(Oakland) Casey Conover says his goal as a coach is to help all of his athletes go on to be more successful in life than he is. The Bulldog head wrestling coach is our latest guest on “Why I Coach”.
Conover grew up in a family of teachers and coaches which made it a natural fit. “I have several aunts and uncles that taught, my mom taught, my older brother taught. I just liked being around kids. I like when kids learn a new concept and the aha moment comes. That’s the most fun about teaching and coaching.”
One of Conover’s favorite success stories came this past spring when Kya Hackett made the state track meet. “It was one of the most exciting moments of my coaching career because she had dedicated to track and field a lot. She had some struggles throughout her high school years and seeing it all put together at the end of the year was amazing. Seeing her make it to state was pretty awesome.”
Conover started his career at MVAO and was there for ten years before coming to Riverside. He spent a season as an assistant under Mitch Anderson before taking over the Bulldog wrestling program. “It was the best thing for me, being a new guy I didn’t really know much being a young coach. It was really neat to learn and listen to coach Anderson’s teaching, not only about wrestling, but life and also get to know the Riverside community really well.”
Conover considers himself fortunate to have been around four Hall of Fame coaches-Dick Kingsbury, Dave Mitchell, Mitch Anderson, and Darrell Frain. He also credits his current assistants. “Tyler Johannsen has been with me the last four or five years and his knowledge of the sport and technique for the sport is unreal, it’s amazing. It’s been awesome having him around. The guy I’ve been with the longest is Alex Oliver. He brings excitement, he brings emotion. He brings an energy to the room which is really nice. We had two new coach this year that helped out a lot with Tucker and Tatem Bluml. Having guys that I formerly coached in the room has just been awesome.”
Coach Conover was asked about gaining the respect of his athletes and says communication is key. “Sometimes I’m wondering at night ‘What in the heck am I doing? Am I going the right direction or not?’ To me I think the big thing is you know where I stand. I’m a blunt person, I’m going to speak my mind. I probably need to get better at this, I’m not a politician. You know where I stand.”
Conover serves as Riverside’s head wrestling coach, assistant girls track coach, and junior high football coach.
Previous Coaches
(Click to listen)
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
Dick Strittmatter, Atlantic native
Chad Klein, Audubon Native (Kuemper Catholic and Boone)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Monte Riebhoff)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Steve Ahrendsen)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Scott Weber)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Curt Mace)
Jason Mehrhoff, Anita Native (Carlisle)
Eric Hjelle, Elk Horn-Kimballton grad (Underwood)
Warren Watson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Scott Yates, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Marc Bierbaum, Griswold grad and Iowa Western track/cross country assistant
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Curt Schulte, Harlan graduate (Glenwood)
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
Chad Harder, (Walnut Grad) Tri-Center
