Being Thankful For Our Sport
The Division III Boys 4x400 relay ended at the 100th Ohio Track and Field Championships, and another high school track season came to a close. As coaches, parents, or fans, we should take a moment, reflect on our wonderful sport, and be thankful that many young men and women overcame adversity, maintained a strong passion, and provided our state with some of the best performances in the country and in state history. Ohio continues to surpass many states in terms of outstanding marks. With the growing number of participants in indoor track, and outstanding coaches who continue to learn more through professional development, the sport will continue to get even better.

There were a number of inspiring stories that emerged from the State Meet:

-The Columbus Dispatch account of the Olentangy Liberty pole- vaulter, who injured his back, couldn't practice until late in the week, but who maintained his focus, won a state title. The athlete who could not run straight as a freshman, as described by his coach, once again showed patience and hard work are the keys to success. These are life lessons that undoubtedly will lead him to many successes long after his vaulting days are over.

-A great example of courage and focus was Crestwood's Cassie Schenck who overcame temperatures in the 90's and high humidity to win the 1600, the 3200, and place 2nd in the 800, within 90:00 span.

-Emily Grad of Field High School completed and placed in the 1600, despite suffering from mono and a stress fracture. She is another role model for overcoming hardship, to be the best that you can be.

-Two coaches who also reflect all that is good about our sport are John Scott of Akron Buchtel and Ted Ginn of Cleveland Glenville. Both men led their teams to state championship titles. For Scott, it was the second in two years, after the Buchtel boys' team won the championship in 2006. This year, the Buchtel girls' team, captured the coveted title. Glenville won its fifth consecutive Division I Boys' Championship. The titles are great accomplishments, but the untangible value that track and field brings to those groups of athletes is immeasurable.

These examples of overcoming hardships and succeeding are, once again, life lessons learned through track and field that will benefit these young people for the rest of their lives. Some sports cannot be evaluated by the income that they produce.

Don't let the state track meet be your last involvement in the sport this summer. Encourage young athletes to participate in meets held around the Midwest. While I was coaching at Kent State, we held "mini-meets" every Tuesday evening for five weeks. We usually had six events, and we could run the meets with 8-10 officials. We gave inexpensive ribbons for awards and charged a small entry fee. Fourteen years later, I still hear participants talk about the meets and how much fun they were. This is an example of how easy it is to do something for our sport that helps it grow.

Look at other sports. They are always in the public eye. By attending meets, helping to promote, and officiating and watching the schedule for televised meets, we can keep the sport in the forefront of the public. To paraphrase a quote from Field of Dreams, "Build it, and they will come," I would suggest, "Promote it, and they will follow." The future can be very bright, if those with a burning passion for the sport work hard and don't expect the "other guy" to carry the responsibility of doing what is necessary to continue to thrive. We face many challenges. We can learn what the emerging sports are doing to grow. As coaches, don't be intimidated by the great amount of information available. As parents, realize the TRUE value of our sport. As participants, do it the RIGHT WAY, and, as fans, do EVERYTHING you can to support the world's greatest sport. Lastly, everyone, be thankful for those kids who train in the snow, compete in the cold, windy Ohio rain, and give everything necessary to be the best that they can be, week after week, without the accolades and attention that many other sport athletes receive. They are the BEST OF THE BEST.

Yours in track,

Rod O'Donnell

To read coach O'Donnell's other articles about Saving Track and Field go to: http://www.runohio.com/archive/news/index.html

Editor's note: Rod O'Donnell has served as the head cross- country coach and track and field coach at both Caldwell and Hudson High Schools. He has also led teams from Kent State, Marshall University, and Rio Grande College. In 12 years of coaching high school cross-country, Rod has coached seven District Championship teams, and four Regional Champion teams. He has had eight State Meet appearances where his teams have placed 14th, 8th, 7th, 5th, 10th, 2,nd with two first place finishes. In addition, one of his runners, Wesley Smith was the 2002 State Champion and Footlocker runner-up. While at Hudson, Coach O'Donnell has had 17 State Meet qualifiers as well as the State Meet Champion in both the 3200 M. and 1600 M.

While at Kent State, he was named MAC Coach of the Year twice. Rod had 27 NCAA qualifiers in track and cross-country and 11 All-Americans. At Marshall, Rod was also named Coach of the Year twice in the Southern Conference. His teams had 25 Conference Champions and three NCAA qualifiers. He started the women's cross-country program at Marshall, in addition to starting the cross-country program at Caldwell High School in 1971. In 1973, his team won the State Championship and had a dual record for three years of 38-0. Overall, Coach O'Donnell has a high school dual record in track of 71-21 and 81-6 in cross-country.

Rod is always willing to help others in the field, and he has written many articles and has spoken at many clinics, encouraging others to given back to the sport.