The Road to 7 Feet

Coach Schmuhl

Dictionary.com states that a coach is a person who trains an athlete or a team of athletes. Examples of a coach would be a football coach, boxing coach or, in this case, a track coach.

However, it said nothing as to how a coach trains his athletes. It does not say that a coach trains his athletes by running them into the ground or by giving them a boost in their confidence. I have had many coaches and I am sure that many of you have as well. But, in the year and a half that I have had Eric Schmuhl as a coach, I have learned that good coaching is a mixture of Art and Education.

The one definition of Art that I feel most accurately explains how coaching, when done well, is a form of art: imaginative skill as applies to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination. Then, the coach must figure out a way to portray these images to his athlete/s in a way that will allow them to get better. After all, it is all about getting better.

I was an observer at yesterday's practice. I conversed with a number of those still training for the Indoor National Meet as well as some that were training because they wanted to train. These are some of my favorite days at practice because I have the freedom to roam the indoor track and just watch people improve. It hit me at the OAC Meet last week that I get more excited watching other people compete and succeed than I do in competing myself.

Case and Point: Brandon Eddy clearing a 6'7 bar to take 2nd in the High Jump in the OAC

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that Schmuhl has been an influential person in my life and has taught me things that I did not understand at first, but with time, have come to be things that I try to embody. It is hard to explain his teachings in words because that is not the way that they were taught. Schmuhl teaches through his actions. Through his actions, he gives his athletes the best opportunities to improve. And improve is what his athletes continue to do.

What he has helped his athletes accomplish shows his versatility. This man coaches the Combined Events for a reason and that is because he is damn good at it.

For a little more factual information on this man, check this out:
http://www.bw.edu/athletics/cc/staff/schmuhl/

Hard Work.
Dedication.
Go Pre.