Episode 15: Building Community through Shared Adversity with Coach Jon Reader

Guest: Coach Jon Reader

This episode is the first in our miniseries on coaching and teaching. Exchange Producer David Macasaet talks with Jon Reader, Associate Head Coach of the UW-Madison Wrestling team. They discuss supporting student-athletes on and off the mat and the inclusive experience of communally conquering a challenge–like running the Camp Randall stairs at 6am.

See the transcript for this episode.

The L&S Exchange Podcast is brought to you by L&S Teaching & Learning Administration and produced by the Instructional Design Collaborative. This podcast is recorded on ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.

Join the Conversation

How did this episode make you think? What’s on your mind about inclusive teaching? Respond to a poll using the Spotify app on your mobile device, reply with a comment at the bottom of this post, or send us an email. We may ask to feature your contribution in this or a future episode.

Conversation Starters

  1. Coach Reader frames adversity as an opportunity to demonstrate resilience and deepen experiences of community. How does your teaching philosophy regard adversity? How do you address adversity with your students?
  2. Coach Reader highlights continually learning, treating athletes as individuals, and leading by example as good coaching practices. Do you see connections between your own teaching philosophy and practices of good coaching?
  3. Coach Reader has a naturally positive energy he brings to his coaching practice that is authentic to his personality and goals. How would you describe the energy you want to bring to the classroom? What adjectives are authentic to you?
  4. Coaches consider the academic, physical, mental, and social dimensions of student-athletes in order to inform their coaching practice. How do the multiple dimensions of your students inform your teaching?
  5. Coach Reader talks about taking care of himself as part of being an effective coach. What practices help you as an instructor to maintain a positive and healthy mindset to bring to your classroom?

Further Reading & Resources

In this episode we mentioned, were inspired by, or wondered about the following resources and topics.

Shout Outs

Special thanks to Patrick Herb, Director of Communications & Brand Strategy, UW Athletics, for connecting us with Coach Jon Reader!

Production Credits

Producer: David Macasaet
Associate Producer: Molly Harris
Audio Engineer: David Macasaet
Audio Editor: David Macasaet
WiscWeb Administrator: Laura Schmidli
Post-Production & Studio Support: Erika Schock
Development Producer: Jonathan Klein
Planning Group: Jonathan Klein, David Macasaet, Molly Harris, Laura Schmidli, Erika Schock, Antonella Caloro
Executive Sponsorship: Shirin Malekpour

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