TWO BOOKS HAVE BEEN RELEASED lately on outstanding American track coaches, coaches who had great success, but couldn’t be more different.
The first book is billed as an autobiography, Once Around is Enough, by Clyde Hart (with Brice Cherry), the now-retired longtime Baylor coach. The full title of the book is Once Around is Enough: Circling the Globe and Chasing the Wildest Dreams with Track and Field’s Most Successful 400-Meter Coach. That claim is undeniable, as Hart guided three athletes to Olympic 400m gold medals: Michael Johnson (200m also), Jeremy Wariner, and Sanya Richards-Ross. His 4 x 400 relay teams at Baylor won 20 NCAA titles, indoor and out. And for a time it seemed like every promising 400m runner enrolled at Baylor.
The book reads like a down-home conversation with the coach, as he recounts anecdote after anecdote about his athletes and his travels during his 50-plus year career at Baylor. You’ll get no training secrets or workout schedules here; the closest he comes to coaching guidance is the advice he gave to Richards-Ross when her season was in the doldrums before winning Olympic gold in 2012.
There are also interesting sidelights when he was drafted to “coach” a Breeder’s Cup-winning racehorse and serve as speed coach for the U.S. women’s hockey team. As the book jacket reads, Coach Hart is a “natural-born storyteller” and any track fan will enjoy spending a couple of hours with Once Around is Enough. It’s available from Amazon at $25 (hard cover), $8 Kindle.
The Genius of Ted Haydon and the University of Chicago Track Club tells of a very different kind of track coach. Written by Jim Knoedel, a veteran track coach and author, Genius is the biography of Ted Haydon, who coached the University of Chicago track team and founded and headed the U of Chicago Track Club for more than 30 years. Though the UCTC had some outstanding athletes and successes over the years, the club was open to all, “regardless of race, creed, or talent.” No one was turned away, no dues required, no membership cards issued. If you wanted to be in the club, you were.
And though he did have some assistants, Ted was the chief track sweeper and waterer, the guy who brought out the hurdles, the keeper of records, the writer of press releases, and much more. In addition, he’d travel to any meet any of his athletes were competing in, to support and counsel them. A very busy guy.
Though the underlying philosophy of the club was “if you’re not having fun, why are you doing this?” It was clear that Ted liked winners, and his 2-mile relay teams, in particular, staffed by people like Rick Wohlhuter, Ken Sparks and Lowell Paul, were hard to beat. Two athletes who had UCTC affiliation won Olympic bronze: Wohlhuter and vaulter Jan Johnson. Though Ted had a searing wit (“Don’t worry about the race today; I know you are capable of much worse.”), he was a serious trainer, timing and advising everyone from his champions to the runner struggling with 70-second laps.
Knoedel interviewed over 100 athletes, coaches, family members and others to get the full picture of a remarkable personality. Ted died in 1985 — 40 years ago, but any veteran fan will remember his impact and influence in the sport.
Genius is a good read, though I wish it had been proofed a bit more carefully — a minor quibble. It’s available from the author’s website: www.taleoftworunners.com. ◻︎
