We were lucky to catch up with Richard Rios recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Richard , thanks for joining us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?
As the old adage goes, “you learn something new every day” well, as a parent, I’d be remiss to think that the seeds we plant & water come into fruition that very same day… Good things take time after all!
As I reflect, there was a plethora of lessons I learned during my journey through childhood and adolescence. Those lessons had a vast array of influence over my adulthood life. In my humbled opinion, some lessons can’t be taught, they must be experienced! Well, I’ve experienced an abundant amount of lessons which taught me the principles of cause and effect.
Some of my choices elicited good consequences, whereas others resulted in bad ones.
Regardless of the outcome, the experience itself allowed me insight on how to navigate future occurrences.
Through all my adventures, there was one force that I consistently learned from and that, I proudly share with you, is my father, Ruben Rios Sr, my hero.
My father has always been present in my life and I can honestly say that his unconditional love has remained the same through the test of time.
One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned from my father was how to show up for those you love.
Regardless of any circumstance, if it matter’s, you’ll show up.
During my teenager years I made some really poor choices. The results landed me in front of the Board of Education. I vividly remember being a scared little boy not knowing what the future holds for me. My father recognized what was at stake and he reminded me “son, no matter what happens in life I will always love you, and no matter what anyone tells you, you’re going to be successful!”
Those words granted me a peace of mind like I’ve never experienced before.
Here I was, at the lowest of lows, potentially getting expelled from the school district, yet my father choose to believe in me even when it appeared as if no one else did.
Perhaps that grit was derived from overcoming many odds himself. My father was no stranger to hardships. I’m convinced he was blessed with the gift of long-suffering and
fortunately for me, I was able to watch him lead by example.
I’ve learned many lessons on perseverance from my old man. Whether it was dealing with the death of loved ones or something work related (where he devoted 43+ years) my dad worked incredibly hard to overcome things that seemed insurmountable and I’m proud to say he did a phenomenal job battling through those situations. His modeling provided insights on how to fortify the mind. Today I teach Psychology and offer practical applications in my mindset courses and thanks to my dad, I find myself recycling mantras that he instilled in me at a young age such as “tough times require tough minds” and “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
My father exemplified great heroism and it was easy for me to want to follow his leadership. To date, he still guides me.
His leadership is always appreciated and I’m grateful he is still alive to see a return on his investment.
From being a troubled teen, to graduating college, and now (ironically) teaching and coaching at a high school (for the last decade) I’m proud to know my dads legacy will live on in thousands of young minds & hearts. Independent of actually meeting the man, my fathers teachings have had a great influence on my teaching/coaching style, and thus, he too will have a profound impact on my students lives.
The same should be said for the sport of wrestling.
Ruben Rios Sr. was the first in our family to wrestle and yet three generations later, my children, my brothers children, and my sisters children all wrestle.
It’s with great pride we pass on the family legacy to our future generation. The Pride of Nevada puts an emphasis on wrestling and mindset training and I’m proud to lead this team beside my brother, Ruben Rios Jr. Our fathers passionate approach revealed how coaching is more than just showing techniques. If done correctly, a coach will utilize their platform to teach life. The lessons acquired from sport should be applicable to the athletes in the real world.
Without my dads constant love, support, and guidance I would not be the leader I am today, and the community would not have benefited the way it has.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Coach Rios and I have the unique ability of helping others reach their personal goals.
I’ve been a Psychology educator and wrestling coach for the last decade. Though Psychology is one domain and sport is another, Sports Psychology is a beautiful blend of both and I have a keen awareness of how to effectively communicate information regarding these topics.
While competing on the mat, I won a few national championship titles along with a few world championship titles. That said, I certainly do not limit myself to being just a wrestling coach, nor do I limit my audience to just wrestlers. Instead I work with all walks of life. I offer services to empower individuals to strive for greatness. Those under my leadership strive to maximize their potential. I see myself as an Academic Coach, Mindset Coach, Peak Performance Coach, Success Coach, and an overall Life Coach. My mission is to prepare students and athletes for the real world and my lessons online, in the classroom, and on the wrestling mat epitomize that.
I am the owner of The Pride Of Nevada LLC. We emphasize wrestling and mindset training. My personal philosophy states “It’s not about what you’re going through, it’s about how you respond.” I enjoy educating clients on mindset principles and I’m honored to help them condition the right response.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
One of my mentors, Jim Rohn, once said “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with”
I like to spend my time on “GOAT MOUNTAIN”, with what I consider to be the greatest of all time mentors, leaders, teachers & coaches.
Some of the individuals I spend the most time with are names like Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale, Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Bob Proctor, Eric Thomas, Coach John Wooden, Coach John Smith, John C. Maxwell, and Jesus Christ!
Each of these individuals (plus a few more) have had a significant imprint on my personal growth and development.
Their teachings helped instill great values and personal philosophies that I proudly subscribe to.
I’d encourage anyone to check them out!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I was a senior in high school I had an appendicitis rupture. Scary right?! That could be fatal!!
Although the thought of death may be scary, the revelation of being alive and not being able to chase dreams or seize once in a life time moments, is even worse. Especially if you prepared your entire childhood for high school athletics and furthermore, the lucrative college scholarship!
Being a state champion is every wrestlers dream, but if that dream is to become a reality, a competitor must qualify for the state meet as a pre-requisite.
The timing of my appendicitis rupture truly came at the most inconvenient time possible. It was just two weeks before our league finals.
In California there are several qualifications one must get through if they are to qualify for the State Championships.
The first challenge is League Finals. Athletes who place top two advance to CIF Individuals. From there, top five placers will advance to the Masters Meet and those who place top eight in Masters will qualify for the State Championships.
California Wrestling is the real deal! Only one, true, State Champion and only those who take the hard road can honestly say they are California state qualifiers.
My wrestling adventure began when I was a child. I wasn’t all that great, but I trusted my dad and he made me feel like I was.
After years of getting my but kicked and falling short of personal goals, I reached my teenage years and things started clicking for me on the mat. I won a couple big tournaments including my first AAU World Championship and that catapulted my confidence.
Eventually I got into high school and had a great campaign.
By my senior year, I had already achieved being a team captain, a district champion, a league champion, a CIF finalist, I helped my team win the CIF Team Championship, and qualified for Masters and State.
Finally, after all those years of hard work I reached my senior year in high school, the year that would matter most! I had the opportunity to cement myself in history and reach the pinnacle of HS wrestling, but just two weeks before League Finals, I found myself at a fork in the road.
Shortly after getting out of the operating room my Doctor delivered the news that a procedure like mine would take about six weeks to fully recover, and unfortunately, I’d be unable to attend school because I was to be bed ridden.
I didn’t understand the magnitude of what was being conveyed, so I simply asked about my wrestling season.
The Dr. communicated to me in the most unemotional way possible, that my season is essentially over.
My family and I shared a cry and although it was sobering, I knew something that my doctor didn’t.
I knew who I was and where I had came from.
I knew all the hours of hard work I put into my craft.
I knew the discipline and sacrifices that were required of me leading up to that point in my wrestling career.
& I knew what God promised me in Jeremiah 29:11
As we got home, my father and my brother helped me up the stairs to rest.
While I was resting, they made some phone calls and got ahold of some personal wrestling mats.
To my surprise, they revamped the house and laid a wrestling mat on top of the carpet. They pushed all the furniture out of the way and for the next several weeks our living room was my new wrestling room. As I awoke, I’ll never forget that feeling, I felt overwhelmed with love and support!
For the next two weeks, little by little, I did what I could until I felt exhausted.
I would execute my stance & motion, level changes, body fakes, and offensive attacks. Then, as I was depleted, I would rest and recover on that mat.
When I woke up, I would segue to my top game. I’d practice my techniques for pinning combinations and near fall criteria’s, then, after feeling exhausted, I would rest again.
When I felt as if I had more energy to give, I would transition my focus to bottom wrestling and master my moves and techniques.
For the next two weeks I lived on those mats and took full responsibility of my own success.
Little did I know, this moment in time was absolutely a character building moment for me.
As an adult, I think back to overcoming that adversity and I remind myself of the grit and mental fortitude it required to persevere.
Although everyone was convinced my season was over, I responded to the situation the way champions do.
Two weeks later I would go on to win the League Finals.
By the grace of God, the following week I would go on to win the individual CIF Championship.
Additionally, I qualified for Masters and State, but perhaps the greatest reward was the lessons I learned from battling through this adversity.
As a bonus, my determination to persist would later earn me an athletic scholarship to Dakota Wesleyan University.
There, I would become the first collegiate All-American in my family, and the first Rios to graduate from college.
I’m convinced none of this would have transpired if I had quit when the odds were stacked against me.
This situation presented a great opportunity to show myself who I really am and I will forever be grateful for the challenge and the way I responded to it. In my opinion, this experience was significantly more valuable than a scholastic gold medal.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, “It’s not about what you’re going through, It’s about how you respond.”
In the face of adversity I’m proud to know I chased my dreams.
Despite having a valid medical excuse that could have legitimately ended my career, I didn’t accept defeat. Instead, I chose to focus on the things that I could control and I trusted that the results would take care of themselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pridewrestling.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprideofnevada/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pridewrestlingnv/
