Track & Xc Assistant Coaches

Welch · July 21, 2010

Two of the assistant track coaches have left the program. The distance and cross country coach, Dr. Robert Vaughan, and the multi event coach (can't remember her name) have both gone their separate ways. It will be interesting to see who is brought in. Dr. Robert Vaughan was a well accredited coach known around the country for coaching skills. I will always wonder why he could not make things work for the mean green distance runners (Perhaps a lack of funds and support coming from above?). Rick Watkins remains as the head coach. It seems as the sprinters have their act together so maybe we can get a distance coach and multi event coach that can produce more than they have in the past. This could bring the track team to compete on a more national level if we can bring in a decent distance coach. I have heard rumor that the former Abilene Christian distance coach (coached ACU to a few national championships in XC and track) has applied. Supposedly he has African connections. I'm not sure if anyone cares about this but I will update as I hear news.

GrandGreen · July 21, 2010

Two of the assistant track coaches have left the program. The distance and cross country coach, Dr. Robert Vaughan, and the multi event coach (can't remember her name) have both gone their separate ways. It will be interesting to see who is brought in. Dr. Robert Vaughan was a well accredited coach known around the country for coaching skills. I will always wonder why he could not make things work for the mean green distance runners (Perhaps a lack of funds and support coming from above?). Rick Watkins remains as the head coach. It seems as the sprinters have their act together so maybe we can get a distance coach and multi event coach that can produce more than they have in the past. This could bring the track team to compete on a more national level if we can bring in a decent distance coach. I have heard rumor that the former Abilene Christian distance coach (coached ACU to a few national championships in XC and track) has applied. Supposedly he has African connections. I'm not sure if anyone cares about this but I will update as I hear news.

Appreciate the news, although I am not sure whether it is good or bad. I hope it is a case of upgrading the program not of having coaches leave because of poor funding.

Welch · July 21, 2010

Appreciate the news, although I am not sure whether it is good or bad. I hope it is a case of upgrading the program not of having coaches leave because of poor funding.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this is a case of upgrading coaches... aka, not the coach's choice to leave the program. In that case, this should be a good change (of course depending on who is brought in).

UNTLifer · July 21, 2010

Does Carl Sheffield still coach the sprinters/hurdlers?

Welch · August 3, 2010

Does Carl Sheffield still coach the sprinters/hurdlers?

Carl Sheffield is not coaching anymore. One of his athletes, Sammy Dabbs, has taken over his position and has done a great job at it the past couple of years.

Watkins has hired former ACU coach Sam Burroughs as the distance/cross country coach. He took over ACU two years ago. The team he took over was a national championship team, and as far as I have seen, he did nothing with that team. This will be interesting to watch. He is a young guy that is energetic about his job, which is far opposite from what UNT had at this position.

GrandGreen · August 4, 2010

Carl Sheffield is not coaching anymore. One of his athletes, Sammy Dabbs, has taken over his position and has done a great job at it the past couple of years.

Watkins has hired former ACU coach Sam Burroughs as the distance/cross country coach. He took over ACU two years ago. The team he took over was a national championship team, and as far as I have seen, he did nothing with that team. This will be interesting to watch. He is a young guy that is energetic about his job, which is far opposite from what UNT had at this position.

acu.sidearmsports.com/staff.aspx?staff=59

Actually looks like a great hire to me, ACU did finish 4th in the nation last year in their Division. You must have high standards.

Both Iona and ACU pretty much lived on foreign runners mostly Kenyans. So I would expect that to happen here. I have mixed feelings about that, but if NT wants to break WKU and MTSU stranglehold on the "all sports competition", this is the best way to do it. Create a very strong cross country team that also will dominate the track long distance events. It won't be easy because WKU, MTSU, Arkansas State and others use exactly that strategy, so it will take very good foreign athletes to win.

Welch · August 5, 2010

acu.sidearmsports.com/staff.aspx?staff=59

Actually looks like a great hire to me, ACU did finish 4th in the nation last year in their Division. You must have high standards.

Both Iona and ACU pretty much lived on foreign runners mostly Kenyans. So I would expect that to happen here. I have mixed feelings about that, but if NT wants to break WKU and MTSU stranglehold on the "all sports competition", this is the best way to do it. Create a very strong cross country team that also will dominate the track long distance events. It won't be easy because WKU, MTSU, Arkansas State and others use exactly that strategy, so it will take very good foreign athletes to win.

I don't think that Burroughs had much to do with the foreigners recruited at Iona or ACU. He took over a 1st place team when he came into ACU. Pretty much that entire team that he took over was foreign. He basically inherited a fourth place team. It is very difficult to change a cross country team within one year.

MTSU is really the only foreign powerhouse in the Belt right now. WKU has a couple of decent ones and so does UALR. Arkansas State's foreigners are not worth calling foreign and USA has gotten rid of most of their foreigners and is going to an all American team.

Our cross country team has finished 3rd and 4th the last couple of years. MTSU and WKU have stood in the way both years. I think his first priority should be finding American guys that want to put in the work, after AND ONLY AFTER THAT he should go foreign. There are American guys that will run just as well as most foreigners and cost less money, the key is putting the effort into recruiting them. He also has to be a decent coach to get them into the kind of shape to compete.

KRAM1 · August 5, 2010

Our cross country team has finished 3rd and 4th the last couple of years. MTSU and WKU have stood in the way both years. I think his first priority should be finding American guys that want to put in the work, after AND ONLY AFTER THAT he should go foreign. There are American guys that will run just as well as most foreigners and cost less money, the key is putting the effort into recruiting them. He also has to be a decent coach to get them into the kind of shape to compete.

AMEN to recruiting American runners...now if only we could get the tennis program to do the same thing....OK, so it's not exactly the same, but every scholarship given to a foreign athlete means that some American kid is not getting a chance. Makes absolutely no sense to me. maybe the change needs to come at the NCAA level????