Some of Newman alumnus Staff Sgt. Ryan Smith’s most valuable leadership lessons were learned during his 23 years of service in the U.S. military.
“I was just a young punk kid who wrestled throughout high school. It always intrigued me to give to something greater than myself, so I ended up enlisting and never really left,” Smith said.
Smith joined the Army Reserves in February 2001 as a student at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas. He then attended Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, where he transitioned from the Army Reserves to the Army National Guard.
Smith transferred to Newman University as a senior in 2004. During that year, he discovered and joined the 184th Wing of the Air National Guard. Smith wrestled at Newman, then continued as an assistant wrestling coach after graduating in 2005. He took the helm as head wrestling coach in 2008, the same year he graduated from Newman for the second time with his Master of Business Administration degree, and has been head coach ever since.
After nearly 20 years of drill weekends and service at McConnell Air Force Base, Smith retired from the U.S. Air National Guard in October 2024.
“Military service taught me that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing in life, you’re always reporting to something or someone bigger than you,” Smith said.
A surprising path to a new sport
Smith said wrestling “has been my entire life.”
But it was only after he was cut from his middle school basketball team that he uncovered his love for the sport.
“As an eighth grader, my dad was coaching,” Smith explained. “When I got cut, he said ‘You’d better find something else to do.’ So I started wrestling.”
Smith loved that wrestling was a sport anyone could do — so long as they were willing to invest in the hard work.
“As long as you’re taking something positive from both the wins and the losses and you’re getting better every day, there’s something to be gained there,” he said.
Like his military service, wrestling taught Smith the importance of discipline, maintaining high standards and accountability.
“Wrestling has played a huge factor in all my values, from my work ethic and the type of employee I am, to my confidence and the way I carry myself,” he said. “It’s given me everything from my wife — who I met during my second year at Labette — to the fact that I’m fortunate enough now to have a couple of boys that love this sport as much as I do.”
As long as you’re taking something positive from both the wins and the losses and you’re getting better every day, there’s something to be gained there.
Wrestling coach Ryan Smith ’05, ’08
The many rewards of wrestling
As a Newman coach of 20 years and counting, Smith is impressed by the work ethic of the student-athletes he trains.
“We’ve had some really good guys come through here,” Smith said. “Some guys have done some really high-level things, both at the national and senior levels. I’ve got several guys who are coaching all over the place now, too. Newman is a special place, and there’s a lot of people who care.”
The most rewarding aspect of coaching, Smith said, is reconnecting with students and seeing the lifelong impact wrestling has played on their lives.
“When a kid comes back to me and says, ‘Wrestling gave me everything,’ that’s pretty cool to me,” Smith said. “And this might not even be a kid that won a lot of matches for us, but he’s doing something in his career, in his personal life that he has associated back to wrestling and Newman University’s program.”
Newman senior Jace Fisher will always be grateful to Smith for “being in my corner since the day I decided to wrestle at Newman University.”
Fisher said, “Coach Smith made my transition from high school to college very easy, and he has supported and held me accountable through any challenges I have encountered during my time on the team. He is a natural leader who never fails to critique, motivate or humor us wrestlers when we need it.”
If there is one important lesson Fisher has learned from Smith, it is to communicate and support fellow athletes when they need guidance.
“Coach Smith has been incredible for me, not just with my athletic career but my military career too,” Fisher said. “We wouldn’t be a team without him and his invaluable leadership.”
For someone who never intended to be a college head wrestling coach, Smith said “It’s been an awesome journey.”
“And whether these guys believe it or not,” he added, “I’ve learned something more from them every day.”
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