Born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, van Arsdale has a very decorated background in wrestling. He attended Waterloo West High School, and compiled a record of 20-6 as a sophomore, went 28-2 while also winning a state championship as a junior, and then went 27-3 while being a state-runner up in his senior year. Van Arsdale then won a Junior National title and was a Junior World runner-up title before continuing his career in college at Iowa State University. A first-team freshman All-American, van Arsdale placed sixth in the NCAA tournament as a sophomore (1985) and placed third in his junior season (1986). As a senior, he was the 1988 NCAA Division 1 collegiate wrestling champion at 167 lb (76 kg). After college, van Arsdale won a World Cup Championship in 1991, a CISM (military) World Championship, was a two-time Olympic alternate, and a six-time member of the National Freestyle Wrestling team. van Arsdale was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.