When you see someone sprinting on the track, it's easy to overlook the dedicated coaches behind their success. These individuals play a crucial role in turning potential into success, and these roles are showcased with the Rowland Hall track team. Ashley Hagensick, Brenna Thomas, and Betsy Alexanderson each have their own fields of expertise, contributing unique perspectives and techniques to help everyone on the track team. I was unable to interview Roland Tolbert at the time of writing because he has a busy schedule with states and regions. However, I want to give a shoutout to Coach Roto, as he is my main coach. He has a great sense of humor and has helped me improve tremendously throughout this season.

I interviewed the track team coaches and asked them several questions about their coaching. The first question I asked was, “What values do you find the most important within a team?” Coach Ashley brought up a great point, saying, “The values I find most important in a track and field team are commitment, work ethic, respect, resilience, and team before self.” She went on to say, “Team before self may seem like an interesting choice since track and field is an individual sport, except for the relays, but that is why I chose it as one of the values.” This helped me realize that while you are running a race alone, track is a team sport. The team's importance was especially evident during the region and state, where each runner scores a certain number of points depending on how well they place/do in each event, and the team that has the most points wins. Ashley finished her statement on values by saying, “We show up as a team, we warm up as a team, and we cheer on everyone as a team.” This quote drives home the idea that track and field is not only focused on how well you do as an athlete, but also on how well you do as a teammate and a team as a whole. This teamwork is especially seen within relays, where everyone depends on each other to win, and your time is only 25% of the total time, necessitating working with each other before and having fun while doing it.

The second question I asked the coaches was, “How would you describe your coaching style?” Betsy responded by saying, “My coaching style is collaborative and holistic. I do my best to meet my athletes where they are individually and adapt training as needed.” The concept of individuality is interesting since coaches must train multiple athletes, and the ability to adjust to each one is crucial. She went on to say, “I am genuinely enthusiastic to see each athlete compete in their event and to support them through celebration or compassion after their finish.” This style has been evident throughout this season, where no matter how well or poorly an athlete did in their race, she was always there to cheer them on and congratulate them, which creates a great atmosphere in the sport. I also interviewed Ms. B, asking her the same question, and she responded simply: “Work hard, play hard.” This short response reflects Coach B’s thinking: give it your 100%, then have fun while doing so, which I have definitely experienced through the season. Halfway through the season, I was very discouraged with the long jump and not being able to get better through multiple meets. I quit the event, but Ms. B. tried her best to keep me jumping, and ultimately I decided to do it again, and through her mindset and motivation, I hit a new PR by almost 3 feet.

The final question I asked was, “In 5 words or fewer, describe your ideal season.” All three coaches gave great answers, starting with Coach Ashley, who said, “Fun, Warm, Injury & Drama-free.” This is a great summary for a fun season of running. It highlights the importance of warmups and acknowledges that injuries affect nearly everyone, and as a team, everyone should be experiencing this together to strive for an ideal season of improvement. I then asked Betsy, who said, “Consistency, grit, improvement, fun, friendship.” I also really like these words, which emphasize working hard to get better throughout the season and improving while ultimately having fun and enjoying track. Lastly, I asked Ms. B about her ideal season, and she said, “My ideal season would mean helping athletes build mental strength to persevere through adversities.” Although this quote is slightly longer than 5 words, it still brings up a very important point that track is not only physical but also a mental game as well, and athletes need the mentality to compete and want to become better every day.

Although Coach Ashley, Coach Betsy, and Coach B. each have different coaching styles and ways of helping their runners throughout the year, they share the objective of helping their runners improve and have fun while doing so. The intent of progress is not only seen within the coaches of Rowland Hall, but also seen throughout all track coaches. Glen Mills, the coach of Usain Bolt, said: “You must lose in order to win.” This quote shows that improvement does not come with victory every time, but it comes with losses as well, and learning from your mistakes is key to winning the next time. Kim Ferner, a kinesiology doctoral student at the University of North Texas, explains: “A coaching philosophy is a set of beliefs and principles that guide behaviors and a plan that coaches should follow when making decisions." This quote shows the process of coaching and how a coach should act with intentionality and a plan. This also reflects the principles of the coaches at Rowland Hall, highlighting the significance of their actions. Ultimately, the commitment and diverse coaching philosophies of Coach Betsy, Coach Roto, Coach Ashley, and Coach B. not only develop a resilient and supportive team but also inspire each athlete to embrace the journey of growth in track and field.