SPRING 2016

Coach Justin: 

Women Track Club 4x400 relay at The Penn Relays in the 80's

We are in the depths of the outdoor track season and I can't help to always think about where we have come from. We are constantly trying maximizing out talent and stabilize work ethic, self-confidence, trust, etc. in order to achieve what our athletes are striving for. It is a constant search for a method that produces the best in us all.

There is a reflection process that happens more formally after the season is wrapped up, but it is in these current moments that our coaching staff and athletes are trying to eek out every bit we can while we still have time to reap the rewards. However, the success in one season is often set up long before that; when no one is watching.

Since it's inception in 2008, the track team has grown. Each year school records are broken, conference titles have been won (and lost, which is really powerful if you think about the shift in expectation it takes for a group expecting to win), ECAC and NCAA qualifying marks have been hit, and ECAC and NCAA titles have been won (Thanks Johanna Spangler (10K), Sam Wagner (800) and Heather Ingraham (400)!). Each current success has been built on those who have come before us; both athletes and coaches. We are still in a the youth phase of what we are trying to achieve and its important to recognize the trendsetters who walked onto our team to get it started. Essentially the school record holders prior to my arrival - Jenica Law ('11) (TJ), Katy Hwang ('12) (LJ, 400H, still has 100H SR), Tiff Marchell ('13)(100, 200, 400), Zach Williams ('13) (HJ), Zach Ward ('11) (JT), Phillip McDermott ('12) (SP, still has hammer SR), Evan Herdrich ('14) (110H, 400H), Abe Gatlling III ('14) (LJ, TJ). I know I'm leaving some people out but know we all thank each and every one of you for getting it all started! 

Moving to our current team, our SPower (speed and power) group, just like our distance group, the foundation is laid during the summer and fall. When I first arrived, James, Ron, and Brooksie were all juggling the many facets of the program, and the SPower athletes were in a position to have a fairly autonomous fall training program. There were some who trained, played pick-up basketball, or focused on academics. I knew we could keep that autonomy and move our team closer to the ultimate vision of what the athletes wanted if there was a shift in culture to training full-time. It of course is structured to still be autonomous since we do not have Varsity Indoor track, however, it's designed very much so that we are not being left behind when matched up to our peers who do compete in a full season of indoor. We have a steady build in volume, intensity, and frequency throughout the year. 

This shift in culture to a long-term progression was not easy, and it is still building. 

Our athletes communicated and worked with each other to get out there and train; to push their bodies, minds, and teammates to the limit, and to ultimately see the benefits of year-round training. And, that they have! Heather Ingraham ('15), Taylor Vann ('16), Harris Gordon ('15), Nina Andersen ('15), Maggie Sowa ('15), Carrie Perkins ('14), Mollie Schear ('16), Dylan Manning ('16), Morrie Lam ('16), and Pete Winkeller ('16) set the tone of how to train over the summer and fall. It's incredible observing the fitness during our this year's Fall Pre-Season training, and to see the number of athletes compete on their own in december - using their own money - has been incredibly inspiring and stems from those all listed above. The progression of our whole Track & Field team has been so quick and incredible that the current crop of newcomers act if what we do has been done for ages, when in reality, it's only been 1-2 years. That is no small feat, and those people who have contributed to the process have the privilege of knowing they have ushered our Track & Field programs to new levels. 

01JAN12 TESTING

One aspect that has assisted us in assessing where we are at at any point in the season is testing. Our testing has seen a small evolution from my first week on campus (6-8 athletes testing 30 start and 30 fly) , however, the continuity of such simple metrics has proven to be powerful in assessing the progression of each athlete over their four years at Vassar. Each year it gets easier to make predictions based on our testing and benchmark workouts (Thank You Bleed Runs!). 

03MAR16 TESTING

So far our complete team has 60+ PRs, 9 SRs, a bunch of ECAC qualifiers and two TOP-50 NCAA Marks (Taylor Vann ('16) #3 in Decathlon and Ava Farrell ('16) #32 in 3000SC). We are all excited to see our whole team - from top to bottom - get what they want! 

-Justin