Excerpts from Sarnia Observer Article
Athletic background-
I was a solid middle distance runner in high school and university competing at the national level. I was fortunate to be a member of several very successful teams during this time. My club team won the Canadian junior cross-country championships while I was in high school and at while at the University of Windsor, we won our first ever Canadian University championship in front of our home crowd in 1991.
How did you first get into coaching?
While in university I started coaching the distance runners with the Windsor Legion Club. My group continued to progress to the national level and I really enjoyed seeing them improve. After coaching several OFSAA medalists and a World Junior team member there was no looking back. After a couple of years my own training took a back seat to my coaching and the development of the athletes in my group. I coached briefly at the university level before coming to Sarnia.
How did you become the head coach/general manager of the Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track & Field Club?
On the recommendation of my university coach I was hired for my position in the fall of 1995. During my first year in Sarnia I was a member of the Sarnia Central Athletics Committee spearheaded by Martin Agar that built the outdoor track and field facility at Hanna Memorial and St. Patrick’s High School.
What was the impact of this new facility?
As a result of this world class track I think track and field boomed in Lambton County, perhaps not from a participation stand point but at the top end. The talent level of Lambton Country over the past 10 years rivals some of the largest cities in Canada. Pat Brown, his coaching staff at St. Pat’s, and the other local volunteers have done an awesome job putting on track and field meets over the years. It will be a sad day for Lambton County track and field when Pat Brown retires.
Tell me about the Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track & Field Club?
The club’s mandate is the promotion of track and field/cross-country running in Lambton County. The club provides local athletes with the opportunity to compete and train at a high level beyond the traditional school seasons. We have approximately 100 members from elementary school to university and beyond. My coaching expertise is in the track events so I am very appreciate of the coaching assistance in the field events, especially the throwing events, by Joel Skinner. Joel is an extremely knowledgeable and skilled coach, and the results of his athletes over the past couple of years have been very impressive. Bob Newman is in the twilight of his coaching career but his coaching and development of several very successful athletes, such as Tara Halls (University of Wisconsin), Shannon O’Hagan (Colgate University), Sarah Nelson (University of Minnesota), and most recently Jillian Drouin (Syracuse University) has been invaluable to our club.
Who are some of the most successful athletes you have worked with over the years?
I have been fortunate to work with many outstanding individuals over the years. Kim Hemstreet was my first national team member before going to star in university at Detroit-Mercy. Hilary Edmondson was my first national champion. She later became a multiple All-American at the University of Wisconsin and now runs professionally for Adidas. Hilary in addition to Nikki Reckman (Calvin College), Amy Kohlmeier (Notre Dame University), Jessica Crate (Florida State University) and Alyson Kohlmeier (University of Michigan) all progressed to represent Canada in international competitions. This group is my strongest team so far, winning the Canadian Junior cross-country team championships in 2000 and 2001. Most recently, Lydia Willemse (Florida State University) and Claire Percival (Penn State University) have run for Canada.
How did the season go for your team this summer (2005)?
Our club had one of our best seasons ever. Three of our members, Alyson Kohlmeier (3000m), Jillian Drouin (heptathlon), and Lydia Willemse (3000m Steeplechase) represented Canada at the Pan American Junior Championships in Windsor. Aly won the club’s first ever Pan Am golg medal, Lydia set a Canadian junior record and Jillian set a personal best, so it was an awesome meet for Sarnia. Some of our younger up and comers, Brad Huey (high jump), Maggie Mullen (javelin), and David Moore (800/1500m) competed at the Canadian Legions in Edmonton. Brad won the high jump and Maggie was second in the javelin. We had a huge group compete at the Canadian Juniors in Montreal, in addition to our athletes that qualified for the Pan Ams, we had strong performances from Andy Ysebaert, Rob Nickels, Alaina Frayne, Claire Percival, Jordan Banninga, Maggie Mullen, Brad Huey, Marie-Louise Asselin and David Moore; all finishing top 10 in the nation. Jessica Crate is competing this week at the Canada Summer Games in Regina.
What do attribute the success of track and field in Sarnia and Lambton County?
We are fortunate to have many elementary school teachers in the county promoting the sport and making it fun for students to participate at a young age. We are blessed with many enthusiastic high school coaches in track and field/cross-country that unselfishly volunteer their personal time to develop the sport. I’d like to think the club and our coaches have played a role in this success by keeping the best interests of the athletes as our primary goal and working well with their school coaches. In addition, we have a strong medical support system that keeps our athletes healthy. Finally, we have had a large group of athletes that dreamed big goals and had the work ethic to achieve these goals.
What are the future challenges of Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track & Field?
Every year we graduate athletes off to university and reload with new young talent but this year is a particularly big year for us. With the graduations of Lydia Willemse (Florida State), Claire Percival (Penn State), Andy Ysebaert (Texas State), Rob Nickels (University of Tulsa), and Jordan Banninga (Cornell University); we have some particularly large shoes to fill. However, I am confident our young talent such like Huey, Mullen, Moore, Asselin, Frayne, Kim VanKempen, Justin Keating, and Carly Gill, who all competed for the first time this year at the Canadian junior level, will continue to work hard and progress in the sport. As a strong supporter and alumni of the Canadian University system, I am optimistic that many of our members staying north of the border will also compete for their respective Schools beyond high school.
Our club’s primary source of funding comes from bingos run out of Harvey’s Bingo Hall. As a result of the smoking by-laws introduced by our local municipality last fall, our bingo proceeds have dropped off significantly. As a result, our club is in dire need of finding an alternative source of funding to supplement the club’s declining funding rather than downloading the additional expense back on the athletes and their families.
What are your future goals as a coach?
I’m not 100% sure what the future holds for me in terms of my coaching career with my young family but it continues to be my passion. Obviously my family is my number one priority and my wife Joeleen has been very supportive of my coaching and the club in her many roles, so I very fortunate for that. Ultimately it is my dream to establish a supportive environment in Sarnia with sufficient funding to coach and develop an Olympic level athlete.