Coaching Staff

All Wildcat Wrestling Club coaches are USAW card-holding members and are Bronze-Level Certified coaches.

2017-18 Coaching Staff:

Jon Clayton, Advanced head coach: Coach Clayton is the pastor at Faith Chapel here in Louisburg. He has been in the ministry for 14 and a half years. This is his family’s fifth year of being in the Louisburg community. He and his wife have four children: Cloe 12, Canaan 10, Jadin 7, and Josiah 5.

What do you hope to personally contribute to the Wildcat Wrestling Club? “Personally, I would like to contribute more than just a knowledge of wrestling, but also help build character in the lives of the wrestlers. Teach integrity and perseverance on and off the mat.”

What’s your favorite wrestling memory from when you were younger? “My most memorable moment is probably when I was wrestling my junior year and in the first period the guy had me on my back the whole period, but could not get my should to touch to pin me. I ended up coming back and winning the match in the next two periods because I didn’t give up.”

What’s the most memorable lesson you remember learning from the sport of wrestling? “Wrestling is a tough sport and it definitely taught me perseverance, that quitting isn’t an option. In the 6 seasons I wrestled, I never once was beat by being pinned.”

What accomplishments are you the most proud of (wrestling and beyond)? “I was able to garner several medals throughout my wrestling career, but my truly greatest accomplishment was when I gave my life to Christ and He put that perseverance to work for Him.”
Bobby Bovaird, Advanced assistant coach
Shawn Crossley, Novice head coach: Coach Crossley lives in Louisburg with his 8-year-old daughter Kendall. He is a customer manager for Acosta Sales and Marketing. His daughter is very involved with competitive gymnastics at Eagles Gymnastics in KCMO, which keeps him extremely busy. He enjoys traveling, playing golf, and watching sports.

What do you hope to personally contribute to the Wildcat Wrestling Club? “I hope to  share my passion for and knowledge of the sport with the youth of our community. To be a positive influence and role model, while helping to teach core values that build character, like hard work, dedication, discipline, self-confidence, and sportsmanship.”

What’s your favorite wrestling memory from when you were younger? “There are so many, but a few that come to mind are: (1) My dad taking me to tournaments all over Kansas and Missouri as a kid. (2) The support of my parents and the community over the years. (3) The TEAM that we had in high school and how we went from the worst to first in those 4 years. ($) Having the opportunity to wrestle for and learn from some tremendous people: Sonny Ewalt, Dee Graham, and Tim Dozier.”
What’s the most memorable lesson you remember learning from the sport of wrestling? “Always give 100%. Leave it all on the mat. Never wish you would have done more, worked harder, practiced harder, etc.”
What accomplishments are you the most proud of (wrestling and beyond)? “Three-time Kansas 4A State qualifier, 1997-98 Frontier League Champions, 1998 Senior Wrestler of the Year, #13 on the all-time wins list at Louisburg High School.”
Trevor Finch, Novice assistant coach
Bradley Trageser
James Auth, Novice assistant coach
Janson Lanier, club coach: Coach Lanier lives in Louisburg with his wife, Aileen and two daughters, Dani and Allie. He currently works in Cardio-Pulmonary and Sleep Diagnostics throughout the Midwest as a Regional Sales Manager. When he’s not travelling for work, Janson loves spending time with his family and friends, as well as, participating and watching all sports.

What do you hope to personally contribute to the Wildcat Wrestling Club? “My goal is to help the student-athletes set, pursue and achieve their goals. Not always just on the mat or in school, but also in life. As coaches/assistant coaches, we are a part of the team that goes above and beyond for the betterment of the student-athlete!”

What’s your favorite wrestling memory from when you were younger? “I’d have to say my first tournament! It was an EARLY and COLD Saturday morning and we had driven two hours to get to the 6am weigh-in. Looking back it wasn’t a large tournament, but when I first walked into the gym… seeing the wrestling mats from door to door and the amount of people piled in it was electric. I was hooked. I had competed in Judo and Tae-kwon-do before but this was different. This was Midwest Wrestling!”

What’s the most memorable lesson you remember learning from the sport of wrestling? “The person across the mat from you CAN be beat! You have to open yourself up to believing you are there to WIN! I remember my Freshman year wrestling a previous State Champion who had only lost one match his whole career. It was in a dual and I wanted to prove something. I wrestled my tail off and made it through all three rounds. Did I win??? God no… 12-3, but I didn’t get pinned and I never gave up! I learned that day, I CAN COMPETE!”

What accomplishments are you the most proud of (wrestling and beyond)? “2x HS State Qualifier (1997 & 1998 Missouri), 3x State Qualifier Club Wrestling (Kansas City Northstars Wrestling Club 1994, 1995, 1996). HS Baseball State Championship in 1998 (Kearney HS, Kearney, MO), 3rd Team NCAA DI Baseball All-American, Drafted in 2001 (Florida Marlins), but most of all, proud of my girls!!!”
Chad White: Coach White is currently the varsity assistant wrestling coach at Blue Valley North High School. He is the proud father of three boys — Mason 8, Liam 4, and Nash 4 weeks. He met his wife Megan when they were just kids (he and his future brother-in-law wrestled for the Blue Valley Kids Club). He’s all about his family and very involved in his kids’ school and the church.

What do you hope to personally contribute to the Wildcat Wrestling Club? “To help coach kids, to build within them confidence, discipline, morals, character, and hopefully a love for the sport. The wrestling will take care of itself.”

What’s your favorite wrestling memory from when you were younger? “One of my favorite “kids” wrestling memories was the time I qualified for state (made it to the second day), against all odds when I shouldn’t have even made it out of sub-districts, let alone districts.”

What’s the most memorable lesson you remember learning from the sport of wrestling? “How it builds character in a way that no other sport can (aside from martial arts).”

What accomplishments are you the most proud of (wrestling and beyond)? “I was an accomplished kids and high school wrestler, and I wrestled collegiately for two years. I have nine years coaching experience (2 kids, 7 high school).”