Leadership Academy Trains Coaches for Eternal Victory

SportsLife Wrestling partnered with the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) to host the annual Collegiate CEO Leadership Academy at the Jon Davis Wrestling Center in Edwardsville, Illinois, on May 13-14, 2026. The event brought together 32 college wrestling coaches for leadership training and mentorship.

SportsLife Leadership’s Chief Sport Officer Carl Perry laid the groundwork for the NWCA partnership three years ago and is pleased with the outcome.

“As we build support for Kingdom impact, our relationships with the governing bodies matter,” Perry said. “We partner with the NWCA to pour into the future leaders of our sport. Events like this give us another opportunity to infuse life into the wrestling community.”

  SportsLife Wrestling Field Leader Jim Gruenwald was one of seven mentor coaches and led the spiritual training component. Brandon Slay, Executive Director of SportsLife Wrestling, pointed to Gruenwald’s pedigree as head wrestling coach at Wheaton College, two-time Olympian and three-time U.S. national champion while pointing to reasons the event was successful.

“Jim Gruenwald has been leading in a transformational way during his entire coaching career,” Slay said. “We’re grateful his teaching is required at the event. Coaches are hungry to learn from him.”

Gruenwald has been part of the Leadership Academy for 17 years, and he has served as keynote speaker the past three gatherings. His message drew from his Master’s thesis at Wheaton, inspired by Paul’s athletic metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9:25: “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”

“You can strain for the temporal,” Gruenwald taught the coaches. “A state title, a national championship, whatever it happens to be. But we can’t make it an idol.

“The wreath is perishable, but the crown is eternal. I want coaches to realize you can strain, but keep the eternal mindset so sports doesn’t become idolatry.” – Jim Gruenwald

Slay explained why coaches are so receptive to this message.

“When these coaches show up, they often don’t realize how hungry they are for that spiritual component,” Slay said. “It’s the missing piece: How do you get your athletes thinking about something greater than themselves?”

Coaches first have to recognize the dangers of competitive sports.

“I had a very dear mentor tell me that winning for a coach is like a drug,” Gruenwald said. “You get that first high, and like any high, the first is the best. Then you just can’t stop chasing it. But it’s rewarding to help the coaches understand they can have God and sports together. You can be a high-level coach and a rock-solid Christian. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.”

Wynn Michalak, SportsLife Wrestling Field Director, said that’s why partnerships matter to long-term ministry success. The NWCA is the largest coaches association in wrestling and, though not faith-based, has grown increasingly open to the spiritual side of coaching.

“The NWCA continuing to add leadership programs at Christian universities has helped our partnership grow substantially,” Michalak said.

“It’s exciting to see what God is doing as we help them find and train up faith-forward leaders.” – Wynn Michalak

In true form, Gruenwald continues to bring the team back to their calling to coach.

“Most coaches don’t understand early on that coaching is a calling,” Gruenwald said. “My hope is to help them understand it’s more than a career path. They’re affecting generations now. Being a coach is all about capturing a heart. As Christian coaches, it’s making sure we’re not only doing the right thing, but doing it the right way.”