One Happy Family

There is a great article in the current Track and Field News about women who coach Division I men's track and field teams, and their overall great success.  Of course, high on the list is our very own Beth Alford-Sullivan.  I think she is only one of two on the list to have Coach of the Year honors with both men's and women's teams.

When the change came about in 2006, there were many among us who were naysayers, some for good reasons and some for not so good reasons.  Change is always hard, especially for those of us in Central Pennsylvania. I was among the group who thought they had good reasons to oppose the move.  But then I took the time to become informed and watch the functioning of the teams.  I bothered to introduce myself to Coach Sullivan and began to find that things were indeed working very well.  I'm now a true friend of the Program. You too should make a little effort to see what good things are happening in State College.

Larry Mangan alerted me to the significance of the photo included in the article.  It shows Coach Sullivan exhorting a men's relay participant, none other than Matt Groves, son of former coach, Harry Groves.  For those of us from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, this photo should slap us beside the head and cause us to support the Program as never before. None of us from my era could have ever imagined a scenario where a son of Coach Groves would be coached by a woman at PSU.  Seeing Coach Groves and Coach Sullivan together at our event last year (and hopefully with Coach Lucas included this year) represents a turning point of sorts. Make the small effort involved in becoming informed about the good things happening with the Track Program and you too will become a partner in the effort to make it the pre-eminent program in the country.  It isn't an impossible task, and it'll be fun every step of the way.