Motivation is no issue for Cal Poly’s 174-pound senior wrestler. Ryan DesRoches wakes up to it every day. When he is grappling on the mat, arms aching and running out of the breath, all he has to do is look up to the stands to find it.
There sits his wife Katie and their infant son Titus watching him take on the nation’s best. For DesRoches, the support he receives from them means everything. In his mind, he owes much of his success to his wife of more than a year who has attended his wrestling matches since their high school days.
The two met when they were just kids growing up in Washington state, and their relationship, which started out as just friends, blossomed in recent years until the two married in July 2010.
“It’s definitely a lot of support,” DesRoches said. “I think the difference from most people is the stability (of a marriage). For me, it’s a constant support that I don’t always have to worry about. Katie is really into the sport, and it’s like second nature for her (to attend matches). That helps a lot.”
Ryan’s father, Rob DesRoches, said the 22-year-old DesRoches married his childhood sweetheart — a girl he’s known since she was born — and he can’t be any prouder of his son’s decisions and successes in life thus far.
“He’s his own man; he’s got his own family,” Rob said. “He’s a special guy that is one of my best friends definitely. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s an inspiration to me.”
The family man is just that: All about family.
Growing up near Spokane, Wash., DesRoches is the oldest of 10 brothers. His close relationship with siblings and family members has positively impacted his life on and off the mat, according to friend and teammate Ryan Smith.
“His whole life he has been a family-oriented person,” Smith said. “He’s a lot more calm and relaxed, and he has really settled down since getting married. I have to think that having a wife and a kid in the stands makes him want to wrestle all that much harder.”
The added incentive has DesRoches wrestling at peak level this year. Now in his final season wrestling for the Mustang squad, DesRoches has seen success on the mat throughout his career. A three-time Washington state champion at Riverside High School, he clawed his way to a team-best 21-1 record for Cal Poly — including three tournament victories this year with his only defeat coming recently to No. 1 ranked Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford.
But the success hasn’t come by virtue of luck for DesRoches. According to his father, Ryan was raised looking at his younger brothers’ superior athletic abilities; something that he said drives DesRoches to be the best athlete in the family, not to mention the best wrestler in the country.
“His work ethic really came to light when he decided he was tired of not being the best at something,” Rob said. “Some of his brothers were more naturals at athletics when they were younger, and he had to work his tail off. But when he turned on that fire, boy, he was gone from there, and he’s never looked back.”
For DesRoches, qualifying for the national championships in his sophomore season and a third-place finish in the Pac-10 Championships a year ago weren’t enough. He entered the season with a fresh mentality of keeping a cooler demeanor in even the most heated of matches.
“In the past, I would over-think things and panic in situations that I didn’t need to,” he said. “This year, I’ve been able to slow things down and not panic. It’s helped me a lot; the mental preparation I think is the biggest part that helps.”
Preparing mentally and striving to calm his nerves in close matches has paid off for the senior. It helped him attain a No. 4 ranking in the country at 174 pounds.
In talking to DesRoches, while the nerves that plagued him in years past on the mat aren’t obvious. People might not even realize they’re talking to one of NCAA’s top wrestlers. His poise and manner in speaking about his accomplishments ooze modesty.
“He’s definitely a humble person,” Smith said. “He doesn’t act like he’s ranked fourth in the country. He brings a ton of leadership; he leads by example. … He works his ass off. He works as hard as anyone on the team, if not the hardest. Overall, he’s a great leader.”
Beyond a class schedule, a typical college student has minimal order or structure in their life. For them, their classes begin in the early morning, and their days can end well into the evening. But for DesRoches, structure defines his life.
“By personality, it works,” DesRoches said. “I am really schedule-oriented, and I like to set my life in a schedule.”
That stability has come from two sources for DesRoches: one, of course, being his family and the other his faith. In fact, the senior began his wrestling career because his father introduced him to his church’s club team at an early age.
“(My faith) helps me a lot,” DesRoches said. “It’s good to have my wife help me in that area too. Both of us can stay strong together, so I’m not just by myself. It’s definitely a lot more fun going to church as a family than by myself. It’s a big part of my life.”
Despite his impressive wrestling career, the kinesiology senior plans to attend chiropractic school after graduating from Cal Poly. And no matter his career path, one can bet that his family will be sitting in the stands watching him with their full support.