When the men’s freestyle wrestling begins at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, Montana fans will be watching from nearly every corner of the state. Part of that is because Montana wrestling fans are very enthusiastic about the sport. However, most of the reason is because the United States national men’s freestyle head coach is Great Falls native Bill Zadick. Zadick, a four-time state wrestling champion for the Great Falls Bison from 1988-91, is the eighth-year head coach for the United States. He has been on the national team’s coaching staff since 2009 and the Paris Games will be his fourth as a coach with the Team USA staff. Zadick became the national freestyle head coach after the 2016 Games, so this will be his second Olympics as head coach. The U.S. men’s freestyle squad consists of a full-six athlete team.
“I have my alarm set for next week when they start,” said current Great Falls High head coach Luis Carranza. “I’d watch regardless,” Carranza added. “But just knowing he is the head guy makes you watch even more closely than you would.”
Bill Zadick’s photo is displayed on the wall of the Great Falls High wrestling room. It’s super cool,” said Carranza of Bill Zadick leading Team USA in Paris. “Just seeing him on the wall (Zadick’s picture is displayed in the Great Falls wrestling room) and knowing he was a Bison and put in work in our program is super unique and special.”
Zadick, a 2006 Senior World champion and NCAA Division I titlist for Iowa in 1996, led the U.S. squad at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as all five men’s freestyle qualifiers won medals. Wrestling begins Monday at Champ de Mars Arena in Paris and concludes Sunday, Aug. 11. However, the men’s freestyle competition starts on Thursday. According to the USA Wrestling Media Guide, every match will be available to watch on NBC’s subscription-based Peacock streaming services.
The buzz surrounding Zadick coaching the United States freestyle team at the Olympics is also being felt in Glasgow. The United States men’s freestyle team has won consecutive World team titles entering the competition. Zadick also led the 2017 United States team to a Senior World title.
“I think it is great for Montana,” said Glasgow wrestling coach Jory Casterline. “Bill does a great job. The Zadick family I have the upmost respect for the whole family. It’s just great seeing what he (Bill Zadick) does on the big scene. To us coaches in Montana, that’s as big as it gets.”
Casterline said prior to the Glasgow wrestling camp that was held Saturday through Monday that he would be talking to the approximately 200 wrestlers in attendance about Zadick coaching Team USA. Jeff Thompson’s son, Anders Thompson, will be wrestling at Oklahoma next season. Anders worked out at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs during the summer between his junior and senior seasons.
“He is super-well respected around the world,” said Thompson. “He can take the best of the best and sharpen the saw I hear from coaches. Bill is good at fine-tuning the wrestlers he works with.”
Leif Schroeder, a four-time State AA champion from Bozeman from 2017-20, is currently a wrestler at Iowa who will be a senior this coming season. For Schroeder, it is uniquely awesome for him that Zadick is coaching Team USA being he’s also an Iowa wrestler and a four-time state champ.
“I just think it’s cool,” Schroeder said. “Growing up, me and my brother (Bjorn Schroeder) would always go to the Zadick camp in Great Falls and have a good relationship with them. The way they give back to the sport in Montana is huge and giving Montana wrestlers the opportunity to be around big names. It’s really cool to see him at the pinnacle of the sport.”
In Great Falls, Carranza predicted an electric atmosphere for the week ahead with freestyle action beginning on Thursday. “Once the tournament gets rolling, just like the last Olympics, you can hear people talking and sports places will throw up wrestling and people will say, ‘Do you know the head coach is from Great Falls?’ I just chuckle and say, ‘I sure do,’” Carranza said. And starting on Thursday, the state’s wrestling fans — and probably many Treasure State sports fans in general — will be dialed into the action whether on TV or the internet, cheering on a Montana wrestling icon as he leads Team USA.