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Texas AandM Assistant Vince Anderson pre-meet - Penn Relays 2014

Published by
DyeStatCOLLEGE.com   Apr 23rd 2014, 6:13pm
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Hello Friends,

This week Penn Relays is on the schedule. After competing valiantly, with great success at Bernie Moore Stadium last week, we go to another historic venue this week. At Texas A&M, we are grateful and fortunate to be able to make Penn Relays one of the bedrock meets on our outdoor schedule annually.  Due to its place on the calendar in the final April weekend, Penn usually represents the arrival of late season, as it is normally 2 weeks prior to the outdoor conference meet. This year, the meet falls three weekends prior to conference, however.

 

Most meets within our seasonal schedule have a distinct objective, with the idea of  progression in mind. Penn Relays is about overcoming distractions and executing the race plan(s) in circumstances of inconvenience. While Penn is a wonderful spectator experience, it is quite a harsh venue for athletes and, yes, for coaches too. Warm up logistics are difficult, the weather ranges from wonderful to poor, the paddock represents  physiological and psychological challenges to each and every athlete, and the time schedule has a life of its own. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, this creates an environment that takes coaching wit, each and every year, just to get our athletes warmed properly, to the line on time, and ready to compete sharply. There comes with Penn a duality of feeling : I hate this meet! Why do we come here, again? I love this meet!

We get so much done here!

 

Both are true. But I will say this: it is exhilarating at its best, to negotiate the constant challenges, and overcome them, sometimes more than one at a time, as they arise. Penn is the crucible of resilience, and resilience is a characteristic of good teams. At its best, this can be a shared experience among fellow coaches and fellow athletes, and you can see that (sense that) happening in the moment. Often, this crucible of resilience produces spectacular competition, if not spectacular marks.

 

Finally, I deeply enjoy being a living extension of tradition at Franklin Field. Every year I make it a point to look at the photographs in the Penn Relays program and it thrills me every time. The evidence is there in black and white: Fans have enjoyed themselves, coaches have plied their wisdom, and athletes have been testing their wills and courage for 120 years. Who knew? Our sport, given such little respect, has a deep and meaningful history, lost on the American public. I feel that I am in on a great secret.

 

Just knowing the amazing athletes that have had their back to the brick wall, waiting

to test their own courage, makes me envy the athletes I coach, who get to stand in historic footsteps, and do the same. Sometime later, they will know how lucky they were.

 

Our goal this week is to improve our relay execution and resolve some combinations.

 

Standing reminder /Salute to coaches and athletes: Wherever you happen to be engaged in competition this weekend, it is my sincere wish that you and your squad competes with courage and clarity of purpose. Have a great meet this week in spite of weather or any presumed impediment! Thank you for the courage you display. Your courage inspires me. You will never know how many people your bravery inspires. Competing bravely is a decision. It is something that one DECIDES. Please remember to remind yourself briefly of the wonder of track & field, each day your team competes. You will not hear any sustaining words from any American source, regarding the amazing courage, athletic prowess and tradition of sportsmanship which is a foundational part of track & field -- OUR sport of intense and poetic  movement. For sustenance, we must rely upon each other, and the brilliant precision of the historical record, to give us an accurate perspective on the value of USA athletics and athletics worldwide. Thanks for doing your part.

 

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