Helping Your High School Athlete
Head Coach Cross Country and Track and Field - San Deigo State University
There are different rules for recruiting between Division One, Division Two, Division Three, NAIA and Junior Colleges that impact how coaches recruit. There are also differences among each university when it comes to the university's athletic department philosophies. For instance, the athletic administration at one university may only expect a team to be competitive on a conference level and the head coach is charged with the job of winning or being competitive within their conference without the pressure or expectation of winning or being competitive on a national level. Whereas at another university qualifying athletes to the National Championships year in and year out or being ranked in the top 5, 10, 15, or 25 nationally is the program's expectation or goal. Again from the head coaches perspective how we recruit has to justify the bottom line. Given the information just discussed I think there are some very key areas where a high school coach can help a prospective-student athletes and their families who have the ability to run track in college navigate the basics of the recruiting process.
These five things are not exclusive but are merely the basics of how you can help them prepare for college and prepare to make a quality decision. As the head coach of a Division One Cross County and Track and Field program at San Diego State University, I will share with you some of the things that we look for when recruiting a perspective-student athlete and what the biggest mistake I have watched some very talented athletes, parents and coaches make. First of all since becoming the head coach at SDSU my first recruiting class consisted of 20 athletes. Our goal at SDSU is to be ranked in the NCAA Top 5, 10, 15, or 25. It takes time to get there but it takes recruiting the right athletes to actually make it happen. In a program like ours that is making a move to climb in the rankings we look for athletes that not only have talent but also have the right mentality. We believe in system of coaching athletes to make them better and recruiting athletes that fit the culture and environment of our team. There are athletes that are extremely talented but are not good "fits". We would rather coach an athlete up that fits the personality and culture of our team than have an unhappy athlete that fit into that personality and culture and doesn't produces. I have a saying that I say to all prospective student-athletes no matter where they decide to go to college – "If you're happy you will run fast and do well in school". It's very simple but it is also very true. To achieve our goals we have to recruit the best athletes, the top 10 ranked high school kids in the country but we must always recruit the developmental athlete that may not have had the coaching or are just a year or two away from having a significant impact in a college program. We especially like the "diamond in the rough" type of athletes because when that athlete develops and becomes successful it is a good sign of good coaching. But here is the biggest mistake I have seen athletes make during the recruiting and decision-making process. When picking a school the first aspect to take into consideration is academics but if your athlete is very talented athlete that has the potential to be successful in college track and field then COACHING, the coaches TRAINING PHILOSOPHY and the program's ABILITY TO PRODUCE IMPROVED RESULTS is a very very close second. I have seen developmental athletes as well as top high school athletes go to a school because of its "name" and get lost in the shuffle because they don't get coached. Athletes must develop a good relationship with the coach that will be coaching them in college during the recruiting process. I have seen athletes have success in high school under a particular training program and choose to go to schools that have polar opposite training philosophies and never achieve the same results they had in high school. The bottom line, do your research as a coach and have your athlete do the same. Make sure the college or university is a good fit academically, athletically, and socially and that the program has had consistent success at helping athletes improve from high school to college. |
About the Author... |
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Shelia Burrell, a two-time Olympian in the heptathlon, is in her first season as the head cross country/track and field coach at San Diego State.
Burrell brings an impressive pedigree of success as an educator, coach and athlete to the Montezuma Mesa. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and member of the UCLA track and field team during the successful Bob Kersee era, Burrell returns to Southern California after spending the previous two years at Georgetown University. USA Track and Field Level One and Level Two certified in the sprints, hurdles and multi-events, Burrell has been an athlete and a coach throughout her competitive career. A student of the sport, Burrell has served as a sprint and hurdle clinician for various clinics and has coached at every level of the sport throughout her career, coaching youth, high school and junior college track and field. Throughout her career, Burrell has had the fortune of working with and coaching alongside some of the top coaches in the sport of track and field. At Georgetown, Burrell coached the men's and women's sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws. The Hoyas, historically known for their outstanding distance program, developed a national presence in the sprints and hurdles during her years there. As a result of her passion and dedication to her athletes, Burrell was named the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) in only her second year at Georgetown. Burrell's impact was immediate at Georgetown. Her efforts helped produce two Big East indoor runner-up team titles, two indoor NCAA All-Americans (heptathlon, DMR), two Outdoor Big East Conference champions in both the long and short hurdles and qualified the most sprinters and hurdlers to the NCAA Regional and NCAA National Championships in recent school history. Under her guidance in 2009, sophomore Chris Kinney became the first Georgetown hurdler to go to the NCAA championships in the 110 hurdles (13.77). In addition, London Finley became the third-fastest freshman in the country in the 400-meter hurdles (58.17), Buky Bamigboye competed in the 2008 Olympic trials in the heptathlon and Toby Ulm qualified and competed in the European U-23 Championships in the 400-meter hurdles (50.23). In 2000-2003, while coaching in the Big 12 Conference as the assistant sprints, jumps and multi-events coach at Kansas State University, she was a part of two Big 12 Conference Championship teams in 2001 and 2002. From 1998-2000, Burrell worked as an assistant sprints, hurdles and jumps coach at Cal State University Northridge. While at Mesa College in San Diego, Burrell coached conference champions and junior college All-Americans in the 100 meters, 400-meter hurdles and 200 meters. Burrell also coached at San Diego High School and ran a successful youth speed and conditioning business while living in San Diego from 2004-2007. Of Burrell's hire, SDSU Director of Athletics Jeff Schemmel said, "Burrell's passion for the students, her knowledge and expertise, and her national presence in track and field made her an obvious choice for San Diego State. She brings world class competitive experience as well as exceptional coaching experience." Burrell is known as one of our nation's best athletes competing in the heptathlon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece (fourth-place finish). In addition, she was a five-time U.S. National Champion in the heptathlon (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004). Burrell also won a bronze medal at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships, becoming the first American to medal at an international championship since the great Jackie Joyner-Kersee. A consummate motivator, coach Burrell's personal approach to coaching will have an immediate impact on the San Diego State Track and Field program. |