Mr. Kading never planned to become a wrestler, but one twist of fate in high school landed him in the wrestling room and changed his life forever. What began as a punishment turned into a passion that led him from athlete to coach and now teaching and inspiring students everyday.

John Kading, Leyden’s head wrestling coach, has been teaching and coaching for 16 years. He started wrestling in high school after losing a football bet, and the sport quickly became something he loved. Now he coaches to share that passion with his students and teach them many important lessons.

“Mr. Kading wants to share his love of wrestling. ‘Every season, new kids come in, they just want to get better. They want wrestling to have an influence on their life like it had on mine.”

Even though Mr. Kading loves being a wrestling coach, he believes it’s not for everyone. “It has to be a passion, it’s something that is so rewarding but you must put 100% in everything you do or not do it at all”.

Mr. Kading knows that coaching isn’t easy, in fact he believes, “Being a good coach takes as much if not more work than being a great athlete”. Coaching means spending time outside of practice studying the sport, keeping up with all the new techniques and always thinking about how to help athletes improve. 

Over time, Mr. Kading also learned that coaching isn’t one size fits all, “Not everyone is like me, I had to learn how to adapt my coaching to different kids”.  At first he expected his athletes to train, think, and work the same way he did but soon he realized that each student is different and needs different kinds of support. That lesson helped him grow into a better coach, one who listens, adjusts and connects with each athlete in their own way.

One of the most important lessons he teaches his students is how to deal with failure. He doesn’t expect perfection, he expects effort and growth, “Failure is inevitable but it’s how you handle setbacks that help you grow”, he said. Whether it’s losing a match or struggling in a class he wants his students to see mistakes as a normal part of learning. To him real success comes from how you respond, not just how you win. 

Even though Mr. Kading’s wrestling career is over, he still thinks back to the mentors that he had growing up. One mentor  particularly standing out, his high school wrestling coach that saw potential in him, Mr. Kading goes on to describe him as “An amazing guy, he’s why I got into teaching. He’s why I wanted to be a high school teacher and a high school coach. He was my math teacher, I teach math. I wanted to be just like him”.  Mr. Kading wants to share his passion with his students, just like his high school wrestling coach.

Even after many years his passion remains strong. Mr. Kading stays motivated by his passion for helping others, “I found myself wanting to help my athletes improve more than focusing on my own training”, proving his love for coaching goes beyond the sport. 

As Mr. Kading puts it best, “Be fearless not fearful, embrace failure because it is that only way to improve”, it’s this mindset that he hopes to pass onto every student and athlete he coaches. Reminding them that real victory is not just gaining a metal or ribbon it is learning and growing through any and every challenge they face.