Mike Zadick responds after dismissal from Iowa State wrestling staff

AMES — Former Iowa State associate head wrestling coach Mike Zadick was given the opportunity to either resign or be terminated, he told The Gazette on Monday via text message.

Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser announced Thursday that Zadick had been fired from his coaching position because the two couldn't see eye-to-eye.

'My position as the Associate Head Coach required that I devote my best energies and abilities for the exclusive benefit of ISU,' Zadick said. 'Even with the current developments, I can rest easy as I believe I accomplished that goal. Coaching and leadership come in many styles and forms and there will be differences of opinion from one coach to the next. I was hired as the Associate Head Coach to bring my coaching style and form to ISU. My coaching philosophies were known prior to my employment with ISU and they did not change during my employment with ISU.

'There were occasions that others made decisions that I believed were contrary to the best interests of ISU. I expressed my beliefs as was required of me in my position as the Associate Head Coach. As I now understand, the expression of my beliefs is the genesis of the alleged conflict that led to my premature dismissal.

'I elected not to resign from ISU because my actions did not warrant dismissal. Additionally, had I accepted ISU's offer to resign, I would be sending a message to the athletes that I coached contrary to the character traits that I endeavored to instill in them.'

In the release sent out by Iowa State last week, Dresser said he would conduct a nationwide search to find a replacement for Zadick.

'I've decided to go in a different direction with our coaching staff as we continue to re-build the Iowa State program,' Dresser said in a release. 'There isn't a better guy to teach wrestling technique than Mike, but we had some significant differences of opinion and it is best that we part ways. Mike was given the opportunity to run our practice room and have substantial input on all elements of the program. At the end of the day, however, I'm the leader of this program and our staff has to be aligned and unified.'

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