wrestling, what would you change?I really love. I don't know if
I would change anything right now,it's kind of a I was sitting ponder
on that. But I love therule changes that we had last year,

(04:30):
you know, with the three pointtake down. And I know that there
was a lot of hesitation at thebeginning and a lot of people thought there
was gonna be friction, and somehaves you know, their own inputs on
that. But I love I'm okaywith change. I'm alright with change.
And I actually now looking back onthe matches, it would be hard for
me to go back to the oldway because I've gotten so accustomed to what
it looks like now and how tostrategize and matches and how to you know,

(04:50):
win those matches with three point takedownsand the swipes and all that good
stuff. I like where we're atright now with college wrestling. I think
there's obviously tweaks that we can make, whether it comes with the technology of
reviews or you know what, whatkind of what have you. But ultimately,
you want a fair match between theseathletes, and you want to make
sure that, uh, that they'recalled fairly and that that that the integrity

(05:12):
of the sport is kept intact.If I gave you the magic wand and
you had a wish, granted,what would it be within wrestling, within
wrestling? Uh more programs, man, let's get us some more Division one
programs, right, I think that'sI think absolutely more opportunities for kids across
the country. Absolutely. When youcame out of high school, tell me

(05:33):
about the recruiting process, it wasa whirlwind. And to be honest with
you, I'm I'm gonna be completelytransparent with you here. I came from
a very very great, pro greatprogram, right right. My brother wrestled
the Eastern Michigan, so he wastwo years above me in high school.
So I kind of saw what initiallythe recruiting process looked like. He wasn't
very high uh highly recruited athlete comingout of high school, but he ended

(05:57):
up going to the Eastern Michigan andhaving a career there. But I saw
very very small what it kind oflooked like. But I was still young.
But I'll never forget this. Ihad a couple coaches that were assistants
in my I don't won't name,but I had a couple of coaches that
were in my program that kind oflike, again, I came from a
very good program, So there's alot of guys that were going to the

(06:17):
highest level of Division one. Andat that time, again I wasn't you
know, I wasn't very very goodfor my first couple of years in high
school. And I remember like sittingdown, I'm like, hey, I
want to go to Iowa State.You know. That was one of those
programs that I was one of thosekids that always had to win magazine.
My dad got sent to my houseand every month I could not wait to

(06:39):
go freaking get to the mailbox,take the Wind magazine. I wasn't reading
anything. I was just cutting picturesout put in my room. My room
was filled with and at the timeyou had Cale Sanders and Joe Heskid,
Dwight Henson, the names and namesgo listen on of Iowa State wrestlers,
and that was kind of if youlooked at my wall, there was a
ton of Iowa State wrestlers, naturallybecause they were really good at that time.

(06:59):
So I was like, it's likekids now, like when they see
Penn State, kids, they seePenn State as the you know. At
the top, I was like,I want to go to Iowa State.
I didn't know anything about the program. I just like I saw I say
I want to go there. AndI remember coaches telling me, well,
maybe we start down here, youknow, to me when someone kind of
diminished my goals and kind of kindof put the put the stomp or kind

(07:21):
of challenged me that hey, maybeyou should start down, you know,
maybe you should try some lower programsto start with. I was like,
I'm all in, I'm going IowaState. Watch me, watch me,
you know. And I remember gettingthe phone call my junior year from Kel
Sanderson. He was the assistant coachat the time, and I was just
he was fresh off of, youknow, fairly fresh off of winning an

(07:41):
Olympic title and and and in theOlympics, and and I remember that moment
of just like I was shocked,not shocked, but I was like,
this is what this is what Iwanted, This is this is everything I
said I was going to do,and now I'm going to run with it.
And I remember, to be honestwith you, I committed die Was
State without even seeing the campus.That's how That's how I was, So

(08:03):
I would I'm that serious. That'sa true, honest that's a true honest
story. I committed Iea State withouteven seeing the campus. I had I
had visited set up to Virginia Techwith Tom Brands when he was at Virginia
Tech. I had visit set upto Minnesota when Jay Robin and Marty Morgan
were at Minnesota, Iowa, IowaState, Virginia Tech, Nebraska in Minnesota

(08:30):
where my where my programs Mark Mannywas at Nebraska Minnesota or I'm sorry,
Oklahoma State was the other one.That was the other program. And I
remember, you know, I hadall of my visits set up and when
I got that phone call from KelSanderson and he told me how much you
believed in me? And where Isat in the vision of they just had
the number one recruiting class in thecountry, the class above me. And

(08:50):
I wanted to be a part ofa program that was chasing the top.
I wanted to be a part ofthe top. And it was Jake Jake
Varner, National champ, Olympic champion, Uh, David Sabriski. You remember
David Tibriski. He was just thatthat guy that won every single overtime,
he won a national champ, youknow, and numerous other old Americans that

(09:11):
were that riddled. You know thatthat class, that class was the number
one recruiting class in the country.So when he called me and said,
hey, you were going to fitinto this program, and this is how
you're going to fit in, andI have full belief that you're going to
accomplish your goals right here at IowaState, I was like, signed me
up and I committed I will Statewithout ever seeing it. And I remember
any business shown at all. Inever went out of business. I committed

(09:31):
to Iowa State and I called JohnSmith, Mark Manny, Tom Brandts and
and uh and and coach you know, Marty Morgan. He was was the
head assistant at the time, andI built a really good, strong relationship
with him. I didn't take anyusinits. I committed I would stay without
seeing it. That's how crazy thatwhen you talk about all land change,
That's how I was. And Iknew what my goals were and that's where

(09:52):
I wanted to go, and myparents again even to go even farther back.
I grew up a die hard MichiganWolverine. I was the heart.
I was the biggest Wolverine fan becausemy dad was a football player, right,
so I grew up in the bighouse watching football games. I grew
up around the Trella family, whichis one of the best families. They
mean family. I grew up aroundthese families, which which the first class.

(10:16):
So I was the kid walking aroundyouth tournaments with Michigan singlets on.
But it just for one reason oranother, it just wasn't the right fit
at the time. And fast forwardwhen again when I got that call from
Gail and I committed, I waslike, my goals were to go to
Iowa State and to be a nationalchampion. That was my goal. I
never had it like goals of goingfurther on to be an Olympic champion.

(10:37):
My goal from a young kid wasat eight years old was to be an
NCAA champion. And again when Iwent to Iowa State, that was the
thing. But I remember calling Caaleand Tom and Mark Manning and all those
guys and just how respectful and verygrateful for the recruiting process because they're all
amazing coaches. But yeah, thatwas my goal. I got the offer

(10:58):
from Iowa State, I took itand rang with it. It was the
best decision I've ever made. Whatwas it like wrestling for Cal Sanderson and
again to go back, like likeI said, never visited Iowa State.
So again, once I committed,a couple other guys committed in that class,
and I was like, let mehelp you guys, I will help
recruit this recruiting class. Bring mein for the Iowa Iowa State game,

(11:20):
I'll help, Like, you know, how can we get more guys to
join this class? You know?So that was in a part I was
doing a little recruiting as an athleteand actually seeing the campus, you know.
So, but then when I goton campus for the Iowa State I
was football game. I was like, man, this is why, this
is why I chose Iowa State becauseI wanted to be a part of that

(11:41):
rivalry and it was it was likeno rivalry before. You know what was
it like wrestling for Kale at thattime? It was incredible. It was
absolutely incredible. And Cale does sucha great job of investing in relationships and
that was one of his biggest thingsand something that he did truly phenomenal job.
From the moment he called me andwas texting me and he could relate

(12:03):
to kids. He played video games, so I was playing video games.
He fished. I fished, andwe built a bond of very strong bonds.
When I got on campus, waslike it was like we've known each
other for ten years, you know. And I was really really tight in
college with his brother who was onthe team, Kyler Sanderson. We were
roommates, you know after we gotout of the dorms. And just very

(12:24):
very grateful for my experience with CoachSanderson and that staff that has at Penn
State. Now that was my stafffor my first three years of college.
Wow. So so that was whenyou went to Iawa State. Was was
Bobby Douglas the head coach at thattime. So Bobby Douglas. So Bobby
Douglas was the head coach. Hewas the one that was actually coming in
the house and he would bring CoachSanderson with him as as the assistant,

(12:48):
and he was the head coach.He was the legendary and coach Coach Douglas
is phenomenal, one of the oneof the absolute legends of the sport.
And another reason why, I mean, he built Kel Sanderson, He built
all of these guys. And Iwas like, I want to be a
part of that program. I was. I was Coach Douglas's last recruiting class.
I was his last recruiting class,and and so when I came into

(13:11):
college, that transition had happened.So I think a month after I got
on campus that transition happened where Calewas a new head coach. I had
that staff for three years, andthen that that year going into my junior
season, that's when the new staffcame in. That was Kevin Jackson,
Chris Bono, and the other assistantcoaches that that joined him. What were

(13:31):
your feelings when Cal left? Uh, there's a there was a lot of
uncertainty at the moment. I rememberwhen I when I first heard that it
was actually happening, and it wasit was just it was just a surreal
kind of moment. Looking back onit, it was just and obviously,
looking back on situations, it's nevera perfect situation to be told how it's

(13:52):
going to happen, or you know, information happened so fast and it's not
anybody's fault. But looking back onit, just the way I I heard
out it and then ended up gettingthe real information that he was leaving,
it was it was surreal. Butbut I remember the leadership of the Cluss
class that was right above me.So you're talking about Jake Farner, David
Zabriskie, Nick fan Thorpe, MitchMueller, those kind of guy uh Nick

(14:16):
Gallaic, all those guys were rightabove me in that class. And I
remember they had an emergency meeting asa as a as our athletes and they
were like, hey, everybody couldcome over to nine one six, Arizona,
AB That was the that was theaddress, and it was like,
we're gonna meet as a team wherewe're going to talk about this, and
that's the leader. So that's liketrue leaders. And I remember them sitting

(14:37):
down and they're like, guys,we made a commitment to this university.
Number one. We made a committo this, to this athletic department.
We made a commitment to each other. We were here for a goal to
win a national title. Who's in? And you know me, I'm like,
let's let's freaking go. I'm in. You know, you don't have
to tell me I'm going. Andyou know, Jake Varner, everybody stayed.
The only guy that ended up leaving, which is understandable, was his

(14:58):
brother was was was Kyler and heended up going to Penn State and and
rightly Solly's family and but but Iwouldn't have I would not have. I
would not have. There would havebeen no hard feelings for anybody to leave
that that was our family. Thatit was hard, it was hard for
all of us, but we alsohad each other to lean on and say,
even though this is a hard timeand there's adversity right now, there's

(15:20):
a lot of uncertainty. We don'tknow who the next coach is going to
be. There's gonna be absolutely greatcandidates that are going to be coming,
but we had no idea who wasgoing to be the next coach. But
we knew we had each other.We knew the passion we had for the
program and the goals that we hadset in mind. We were now,
mind you, we wererank second countryat the time, you know, so
there's an there was an incredible amountof uncertainty in that moment. But I'm

(15:43):
grateful for the leadership that we hadwithin our locker room that were like,
hey, listen, boys, it'sthis is it's it's okay, We're gonna
be all right. We got eachother, Let's stick together as a unit
and we'll get through this. Didkail me with you guys as a team
or was it just you hurt?Absolutely? Absolutely, I don't remember that
meeting. What do you remembers?Remember? Obviously he he he bled for

(16:04):
that program. He was an athletein that program, he was a young
coach in that program, and hehad an opportunity to take over Penn State.
And I'm so proud that you knowof what he had done as a
coach and grateful for my times becauseI'm telling you and I actually just had
this conversation and this this is beingreal. I just had this conversation with

(16:25):
Cale and Cody Sanderson out at theU twenty U twenty three trials. This
is true. The older I get, Shange, the more grateful I get
for the moments that I've had inthis sport. And the three years that
I had with that staff that isnow at Penn State were some of the
best years of my of my career, of my of my athletic you know,
my college life was was with thosethree guys and the way that they

(16:48):
took me in as family and theway they they cared for me like I
was one of their own. Ihave nothing but the utmost respect for those
guys. But what really shows theintegrity and character of those guys that are
there now is how no matter wherewe are in life, long after I'm
far removed from their athlete. Now, mind you that was two thousand and
nine, right, you know you'relooking fifteen years down the road. No

(17:11):
matter where I am, Kale Sanderson, Cody Sanderson, Casey Cunning Him,
they will come up to me andgive me a hug and ask me how
I'm doing, ask me how myfamily's doing, and ask me how my
parents are doing. They're always constantlychecking in. Hey, you know,
if I ever need advice from themor I can bounce an idea off them,
they are the first ones to giveme advice to that that is true

(17:33):
relationships is that is the definition oftrue. When you recruited me to the
university area, I will say,university, you told me that relationships are
the foundation that's programmed, and theymean it. Fifteen years down the road,
they are still investing in my lifeand still making sure that no matter
where I am, they're always goingto give me, you know, love
and support, and that means alot to me, far beyond the resting

(17:56):
part. From a wrestling aspect.What amazes her most about Cale Sanderson,
Oh, he's he's He's a freakright, he's he's off the chains.
I mean, I remember I hadto wrestle him in the twenty eleven World
Team Trials and he was I thinkhe had lost a bed or I don't
know how he ended up back inthe World Team trials, but he did.

(18:17):
He won the World Team Trials,he went to the World Championships.
But I just remember, obviously Iwrestled with him fairly often as an athlete.
He was a lot bigger than me. But I remember when I wrestled
him in the World Team Trials tomake a World team and him putting his
hands on me for the first time, I was like, this guy's this
guy is not human. He's nothuman, you know what I mean.

(18:37):
I was just like, this guy, he's on my ankle. Before I
didn't even know, like what's goingon, and it just just another level
of athletic freaking as you know,freakiness. And yeah, just I'm telling
you man that he was. Hewould he would clean house with anybody in
our room, it didn't matter whoit was, and he'd you know,
you would go drink Hi Mountain Newright after. And I was just like

(19:00):
like, like, how is thispossible? How I can't even like tie
my shoes right, and this guyand I'm doing everything right and this view
is just a freak. But Iwas, that was my coach man and
I and I have the utmost respectfor him, and it's it's still coach.
It's and it always will be coach. And that's the that's the way
our relationship is. And just justgrateful. Man. I'm talking about great,

(19:23):
great men that that led that program. And still you know, coach,
Coach Douglas is getting up in age, so I've lost you know,
obviously he's older in age right nowand in health and and things like that.
But when we get a chance tosee him, you know, is
less than as is. But we'restill that relationship still there. But I'm
telling you, guys who came afterCoach Sanderson, I cannot, I cannot

(19:48):
even begin to tell you how muchrespect and how much love I have for
Kevin Jackson and and and Chris Bonoand and and I'm telling you I needing
Kevin Jackson at the right in mylife as an athlete. And I'm telling
you he took me to another level. Those guys, every coach that I
had in contact, the assistant coaches. I can rattle off names for days

(20:10):
that were in that room. Timharts On, three time NCAA champion from
Minnesota. You know, there's somany guys that I got access to,
and for me, being a wrestlingjunkie, that's what you want, man
Like I don't. I was like, holy cal look what I just got
access to over five years. Threelegends, and then every assistant coach that
you could possibly think of. AndChris Bona was still training and competing at

(20:33):
the time. He was number onein the country. He was on world
teams, and I was drilling withhim and wrestling with him, and he
was the kind of guy something thatreally we built our relationship at I always
state Chris and I, but onething about Chris is our relationship got really
tight because of his He was twentyfour to seven whatever I needed as an
athlete, and this was at hisprime, at his prime when he didn't

(20:56):
need to be doing this. Itdidn't matter if I wanted to come on
at two am, which would neverhappen, right, But if it was
a two am or I need toget in saw on at midnight or whatever
it was, he was there.It was never no It was always a
yes, and he always had myback, and I'm just grateful for everything
he did for me in my career, and obviously is that relationship is extended

(21:18):
now and he gave me an opportunityto be a coach and has cut my
teeth and really ignited that passion tobe a coach, and I love it.
But I'm telling you to go backa little bit. Kevin Jackson is
one of the greatest coaches in history, in that absolute history. Technically,
I think he's superior to anybody I'veever been around. The way he can

(21:40):
can explain the sport and the wayhe can break down technique and the way
he can explain strategy and tactics,and it's at a world class level.
Beyond world class, this guy isanother level of just wrestling history, and
way is one of the most accomplishedwrestlers in USA history right for a reason.

(22:00):
But a lot of guys that arethat accomplished but cannot explain and teach
the sport. This guy is asgood, if not better, as a
coach, and that says a lotbecause he he's done so much in the
sport, he is that much betteras a coach and I really, really
truly believe that what he gave tome as an athlete is I honestly don't

(22:21):
know if I would have been anational champ, but I did not have
Tabel Jackson and the techniques that heshowed me in the visualization. Everything came
together at the right time, andhe was a massive part of that.
But one thing about kJ two isagain, doesn't matter where I am in
life, and or doesn't that matterwhere I am, you know, at
a university we can obviously are opposinguniversities in the Big Ten, doesn't matter.

(22:42):
And when we see each other,it's like, you know, to
me, he was like an extendedpart of my family when he was my
coach, and it's still that sameway, you know, when I'm having
my first kid. You know,I remember calling him after I had my
first kid and let him know Ihad, you know, my daughter was
born, and you know, justbecause I knew he was going to be
so proud of that, you know, And that's that's what I wanted as

(23:03):
an athlete, and that's what Inow hope and try to foster as a
coach on my end, you know, my own athletes, because relationships matter.
Man, and they don't just happenovernight. You have to invest.
You have to invest in your guys. And when you invest in your guys
and truly genuinely invest in your guys, they will do anything for you.

(23:25):
This sport is humbling. I meanyou all time greats I mean you've been
at the Pinnacle National Champion, beenaround this sport a long time. But
even a guy like John Reader,I'm sure some dark days. When you
look at your career, what werethe darkest days that you experienced and how
did you persevere and go earn it? Absolutely, I think I can.

(23:48):
I can recall number one. Itis kind of a pivotal moment in my
career. Outs issue and is thisso Obviously there was a lot of change
in my career. I had twodifferent head coaches and then that transition had
and I had coach Jackson as myjunior year. Right, that was my
first year with coach Jackson. Ihad some injuries. I was making a
sacrifice to go one sixty five whereI was starting to hit another little girl,

(24:10):
grossper. I should have been offthe weight class at one seventy four,
but I was making a sacrifice becausewe had a transfer that was coming
in and that he couldn't make sixtyfive. So I was like, you
know what, I'm going down forthe team. This will make the team
stronger. We were ranked second inthe country, right, We ranked second
in the country. And mind you, I should have went one seven four,
but I didn't. Well, Iwasn't as educated on the on the

(24:30):
weight, country, the nutrition asI am now long long removed, Right,
I wish I would have known whatI know now. So I wasn't
doing I wasn't as disciplined on thenutrition as I should have been or cutting
the weight of the way I shouldhave been. And what it did is
it introduced a lot of injuries,right, So I was kind of I
was kind of you know, kneeinjuries, concussions, all kinds of things

(24:52):
and not to you know, gotoo far down that it just really hindered
my performance my junior year. Sofast forward, we get to the nc
Tournament. I think I'm the numberthree seed at the NCA Tournament. I'll
never forget this moment. You werethe four seed, fourth seed, four
steed, four seed, first round, lose first round to a guy named
Chris Brown on old dominion and aphenomenal wrestler in very deserving of the wind,

(25:15):
and I obviously didn't deserve it atthe moment I lose. I come
all the way back on the backside. And at the beginning of that
season, I wrestled in the AllStar Duel and I think I was pretty
close to tech falling a guy inthe All Star Duel. And I'm wrestling
this guy now for Blood Round atthe NCA tournament, right, So I'm
not even hitting my knee in thattournament because I had blown my mcl out

(25:38):
in the Big twelve finals. SoI'm not even hitting my knee. I'm
just pulling guys out and running aroundhim. That's all I'm doing in the
tournament. So I get to theBig Twelve to the Blood Round, and
I ended up losing to this tothat kid I had wrestled at the All
Star Duel. It was the darkestmoment of my entire wrestling career. And
I know that's pretty sad to belike, man that was, but it

(25:59):
mattered to me, and it wasimportant to me, and I put a
lot of weight on that. Itmattered to me and my goal was to
be a national champion. And Ifell short and not even to be able
to be on the podium. Mygoal was to be a four time All
American, to be a national champion, not to be sitting out and eating
Nacho's watching the NC finals, right, And I didn't All American. And
I just remember how terrible I feltand how like it was the absolute lowest

(26:26):
barrel moment for me ever in mycareer. But truly shane out of that
and reflecting back on my career,I don't know if I would have been
a national champ had it not beenfor that moment, because what that moment
created was a spark that ignited afuel inside my belly that I was not
going to be denied. My senioryear, I went from being a round
of twelve guy had already been atwo time All American I lost in the

(26:49):
blood round to going undefeated and bonusingthirty two of thirty nine guys in my
senior year, you know. Andit was because of the fuel that I
had in my gut. I remembernow my my my girlfriend at the time,
my now wife, was incredibly supportiveand and just she was there for
me the lowest the lows to theeyes the eyes and she can recall it

(27:11):
at the same moment I was.I was on the verge. I was
like, this is I don't wantthis feelings. It almost makes you want
to quit, right, But Iremember her saying, what did you think
it was gonna be Do you thinkit was going to be easy? Did
you think it was going to beeasy? It's all right, and this
is the moment to get back up. And I remember, like, it

(27:32):
gives me chills, man, becauseI was like, you're right, What
the hell am I thinking? Getup? And what's the next what's the
next thing that's coming in front ofme? And I needed something to chase.
I needed something to get, youknow, going forward. So I
said, listen, first number goalis I got to get my knee healthy.
So I took whatever Howard money months, one or two months it took
to get healthy. And then Ineeded a goal. I needed something to

(27:53):
chase. So what was in frontof me? It was you twenty three
World team trials. I was alreadyqualified for. I don't know how,
but I was already qualified. Itwas in Colorado Springs. I went out
there, I made the university Worldteam and then it was game on from
there and things started rolling from thatmoment. But I was at the lowest
moment in my career where I canreally truly reflect and to my own guys.

(28:15):
Now, I've been at the lowestof what you would say moments of
the sport. But I've also beenat the high and I've been everywhere in
between. I've had far more lossesthan I've ever had wins. But I'm
telling you what you can develop asa young man, and those experiences will
form you into just an incredible versionof what you can be if you keep

(28:37):
moving forward, if you keep puttingone foot in front of the other,
and absolutely there will be obstacles alongthe way, but keep getting up,
keep moving forward. In your collegecareer, John, what match, what
specific match taught you the most?You got one that stands out. One
man taught me the most, taughtme the most. I would say that

(29:00):
taught me the most. I wouldsay my senior year is just there's a
lot of there's a lot of matchesthat really stick out that that have taught
me a lot about who I am. But I won from a tactical standpoint.
I remember mac Lunis was the talkof the one seventy four pound weight
class. I was ranked number onein the country. He was ranked number

(29:21):
two. There was a collision coursethat was going to happen in January in
Ithaca, and it was a soldout gym in Ithaca, and they were
coming for that match, and theyhad made the match. At the last
part of the duel, it wascompletely packed. And I'll never forget this.
This is popping in my mind rightnow. I'll never forget that duel.
I was about to walk out ontothe matt gen Mills mean Gene Mills,
you know that name, Mean GeneMills. Like I met him in

(29:44):
person right before I walked out ofthe nant. It came over and he
goes, go get them, goget it, and I was like,
that's me as Gene Mills, youknow. And uh, I just think
the game plan of really understanding thesport at another level and really developing game
plans for certain wrestlers. I've alwaysjust been, you know, coming up
through the youth and in high school. You know, there was really not

(30:07):
there really wasn't. I wasn't exposedto really that level of game planning and
how to strategize for different relations.But I'm telling you, Coach Jackson was
one of the best I've ever beenaround when it comes to that aspect of
the sport and when we put togethera game plan and how to execute it
and how to to wrestle a certainway to go out there and execute what
I needed to do to win thematch. I remember going out there and

(30:27):
executing everything that we had game planand walking off the mat and just saying,
like, like, you get it. You're you're starting to unlock different
levels of this sport, And tome, it was like it's like a
video game almost. It's like likeyou just unlocked another level. So that
was a really cool moment. There'sbeen a lot of lows in the sport,

(30:47):
especially that in that moment as ajunior in college, that match really
taught me who I was as aperson, who I was as an athlete,
who what kind of character will kindof create I had down in my
belly. Was I just going tokeep my head down and quit and just
right off to your senior year andsee what happens. Or was I going
to freaking let that thing boil andfuel me and just have that attitude of

(31:11):
whatever it takes. And I'll neverforget this too. When you talk about
whatever it takes. I talked aboutthat saying all the time my senior year,
and it was something that my dad, very motivational guy, would always
send me that he was just hereand there. He would send me a
text saying, hey, whatever ittakes, or you know, dominate or
whatever. It was very small,Rick Corny, right, But I remember

(31:33):
my wife that is now my wife. It was Philadelphia was in twenty eleven
NCAA Championship where we're going to bethis year, Wells Fargo and Arena and
I had made the finals. Sothat morning of Saturday of the nca finals,
you know, my family there,I think everybody at Iowa State was
kind of out of the tournament ordone with the tournament. I was the
only one left. So my familydecided to go shopping for that morning session

(31:56):
of NCAA's kind of out in Philly, and my wife brought me a shirt,
an under armor shirt. I stillhave it. It says whatever it
takes. And it was like Shane, I'm talking and when you talk about
it's meant to be, it's likeI have said this for twelve months,
whatever it takes. And I walkedout. If there's pictures, I wish
I could find a picture I wasin a tunnel with whatever it takes shirt

(32:17):
on, so kind of a coolbackstory and something be kind of behind the
curtain. But I'm telling you,my wife's a rock star and very very
very supportive man. And everything I'veever done in the sport and again now
to this day as a coach,I couldn't do what I do as a
coach had it not be and stillbe for the support that I have for
my wife and just understanding that thedemands of this sport and everything that comes

(32:42):
with it. Who's the most impactfulteammate You've ever had at any level?
Most impactful teammate I've ever had?Nick Pasilano's easy, There's trust me.
I've had numerous numerous I wish Iwould have been a teammates for some of
my coaches. I wish I couldgo back in time, if there was
a magic wand and I could goback. I've always kind of thought of

(33:02):
that thought, like if you everthought about somebody that's been really impactful coach,
what it would have been like tobe one of their teammates, Like
I, like, you know,you get such a strong bond with some
of these coaches, Like if ChrisBona was one of my teammates, I
think we would have been like justdynamite teammates right because we were so driven
and so disciplined. But one guythat really sticks out is his name's Nick

(33:25):
Basilona. Probably someone that you've neverheard of. He's from Illinois, he
went to Iowa State. He's oneof the greatest cyclones to the never all
American. I think he was athree time Blood Round guy. And I'll
never forget this. I came intoIowa State as a freshman. I was
a true freshman and Nick Barcelona wason his way out of Iowa State,
so he was graduating and on hisway out of Iowa State had just lost

(33:47):
in the Blood Round for the thirdtime, and he I think in two
thousand and five or two thousand andsix, whatever year it was, he
was the cyclone that actually pinned theHawkeye to have Iowa State beat the Io
team at that time. So hewas like a hero within the iwod State
program for years. But I'll neverforget just his just his the type of

(34:10):
mentor he was for me and whenI came in as a young guy,
so that that summer period. Icame and trained right away and he was
on his way out. He didn'tneed to do this for an incoming freshman.
But he's like, listen, you'regonna get up. You're gonna lift
with me today. You're gonna getup. And there was not you know,
there wasn't anybody there yet as freshman. You're gonna get up, You're
gonna lift with me. You're gonnaget up, You're gonna go run with

(34:30):
me. You're gonna get up,You're gonna drill with me. He was
a sixty five hundreds, so wewere naturally the same weight. But I
was a young kid, so Ididn't There was no time to get like
steered in the wrong direction. Hewas like, this is what it's gonna
take, and you're coming with me. And the first guy when I got
onto the mic the NCAA tournament.If you go back and watch that nca
finals on YouTube or whatever, itis, the first person I gave him

(34:51):
shout out to was Nick Paslona.A lot of people were like, who
Nick Passlona. He was the guywho first person to put his arm around
me when I stepp foot on campusin names Iowa. That is fantastic.
That is awesome speaking about that rivalryIowa Iowa states, what's your favorite memory
individually and then as a team,when you look at those battles you had,

(35:14):
I know you wrestled Morning Star ahandful of times. Yeah, I
don't. I don't even know whatthe the what the what the number on
wins or losses versus Ryan, Butman, what a what an incredible wrestler,
and and and it just a competitorthat he was. And you knew
every time, uh that that wecompeted against each other, you better be
ready to wrestle Ryan Morristart because hewas going to wrestle to the very very

(35:37):
end, whether that means he wasextended on a shot. And one thing
that he did so well, andit gave me so many fits, was
he was so flexible with his arms. He would almost lay out on his
BELI with his arms around my legand he would somehow figure out just grit
and willingness to pull that leg inand finish late, you know, And
and and just the robbery there waswas incredible, and it was always really

(36:00):
fun to compete against him. ButI had so much respect for that IOWA
program and you know, obviously itwas as a program that that I was
drawn to when when when you know, naturally Tom was everaging tech, so
I was gonna go. You know, I would have been in that same
kind of mix. You know,you never know where that would have went.
But that rivalry was incredible, andI got a little taste of that

(36:22):
on my recruiting visit when I wascommitted to Iowa State, when I saw
it in football, and I justsaw how how crazy that that rivalry is,
and I'm like, I can't waitto wrestle in front of and in
mind you my whole career, itseemed like every single season, whether it
was a home match at Hilton Coliseumor whether it was in in Carver Hawk

(36:42):
Arena, we were consistently breaking theattennis records, you know, and so
you were you were wrestling in frontof fifteen sixteen thousand people. That that
was, That's what it was.That's what that rivalry was. When you
talk about a love hate relationship wherethe Psychlons did not get along with Hawkeys,
was vice versa. But there wasa mutual respect. And I got
a lot of respect for those guysbecause they're passionate man that it comes out

(37:07):
in a ferocious, you know,rivalry. But they're passionate, man,
they are so passionate about what theydo and and and they one win.
We all want to win. ButI've had many, many, many duel
meets between the two's between the twoof them. I'll never forget this too.
Go back. You're bringing up alot of memories going back. I

(37:27):
was a true freshman and at thetime we were again we were ranked second
in the country, Iowa was numberone, and the duel meet was in
and Iowa City. I was atrue freshman at the weight class at the
time, I was sixty five.Mark Perry was a national returning champion and
he was at the weight class.Travis Paulson, I believe was a sixty
five pounder at the time, andhe was an All American. And something

(37:50):
that Kale did really really well tomanage me, I was. I came
in with seven freshmen in my recruitingclass, and I believe I was the
only one to graduate out of thatthat recruiting class and mine that ended up
going out. But what he didat really young in my career, and
I'm very grateful for this is Itraveled everywhere with the team. I was
with them at all the biggest duelsI waited in and I truly attacked each

(38:15):
one of those experiences, like Iwas gonna get the nod and I couldn't
wait if they were gonna pull mymy red shirt, let's go. I'll
do anything you tell me, andI know what's gonna be, what's best
for me, And I was willingto do anything for my for my brothers.
And I remember, I'll never forgetthis. I we waited in in
Carver Hawkeye wrestling room and I'm talking, you're talking high, the hair sticking

(38:38):
up on your arms, You're ready. If somebody's looking at you wrong,
there's gonna be a fight for prettyshown. And and I remember weighing in
and they're like, reader, beready to go, You're going, And
I'm like, hell, yes,let's go. I'm I'm wrestling and I
couldn't wait. And I ended upout wrestling. But I think they lost
and doing me or we did loseto doing me, came down to,

(39:00):
you know, one match or whateverit was. It's just a very very
exciting duel, very very hostile.But I was like, that's why I'm
in this man, that's why we'rein this to compete at the highest level
in front of of crowds like thatand put on its score points and be
exciting for the crowd. But yeah, it's to kind of end that on
the iwive state. Far removed frommy career, I've built a relationship with

(39:23):
those with the Brands brothers, andman, what great people they are.
And I mean I text Sterry Brands, you know, every now and now
and again, and just an unbelievableyou would you would think, you know,
I was never his athlete. Thisguy is one of the most genuine
guys I've ever ever talked to.And he's always putting his arm around me
at rest and the matches, andthat's that's what I love about this sport.

(39:46):
You can be at you know,the highest of the rivalry and then
backstage you're like, listen, youknow how you're doing, putting your arm
around you and you know, it'slife, right, There's so much more
to it. But yeah, alot of great experiences, and you know,
I get a chance to see thoseguys a lot now and in the
circles that we run in, andjust a ton of respect for those guys.

(40:09):
Were you at the duel meet,John went by, Gable and Kale
were out getting out. That wasmy true freshman year. That was my
true freshman year. That's when Gablewas out there, and that's when Tim
Hartung and Kale that was my truefreshman year. I was probably on the
side ready to go. That wasit. That was it. I mean,
what a baptism to that rivalry.Oh yeah, that was That was

(40:30):
amazing. And that same kind ofintensity was up in up in the locker
room where we were weighing in.It was just like you knew at any
moment it was ready to burst.It was any moment, and no no
program wanted to give any gift.You know. That's what's that's what's so
beautiful about that rivalry is nobody wantedto give an inch. Everybody wanted to
take, you know, and itwas That's what that's what's so great about

(40:51):
college athletics outside of your national championshipnight, because that's the obvious answer to
this next question. Aside from thatnight, what is one day in your
college career that you'd want to reliveOne day in my college career that I'd
want to relive, oh Man Fridaynight of my junior year, Friday night

(41:15):
of my junior year, of myNC tournament. I think that would be
one thing that it still haunts me, right, I think it was a
molding, a forming match, aforming moment and pivotal moment in my career
and who I was as a man. But I'd be remiss if I told
you I didn't want to go backand win that match. You know,
and to be a four time AllAmerican is an incredible feat and to it

(41:37):
takes a lot of discipline and alot of sacrifice and a lot of doing
the right things to be on thatpodium four times. And my goal was
never to just get on there once. It was. My goal was to
come in and to win it fourtimes. I could even go further back
one moment that I was like Iwas a true I was a retro refreshman.
I wrestled most of Faye. Remembermost of Fay. Unbelievable athlete,

(42:01):
just very probably name a lot ofpeople don't talk about now, but very
very very talented guy. And Iended up losing a close match. I
was a freshman. He was alot older than me, and I remember
I was I lost to him andI I had that attitude like I was.
I was recruited by Caale and Iremember going backstage and I remember Jake

(42:23):
Varner looking at me and goes,you know, basically just saying, you
know, there's only been one guythat's ever won four national titles and went
undefeated, right, so stop holdingon to that. It's it's all right,
it's you know, get back upand whatever. This is your journey.
And I just kind of, youknow, Kel Sanders was my coach.
I want to be a four timeundefeated national champion. And that was

(42:44):
a big moment in my career too, where like, hey, you know,
let's go. It's this is reallyhard, you know, and you
gotta you gotta keep moving forward.Why has Jake Varner fit in so well
with Cayl Sanderson in your opinion,I just think he's he's he's a guy.
He's a tireless worker, the arelentless, relentless worker and relentless competitor,

(43:06):
an unbelievable human. He's everything,he's he does everything. He's one
of those guys that you want tobe around. He attracts high level,
high high high end type of guys, and he's another guy that again was
molded and formed by Kale at IowaState, and he saw what it took
and how much Kale invested in relationshipsand and what that could do if you

(43:27):
truly genuinely do that. And Ithink I see that now as he's in
his own coaching career and how greatof a job he's doing in that and
and and and certainly he's he's definitelya part of that that equation that that
that is having all that success atthe offense State and in Casey counting as
the same way, and just anunbelievable person and coch coach Cody Sanderson.

(43:49):
They're just high end, high character, high integrity guys that you want to
be around, and when you're aroundthem, they make you better people.
And and that's just that's just youknow, outside of wrestling, inside the
room, they're all incredibly accomplished guysthat had great careers and that are very
special and they do a great jobleading. But they do it the right

(44:09):
way. It's not phony, it'snot you know, it's very genuine and
from the heart. And I'm justgrateful again to have had experience with those
guys. If you could go backand have a conversation with John Reader heading
the Iowa States, what would youtell him, Oh, man, I

(44:34):
don't know. I would say,all be all in man it keep keep
your head down and keep working hard. And just just like I always have
been, I would give myself thesame advice, right, keep your head
down and keep attacking, never settle, keep moving forward, and great things
will come. And and you knowwhat, put your arm around people and
bring them with you, you know. And and that's something that I wish

(44:55):
I would have done a better jobas a younger athlete is bringing more people
with me. You know what Imean is I've always been a guy that's
been really really driven and intrinsically motivatedto do more and to continue to find
ways to challenge myself. But ifI would look back as a younger career,
younger guy, I would I wouldhave brought more guys with me or

(45:16):
said hey, you know, youknow, come with me. This is
what we're gonna do. This isyou know, you know, you always
have those hindsight twenty twenty kind ofmoments, right. But but definitely I
think that now is where I'm atin life. Now, It's about motivating
and impacting people. So I'm alwaystrying to to find more ways to do
that. And I definitely could havedone a better job as a young kid

(45:37):
and kind of more selfish at thetime and just find ways to be more
impactful for people around me. Whatis your proudest moments as a coach?
I think it's seeing people realize theirfull potential or or or or or have
a glimpse of that full potential,and it really accomplished special things. And

(45:58):
I've had I've had guys accomplished thingsin this sport, but accomplished things academically
and in life and and maybe youknow, come to realization that they fell
short of their goals and but thebut the the lessons that they learned in
the years that they had underneath ourour program had formed them into the young
men and husbands and and UH andleaders in the communities UH and come back

(46:22):
and really say, hey, listen, man, I wish I would have
done things right. I wish Iwould have done But there's many many,
you know, all Americans and nationalchamps that that you know, you look
back on and and and seeing thoseguys accomplish their goals or you know,
even when Seth Gross won his nationaltitle, and there's only a select group
that really understands what that feels likewhen you get your hand raised in the

(46:43):
NCA finals. It's such a it'ssuch a surreal moment, and it's something
that you're continually chasing. It's somethingthat I'm so passionate about my guys truly
getting a chance to feel that.But when when you when you say you
want to be a national chance they'rebecome, there becomes a lot that comes
behind that. You don't just sayyou want to be a national champ,
right, There's a lot that comeswith that. And seeing kids understand when

(47:08):
when Seth Gross got his hand raisedand see that emotion that erupted out of
him, I know I knew whatthat motion felt like and I can relate
to that. And then I waslike, man, how do I bottle
that up? How do I bottlethat up? And I wish I could
give every one of my athletes thatthat experience and that feeling, and that

(47:28):
just just a very rewarding you know. I'm so I'm so grateful to be
in the seat that I am andnow and have the perspective I have on
our sports, and I really Ireally recall on all my experiences, the
losses, the wins, the inbetweens, the you know, the regrets,
the things I did do right,and I try to I try to
help my guys, you know,through my own experiences and really, truly,

(47:52):
Shane, I really try to livea lifestyle that is reflection of what
it's going to take to win atthis What is your biggest regret. My
biggest regret is, to be honestwith you, is not taking care of
my body in a better way,you know. And I think that's probably
the one of my biggest regrets.I've always been a guy that's went so

(48:13):
like so just through the wall.And I wouldn't change anything. You know.
Obviously, I am who I am, and it's kind of cut who
I am, right, It builtme int who I am. But I
just think, you know, beinga little smarter in situations where I could
have kind of maybe not things cango as far as they probably did,

(48:34):
Like maybe you know, not takingcare of an injury, you know,
where it could have I could haveknitted in the butt now instead of letting
it go a couple of months.Just be as smarter from that aspect.
Man. Regrets of a nutrition standpoint, and that's just not being educated in
the way that I am now andI and now like I'm six years here
at Wisconsin. I truly thought whenI was thirty years old, I thought

(48:58):
I knew what nutrition was, andI knew how to educate my athletes on
nutrition and what it took to bea high level performance athlete. And I
got here and I was completely wrong, completely wrong. And the education I've
gotten the last six years. IfI would have had that now or if
I would have had it when Iwas an athlete at eighteen years old,
who knows where that could have takenme. Most impactful nutrition tip, what

(49:22):
would you tell me? I justthink of balance. I think there's I'm
not a guy that's gonna that's gonnaharp on. You know, you need
to be this, you need tobe that. I just think a well
balanced diet. You know, fruits, vegetables, good carbohydrates, lean meats.
We've got We've got a world plastnutrition program that I'm gonna pito me
of it. I believe in it. I did it six years ago and

(49:42):
I lost a ton of weight,leaned out, got the six percent body
fat, and I've kind of followedthat game plan and I believe in it
and I feel like, now,don't get me wrong, every nutrition plan,
everybody's different and what their needs areand what worked for me might not
work for somebody else, or maybetheir requirements are looked different. I just
know what worked best for me,and that's something that I believe. At

(50:06):
this level, you have to bevery individualized based when it comes to being
a world class athlete. When youcome into this program, you and I
are not going to be on thesame nutrition plan, and that would be
very foolish for me to give youthe same nutrition plan as me. And
because number one, your body iscan respond to different types of foods.
You're you're maybe on uh you know, you're you might be trying to lean
out when I'm trying to bulk up. And you know your requirements. You

(50:30):
being a smaller guy and you beinga heavier guy, your requirements and daily
energy is going to be different.So there's there's, there's there's a bigger
picture, and there's it's more.It's it's more. Uh, it's it's
very it's more complex than you wouldthink. But if you can understand how
you work as an individual, I'mtelling you I I I praise our nutrition

(50:52):
program to the highest level because Iknow the resources that we pour into our
student athletes, and and really Iwish I would have that. You know,
it wasn't really a hot topic whenI was in college, you know,
fifteen years ago. It wasn't abig thing, right. It was,
Hey, here's a sixty four ouncegator eight after a weigh in and
me, you know, coach said, here's your sixty four hours gator Abe.

(51:12):
Well guess what happens that whole cityfour ounce is gone, you know.
And I'm like, why did Igo out there and wrestle? I
I got you know, a fishbelly? Or why do I got diarrhea?
Whatever it may be. And Iwas just like, whatever my coach
said, I'm going to do.But now these kids have the access to
just incredible amount of knowledge and reallyunderstanding who they are nutritionally. And I'm

(51:34):
telling you to me, that's againwhere you can get an edge as an
athlete. And I to me,in our program, it's a non negotiable
nutritions and non negotiable You say youwant to be a national champion, Well,
here's the roadmap. Here's how we'regoing to dial you in and you're
gonna be working hand in hand withour nutritionists. And if you lean into
this, you were going to bein a better situation because ninety nine percent
of your opponents will not lean intothis because it's too hard. It's too

(51:58):
hard to be consistent stint when you'reout and you're you know, trust me,
it's just like anything else you goout into public or you go out
to a restaurant, that the temptationto eat that cheese curd, or that
temptation to eat that mountain or drinkthat mountain dew, it's there. We
all want it. Of Course Iwanted a cheese curd in the mountain dew
or a code red mountain dew.Of course I want that. I do

(52:21):
want that. But I know whatmy goals are, and my goals outweigh
that, and my discipline's going tooutweigh that. And and that's just who
I've always been. Called me crazy, call me passionate, but that's just
that's what I believe in. Andand and I'm really I'm really excited that
our student athletes have that level ofcare and have that level of passion when
it comes to our nutrition and man, what what what a what a great

(52:45):
resource to have. Final question foryou, John, if you are to
make a cross country trip three peopledead or alive that you've never met,
Who's going on that drive? Threepeople? My my, uh my,
my father? Absolutely. Well,no, it's gonna be who you've never

(53:07):
met. But you know I've nevermet I've never met all three people you've
never met Jocko, Willinick, JoeRogan, and I like Joe Rogan,
I like Jocko, and then nevermet and deader alive even deader alive.
Shoot, Oh, I'm just gonnago with two. Let's just go with

(53:30):
two. Let's go with too,I are go. Let's go with Goggins.
Let's go with goggains'ad that car,right, think about the energy in
that car, right, You guyswouldn't need any fuel, you guys,
I don't even I don't even thinkGogains would be in the car. You
would be running. Oh man,John, this has been an absolute blast.

(53:52):
Thank you so much. Love toget your insight. And what I
love about this this podcast is everybody'sgot story. Everybody's got ups and downs
areas where they learn regrets things they'reproud of and this has been great to
hear the story of John Reader herein the Gornet Podcast. Thank you so
much, let's go. Thank you