The author participating in a tradition that has spanned nearly two decades. Don't drop the fast guy, which was definitely not me! (Athletics Dept. Archive, 2002)
The experience I had as a small college athlete profoundly affected my life. It changed the course of my life and gave vision to my future in ways I did not realize even while experiencing the unique environment of cross country and track. But I would not be a coach today if my experience as an athlete was not led by thoughtful and intelligent men.
I am not going to use today's post to extol the virtues of the two coaches that greatly inspired my life. Instead, I want to communicate the value of truly knowing the athletes you coach and building an athlete centered model of coaching. I learned those values from my coaches and I hope to impart those values to the men and women I work with today. Here are three brief take home items I built into my day to day life that are pillars of my coaching.
Team running is a life experience
- Small college athletes need more than just miles and hills and intervals and sleep and race bibs. Most want to run fast, most want the team to run as well as possible at key times. However, many small college athletes choose their campus because of the perception of gaining a desired experience. This experience is more than running or racing. Family environment, support, self-belief, and the value of individual effort to a community goal lock a student into your program. Cliche or not, the path traveled is just as valuable as the outcome. 20 years after their final college race will they positively remember the experience just as much as the PRs?
College running is a bridge
- A college education is a bridge to another life. And the experience described above needs to be a vital section of that bridge. The college life gives a student the opportunity to contribute to the world around them in unique ways and find satisfaction in the life well examined. The running experience should contribute to a student's education and help them better understand the world around them. The team dynamic is a special laboratory where social and relational skills are fostered. A coach who recognizes that can help athletes build aptitudes beyond 1500m times and lactate thresholds and link college to their next stage of life.
Know the student body, coach the individual
- Every college campus, small, medium or large, is a different place. Probably very different than where your athlete attended high school, even if they did post-secondary work as a high school student. It is my responsibility to recognize the unique demands that our campus places on our student athletes. As a coach that seeks to use a blend of science and common sense in my work, specificity is a necessary directive. And common sense tells me my expectation for what is possible for an athlete at our school must have their full experience as a student in perspective. Social, educational and experiential learning are valued at a premium at my institution and our students choose our campus for those specific reasons. My response needs to reflect those items as I evaluate time demands, training loads, periodization and even racing dates. I believe this version of specificity is what allows so many of the best coaches at the NCAA Division III level to achieve success.
Thanks for reading and I hope you will add me to your reading lists or check back again soon.