Smith to step down following wrestling season

FORT MADISON – “I knew five years ago this would be it.”
Those were the first words from Fort Madison Head Wrestling Coach Ryan Smith on Tuesday afternoon.
The Fort Madison School District announced Tuesday that they would be honoring Smith for his 27 years in the Bloodhound wrestling program at Senior Night Thursday in the Hound Dome. Smith told the district this would be his last year but was taken by surprise by the announcement Tuesday.
In typical Smith style, he deferred the accolades.
“I just don’t want this to take away from the kids,” he said.
Smith said he planned five years ago to step away from the wrestling program when his son Teague completed his senior year with the Hounds.
Teague Smith had his junior and senior years dampened by injuries to both knees and never got to take the podium despite being ranked in the top 10 in Class 3A both seasons, and garnering many regional and national medals in youth wrestling.
Ryan Smith said the time is right to step back, but he said he’s still going to be part of the program, in addition to the football programs, in some capacity.
Smith has been on Head Coach Derek Doherty’s staff since he took over the program five years ago. He was a coach on the junior high football team for several years, as well.
“It’s been a long time. I figured this would be a good time to go out,” he said.
Smith has been the head coach for 26 of the 27 years, taking over for Mike Riley, who had the helm for about five years following legendary coach Mick Pickford who built the program over three decades. Riley was Pickford’s assistant for much of that time.
“I was fresh out of college and was chomping at the bit and ready to be the coach. Mike saw that as a good time to get out himself,” Smith said.
He said the move will give him time to step back and watch his other children from a parent’s seat rather than a coaching seat. He’s also looking forward to taking advantage of the easier schedule during winter to travel a bit.
Smith, and his wife Jill have two other children, Mara, a sophomore at FMHS, and Lila, an eighth grader who plays volleyball, runs track, and participates in show choir.
Mara has seen immediate success in the girls' wrestling program, qualifying for the IGHSAU State tournament in 2023. She advanced out of regionals when a qualifier suffered an injury allowing her to move into the state bracket at 113 lbs.
Smith said he’s looking forward to watching her grow and said any coaching will be at Mara’s request.
“It definitely gives me time to watch her as a parent. Whether she wants coaching or not is up to her. I haven’t shown her techniques or anything, but have given her help more on the mental side of things,” he said.
“She’s been around it watching. Teague helps her a bit. Physically goes through things with her.
"A lot of it’s her mentality,” he said.
Either way, he said he will enjoy being able to help in a different way than he has over the past quarter century.
The Smith legacy is one of humble approaches and rooting for the underdog. He said his favorite memories are those of the kids who weren’t expected to have success. Smith stops short of listing the names of those who have seen success under his program, mostly out of fear of leaving a name off – no surprise to anyone who’s spent time around the program and the coach.
"Generally speaking, some of my favorite memories were kids that weren’t supposed to be successful. Seeing guys that weren’t supposed to be state qualifiers and state place winners get there is as gratifying to me as the kids we expected to be there,” he said.
“I’ve always been an underdog kind of a guy. I think not just of individuals, but teams that weren’t supposed to win conference, but did. They pulled an upset and found a way. Those are my fondest moments.”
The 2019 IHSAA Character Counts Coach of the Year said coaching has certainly changed over three decades. The mentality and approach to coaching kids today is a spectrum away from when he started in 1997.
“There’s no doubt I’ve changed personally as a coach. If I coached like did 26 years ago, I don’t know how many kids we’d have,” he said.
“We’d go full bore every day and they’d belly ache but they’d come back. If you put the pedal to the medal like that now, you’d get more kids saying maybe this isn’t for me.
“We work just as hard, but we work a lot smarter. That’s the biggest thing.”
Retirement from coaching doesn’t mean you won’t see Smith working a mat or sideline or even as part of coaching going forward.
“I’m just not going to be THE guy,” he said. “I’m going to be around doing things at different levels.”
One of the reasons for that is the relationships Smith has cultivated over the years.
“Put that at the top of the list,” he said. “The most important thing is the relationships. Wins and losses come and go. Relationships last forever. Other coaches, kids through our program and through other programs, and following them and things they did with their career.”
Smith has encountered 1,000s of student athletes over the 27 years with Fort Madison, and those relationships are as important as any.
“I’ve seen this day coming, but until it gets there you’re like 'Wholly Cow this is about to be it'. But when you know, you know.”
Smith still has several years left teaching before he fully retires but said he’s excited to some winter traveling now that someone else will be at the helm of the wrestling program.
“I’d like to travel more in the winter. You’re locked down, but now we can escape the snow and cold,” he said. “I’m not going to get too far away from the sport. I’ll always want to contribute, but this time more as a spectator.
“I wanna see Bloodhound wrestling continue to flourish and I want to do whatever I can at different levels.”
Smith said he doesn’t think he’ll be involved in the hiring of his replacement but has put the word out with coaches in the area.
“I don’t think I will be. I’m putting the word out there and I want to attract as many applicants as we can. When we hosted our tournament, we had a coach’s meeting and I let them know. I told them this was a great job for me personally and it’s a great job in a great community with loyal followers.”