Tillman and Ryan Stroud. Photos: Edina Wrestling Association
Ryan and Tillman Stroud are passionate about building youth wrestling in Edina.
Father-son duo Ryan and Tillman Stroud have put Edina youth wrestling on the map over the last few years. “Wrestling is a very tight-knit, small community. Once you’re in, you’re kind of addicted,” Ryan says.
Ryan goes way back with wrestling. He began in elementary school in Northern Wisconsin and improved individually over the years. He’s a two-time high school place winner in Wisconsin, plus a NCAA National Qualifier and a two-time NCAA team National Champion at Augsburg University. “The team’s success in college was something I enjoyed a lot because that was something I hadn’t really been a part of before,” he says.
After coaching wrestling at Augsburg for three years, Ryan began coaching at Edina High School in 2019. Four-year-old Tillman would join Ryan at practices and started getting excited about wrestling himself. Then, in 2022, Tillman started wrestling in earnest.
Now, Ryan also coaches Edina’s youth wrestling program, which includes kids from pre-K to sixth grade. “My long- term goal is to be around and be the youth director and guide the program as Tillman gets older,” he says.
For Ryan, wrestling is just as much about physical skill as well as mental characteristics. “Wrestling takes a lot of dedication. It’s not always super time consuming, but the time you put in is a lot of hard work. It’s a very demanding sport and takes a lot of self control,” he says.
Ryan says families in Edina see the value. “I do think people see the benefits you get from wrestling for other sports, even helping kids with their self-confidence. They’re getting involved because the parents see the big picture,” he says. “We can help our kids develop and work on these characteristics of the young adults that they want their children to grow up to be. They see this as an opportunity.”
Tillman Stroud holds up his gold medal in folkstyle wrestling.
In his short time wrestling, now 8-year-old Tillman has earned incredible success. He won both Minnesota state championship tournaments in 2024 and 2025 and the USA Wrestling National Championship. He also achieved the 2025 Minnesota Triple Crown, which is when someone wins all three styles of wrestling—folkstyle, freestyle and greco. “I like that it makes you tougher. Tougher in your mind and body,” Tillman says.
Ryan and Tillman have struck a meaningful balance between family life and wrestling. “Yes, he’s a good coach. And also, well, I kind of like traveling and spending time together,” Tillman says.
“It’s really hard to explain when you have a kid and you see the work they put in and see them have success on top of it; it really is heartwarming,” Ryan says. “We try not to focus too much on the accomplishments or winning. We try to focus on getting a little bit better every day.”
Ryan coaches the youth program with two former University of Minnesota wrestlers, Brent Jones and Gannon Volk. “It’s not that we have a huge program, but where we have grown is definitely in quality. We have some very talented wrestlers out there,” he says.
