NEWS: Men’s wrestling adds to coaching staff ahead of 2026-27 season

[Tanner Lafever]

Iowa announced a new staff member this afternoon - tabbing former DII All-American James Malechek (UW-Parkside) as its ‘Assistant Athletic Performance Coach.’



Per Iowa’s press release, Malechek arrives ”after serving as a strength and conditioning specialist at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.”

Prior to that,

“Malechek spent seven years with the Chinese national and provincial swimming programs. He served as head performance coach for the Guangdong Swimming Association in 2025 after spending six years (2018-24) as head performance coach and dryland trainer for the China National Swimming Team.

During his tenure with China's national program, athletes won three Olympic gold medals, three Olympic silver medals and five Olympic bronze medals. They also won seven world championship titles and set three world records.

Malechek worked directly with several of the world's top swimmers, including Olympic champion and multiple-time world medalist Zhang Yufei and world-record holder Qin Haiyang, who became the first swimmer to sweep the 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events at a single World Championships.”

 

[LIV4GOD]

 

[LIV4GOD]

I actually have no judgment about this guy. I just had jokes of swimming and being a fish, etc. floating in my head.

 

[Nashville_Hawk]

I actually have no judgment about this guy. I just had jokes of swimming and being a fish, etc. floating in my head.

I just don’t see the correlation…this seems odd to me. Hope he makes a difference!

 

[Nashville_Hawk]

Welcome to the team, James!

 

[Jamie_Taco]

Now this is a “move the needle” type of hire lol.

 

[sdvike]

Good to get a strength and conditioning assistant. Hope he is successful but if it was me making decisions, I would have gotten Desanto.

 

[lookleftgoright]

This guy seems like he has a ton of knowledge and experience training top level athletes. I know his experience isn't with wrestlers, but I am guessing he has a plethora of ideas and ways to improve the Hawks and help them peak.

A lot of guys compalain about TnT not thinking outside the box and doing everything in house. This seems a little outside the box to me.

 

[funkisfun10]

Good to get a strength and conditioning assistant. Hope he is successful but if it was me making decisions, I would have gotten Desanto.

You really think Desanto is coaching material? I mean...y'all already have Terry

 

[el dub]

Now this is a “move the needle” type of hire lol.

We shall see.

 

[Trakker]

We shall see.

If this guy has experience working with Chinese national teams, he probably knows a thing or two about moving the needle

 

[Iron Doc]

Any relation to Joe Malechek?

 

[Corby2]

Any relation to Joe Malechek?

Joe's last name didn't have the H in it. James was a 2 time All American at D2 Wisconsin Parkside he grew up in Kewaunee Wisconsin he won a state title in HS

 

[Gusaford1]

An intriguing hire. I'm frankly surprised the Chinese national team would ever hire an American as the "head performance coach" for [checks notes] that country's swim team. A billion plus people over there and they needed/trusted a US citizen for help with a sport the guy apparently had never competed in? Initially thought I was reading something out of The Onion but apparently not . . . .

 

[toddhawk]

Think about the body style, flexibility, muscle development and core strength work needed to be a world-class swimmer. To me wrestlers have very similar needs. Yes this is way out of the box but this is also the type of thing that could transform our wrestling room in that it will be different from what "the rest" are doing. Of course it could crash and burn but I like this - very creative and bold.

 

[TheREALSpooner]

Good to get a strength and conditioning assistant. Hope he is successful but if it was me making decisions, I would have gotten Desanto.

You'd have hired a guy with a degree in general studies and zero background/experience/training in the field to be a strength and conditioning coach?

His background is fairly interesting, for whatever that's worth. If nothing else, I see not being from the Iowa tree as a positive.

At the end of the day, not really a position that should be expected to move the needle, either way.

 

[Corby2]

You'd have hired a guy with a degree in general studies and zero background/experience/training in the field to be a strength and conditioning coach?

His background is fairly interesting, for whatever that's worth. If nothing else, I see not being from the Iowa tree as a positive.

At the end of the day, not really a position that should be expected to move the needle, either way.

He wrestled growing up and D2 in college then he became a high level strength coach. Let's stop acting like he doesn't know the sport.

 

[TheREALSpooner]

He wrestled growing up and D2 in college then he became a high level strength coach. Let's stop acting like he doesn't know the sport.

To be clear, I meant "fairly interesting" in a positive way.

 

[Stick Kitty]

Interesting for sure. So one would think a lot of wrestlers are going to need swimming trunks. Hard to think being in the water wont be a big part of it. Not all obviously but swimming is a heck of a workout and not much resistance. Good be a good way to help reduce injuries, increase stamina and develop different types of muscles.

 

[FanInBlack]

He wrestled growing up and D2 in college then he became a high level strength coach. Let's stop acting like he doesn't know the sport.

I think TRSpooner was responding to the poster that said they would have hired ADS instead.

 

[Natchrlman2]

I’ve questioned our strength and conditioning for a long time…..hoped they would improve in that area…… not sure if this will move the needle but surely won’t hurt

like Spooner said it’s good he’s bringing in outside perspective….. It’s uncommon for Tom to bring in outsiders …..the S&C field is constantly evolving

 

[Corby2]

To be clear, I meant "fairly interesting" in a positive way.

To be clear I thought you were being spooner

 

[Nashville_Hawk]

Interesting for sure. So one would think a lot of wrestlers are going to need swimming trunks. Hard to think being in the water wont be a big part of it. Not all obviously but swimming is a heck of a workout and not much resistance. Good be a good way to help reduce injuries, increase stamina and develop different types of muscles.

The sh*t worked for Stallone in Rocky 3 so maybe a swim-related guy is exactly what we need.

 

[PUR158]

I just don’t see the correlation…this seems odd to me. Hope he makes a difference!

Background as a dryland swim trainer...helps with Hawks taking opponents into "deep water".

 

[masterhawk74]

Background as a dryland swim trainer...helps with Hawks taking opponents into "deep water".

 

[VakAttack]

Let's not pretend anybody knows if this is a good or bad hire. It's an assistant s&c coach. Not easily (and certainly not instantly) quantifiable.

 

[InTheCircle]

More information:
He also completed a fellowship at the University of Michigan's Olympic Sports Performance Department from 2016 to 2017 and an internship with the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Colorado Springs in 2016.


Malechek holds a master's degree in human performance with an emphasis on strength and conditioning from Lindenwood University (2015) and a bachelor's degree in sport fitness management from Wisconsin-Parkside (2013). His certifications include Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC), Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F), and Functional Movement Screen (FMS).

 

[Stick Kitty]

Let's not pretend anybody knows if this is a good or bad hire. It's an assistant s&c coach. Not easily (and certainly not instantly) quantifiable.

Its a message board dude. You can have an opinion.

 

[chipackhawk]

I just don’t see the correlation…this seems odd to me. Hope he makes a difference!

The Chinese spend and awful lot of money and resources on developing sports talent. Something had to be absorbed.