Determined cowboy

The answer was clear when Lac qui Parle Valley teacher and girls basketball coach Ryan Giles asked J.D. Struxness in 2013 what his college plans were: he was going to compete in pro rodeo.

Teachers hear their students talk about professional sports dreams all the time but there was something in Struxness' voice that dripped determination.

"The way he said it," Giles said. "I knew he was going to do something special."

Three years later, the 22-year-old has taken the rodeo world by storm.

Big year in NFR

In June, Struxness was the collegiate steer wrestling champion as a junior at Northwestern Oklahoma State College and he followed that up with a rookie year to remember at the professional level. He earned his first National Finals Rodeo qualification, given to the top-12 money-winners from that year, and he placed fourth at the NFR Finals in Las Vegas Dec. 1-9.

"That was a pretty cool experience," Struxness said. "The crowd was huge and it was fun to have them all there to watch you."

Another benefit was a sizeable payout. His fourth place finish alone earned a $128,673 paycheck. He finished with a total of $213,108 on the season. Not bad for a senior in college.

Despite the newfound income Struxness has remained level-headed. His mind isn't on flashy cars or anything like that.
"I want to keep doing rodeo for as long as I can then maybe spend that money on some land and get to work," Struxness said.

He also is focused on improving his craft. A fourth place finish at any age is something to be happy with but he said he's already looking at how he could turn that fourth place finish into a gold buckle, an award given to the NFR's first-place finisher.

"There's always room for improvement," Struxness said. "Rodeo is such a humbling sport. Anything can happen, I can fall and crack my head anytime, so it's important to always come to perform."

Rodeo in his blood

For preparation, Struxness still likes to practice at his family's home in Milan, where it all began. His family has a training facility on the property and that's where he spent his teenage years.

Though rodeo isn't exactly a widespread sport in Minnesota it's a way of life for the Struxness family. J.D. said he grew up watching competition highlights of his dad, Dan, as well as his uncle, Ross, and aunt, Janelle, who competed at South Dakota State University when J.D. was younger. His sisters Lauren and Kacey also competed in rodeo in college.

"That whole family was full of three-sport athletes, it's just that their third sport was rodeo," Giles said.

That third sport required plenty of travel and J.D. often had to rely on the rest of his family during practices and events. He said it was something that always brought the family together.

"We were always helping each other in high school," Struxness said. "There's a big support system with rodeo and it kept us close."

When Struxness wasn't competing in rodeo, which features year-round events, he also played football and wrestled for Lac qui Parle Valley. He was a standout on the football team but he was truly dominant on the mat where he finished as the state runner-up twice.

Loves the contact

The obvious unifying factor here is contact and plenty of it. Struxness admits he enjoys the contact and he said he's grateful for playing multiple sports in high school.

"I learned a lot about body control and awareness from playing those other sports," Struxness said. "It was also just a way for me to compete. I love to compete and I don't like to lose at anything."

That competitive edge continues to fuel him and that's why those second place finishes at the state wrestling tournament stick with him. He said a couple of mistakes kept him from becoming the state champion and going through that taught him to keep his focus. That focus is especially important in a sport like steer wrestling where it often lasts less than 10 seconds.

Though the sport doesn't always last long, Struxness spends much of his year competing. He competed in 68 professional events last season and is looking to possibly increase that number this season. That's not including his collegiate season which spans the course of the entire school year.

"It's a grind but I love it," Struxness said. "When you get hooked in rodeo, you get hooked. I can't get enough."

Hometown hero

While Struxness is often on the road, his stardom resonates back in his hometown. Prior to a LQPV girls basketball game on Dec. 28, Struxness was honored with plaques and certificates in front of the home crowd. Giles told stories of when Struxness was a student and highlighted his professional career up to this point. He also showed a video of Struxness' time in Las Vegas including a clip of Arnold Schwarzenegger applauding his performance.

"This is a small town boy - a big boy, but a small town guy - with big dreams," Giles said to the audience. "He's an inspiration to everyone here."