The Way: A RUDIS Wrestling Podcast

The Way: A RUDIS Wrestling Podcast

Unprecedented to the wrestling community, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan present The Way. Something everyone is searching for. Whether it's an athletic, personal, or professional achievement. Coming from coaching backgrounds, Kolat and Dernlan are always looking for better ways to lead and elevate athletes. The Way breaks down different forms of literature to generate discussion and different perspectives. Then takes these lessons and knowledge and applies it to all aspects of life. It is our mission to continually project the message that wrestling is more than just sport, but rather A WAY OF LIFE. There is no greater way to do that than by representing the merits of the sport while highlighting and outfitting all those who help to write it's story. We strive to grow wrestling by accurately and authentically telling its story.

Episodes

May 8, 2020 20 mins
On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan join in on the ongoing debate of cutting weight classes from high school wrestling to prevent forfeits and reduce the number of teams who compete with semi-empty rosters. While some favor cutting the lighter weights, Dernlan and Kolat explain why that could be catastrophic to the sport and suggest their own solution.
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On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss ways to improve while we experience time off from wrestling, and debunk the excuses that exist for not making progress.
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March 25, 2020 13 mins
On this episode of The Way, Matt Dernlan and Cary Kolat react to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from this July to the summer of 2021. Kolat, an Olympian who competed at the Sydney Games in 2000, reflects on his own adversity at the Games and predicts what the prospective athletes representing the United States are thinking and feeling.
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February 20, 2020 18 mins
On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the intricacies and strategies behind getting college athletes to be able to peak correctly through their competition season. Kolat brings a unique perspective as his first recruiting class as a coach in Campbell are now Seniors and his strategy for getting his athletes to peak has changed over the course of his career. The two discuss the importance of balancing the m...
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February 14, 2020 20 mins
On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the reasons behind what is commonly referred to as the “Sophomore Slump” when it comes to Collegiate Wrestling. With both having competitive and coaching backgrounds they bring insight into the potential causes and solutions to what causes athletes to feel a lack of development or excitement after they make it past their Freshman year of competition and don’t immediate...
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January 10, 2020 21 mins
On this episode of The Way, Matt Dernlan and Cary Kolat weigh in on the topic of realistic goals and dreams for athletes during competition. With both having a deep background in coaching they discuss the caveats of keeping it honest with your athletes about what goals are realistically achievable while also giving them the opportunity to put in the work and dream big enough to accomplish something great
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December 27, 2019 19 mins
On this episode of The Way Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the problems that come up as coaches when you're a third of the way through the season and issues of rest and recovery come to the surface. Kolat stresses the need for athletes to have perspective on the lucky position that they have while also valuing the importance of resting and recovering outside of the practice room.
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December 13, 2019 14 mins
None
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November 22, 2019 17 mins
On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the struggles and variables that come along with traveling for competition and how to deal with them in order to perform at the highest level possible while on the road. Cary pulls insight from his experience coaching at Campbell University through competition in the early 2019 season as well as from his experience as a college and senior-level competitor himself.
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On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the current state of officiating in college-level wrestling. Both agree that officials are held to unreasonably high expectations in relation to their compensation for working wrestling meets, and that fans harassing officials for missed calls leads to officials leaving the sport. Kolat and Dernlan emphasize that officials are often working as a service because the pay...
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November 6, 2019 18 mins
On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss what the best ways of coaching from your athlete’s corner during competition are. The two begin by discussing the process of wrestle off’s and how to determine starters and move into talking about their preferred methods of coaching from the corner as well as how to deal with officials and questionable calls during a match or tournament.
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On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss the benefits and requirements for having “On Your Own” workouts in the wrestling room. With their combined coaching experience the two talk about how the sign of a healthy program and healthy team is when the athletes are able to not only believe in the program but take the reins and know what work they need to put in independently of coaching.
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On this episode of The Way, Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan divert from their traditional format of the podcast and dive into the concept of discipline in the wrestling room from the perspective of their combined years of experience as both athletes and coaches of top tier wrestling programs.

The two break down how the concepts of discipline in the sport has changed from the time that they were actively competing, as well as discuss wa...
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Protection From Above
Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan introduce a new book they will be discussing, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't, by Simon Sinek. In this episode they discuss Ch. 1 "Protection from Above". Throughout the chapter Sinek utilizes examples from military combat to teach in clear terms of life and death, but shows that the same principles can be put to use in all of life, especially in leadi...
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You Will Always Regret it
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 10 “Never Ever Quit” from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This chapter talks about not giving up on your dreams and having the fortitude to stick to the process. Refusing to give up and standing tall against the odds makes life what you make of it. Kolat talks about the par...
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The Harsh Reality
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 8 “Rise to the Occasion” and Ch. 9 "Give People Hope" from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. Ch. 8 deals a lot with giving respect to those soldiers who don't make it home, the realities of war, and the true dangers involved. Kolat and Dernlan don't entertain the idea that this is co...
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Lean into Discomfort
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 7 “Stand Up to the Bullies” from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This chapter goes over standing up and overcoming adversity. Not only reacting and learning from tough situations but really leaning into discomfort in order to grow. Kolat says, if you want to get stronger you lif...
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Great Wrestlers Dare Greatly
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 6 “You Must Dare Greatly” from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This chapter talks about pushing your limits, taking risks, believing and going out and executing on your goals and dreams because if you never take the leap you'll never know what's possible. Kolat says one ...
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It's All About Perspective
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 5 "Failure Can Make You Stronger" from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This chapter talks about persevering through failures and allowing those moments to teach you and strengthen you. Dernlan starts by asking Kolat how about his summer training at Campbell and how it's ...
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Failure Is a Product of Long Term Success
This episode Cary Kolat and Matt Dernlan discuss Ch. 4 "Life’s Not Fair. Drive On." from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven. This chapter talks about the way you look at life and how you react to adversity and obstacles in your way. It's hard to be confronted with this so directly but it's a reality. Success is ...
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