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August 7, 2024 50 mins

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In celebration of the Summer Olympics, we're reprising some past episodes featuring guests who have been there!  

Sue Humphrey says she was a "not very good" athlete growing up--but she loved sports, and she found her niche early: as a teenager she started helping other athletes.  She excelled at coaching track and field, and worked her way up to college coaching (experiencing the beginning of Title IX), and eventually the international stage--although the field wasn't always welcoming to a young woman.  At the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, Sue was a member of the coaching staff for USA's Track and Field team--and in 2004, she became head coach, dealing with everything from overseeing schedules to taking media calls in the middle of the night asking about athletes' drug tests.  Sue shares what it's like to coach at the Olympics (the glamour of napping under a table on the field, for example), the importance of developing rapport with athletes, and what to do when an athlete is disappointed in a performance.  

In this episode:

  • What's required of a Head Coach of an Olympic track and field team (03:00)
  • The value of developing rapport with your elite athletes (08:45)
  • Coalescing competitors into teammates (12:45)
  • Olympic coaches vs. personal coaches (15:52)
  • Experiencing the Opening Ceremonies (and what Sue did during Closing Ceremonies)(18:44)
  • A typical day at the Olympics for Sue (24:16)
  • Sue's complaints with the current NCAA and elite coaching systems (27:15)
  • Her thoughts on being an Olympic coach vs. college coach vs. age-group coach (30:52)
  • What makes her so successful? Coaching philosophy (31:56)
  • How to help athletes who are disappointed with their performances (34:47)
  • Sue's path to coaching (37:43)


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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, this is Elizabeth PearsonGarr, the host of What It's Like

(00:03):
To.
This is the third and final weekof our Summer Olympics series.
With track and field events infull swing, I thought I'd bring
back my interview with SueHumphrey, who was part of the
coaching staff for Team USA'strack and field team at the 1992
and 1996 Olympics and became thehead coach in 2004.
I just love the Olympics and Suehas all sorts of great behind

(00:25):
the scenes stories.
So I hope you enjoy them.
If the athlete is needing help,then you help, but mainly help
is timing, carrying startingblocks, making sure they need

(00:45):
what they need.
Do they have access to themedical?
Do they know where the weightroom is?
So a good coach, an Olympic orWorld Championship level is a
facilitator.
If they think differently, theydon't go.
Or they don't go again, let'sput it that way.
Hello, and welcome to what it'slike to the podcast that lets

(01:07):
you walk in someone else's shoesand live vicariously through
their unique experiences.
I'm your host, Elizabeth PearsonGarr, and each episode, I'll be
asking a new interviewee all thewhat, why, when, and where's of
how they do what they do.

(01:27):
The Olympic Games is regarded asthe most prestigious
international sporting event inthe world.
We can imagine what it takes tobe an Olympic competitor, long
hours of hard work, so muchdedication and sacrifice, but
what is it like to coach thoseOlympians?
My guest, Sue Humphrey, has alot of experience in this field.
She was the head coach of theUSA Olympic Track and Field team

(01:50):
in 2004, and also coached on the1992 and 1996 Olympic track and
field teams.
Three of the seven Americanwomen that have cleared six
feet, six inches or higher inthe high jump.
Were coached by Sue, and she'sthe only female to ever win the
Nike Coach of the Year Award.
She's also the author of a bookcalled I Want to Run.

(02:12):
Sue Humphrey, welcome to thepodcast.
Thank you.
Appreciate you having me.
I'm so happy to have you here.
I'm a huge fan of the Olympics,so I'm really eager to dive in
and get some behind the scenesinfo from you.
I know you've coached ondifferent levels, college, on
the international level.

(02:32):
What does it feel like to be atthe Olympic Games?
Is the level of pressure,expectation, excitement, that
much different than at otherevents?
You know, it's a different typeof pressure because there's so
much more at stake.
The world is watching now.
And if things go right, they'rewatching the athletes.

(02:55):
And when things go wrong, theylook to the coaches.
And so I think being in theOlympic games, whether it be as
a competitor or staff member,that's the highest ultimate
honor in athletics.
We have world championships, youhave national championships and
so on, but the world.
the Olympics.

(03:16):
And so the amount of hours thatthe athletes put in the coaches
are pretty much there too.
And the planning andpreparation.
So it's a mutual partnership forsure.
So you were on the Olympiccoaching teams a couple of times
and then in 2004 you were thehead honcho.

(03:37):
How did that differ?
In 2004, were you also coachingor were you more just overseeing
your team of coaches?
In 04, it was a little of both.
I had the vertical jumpers,meaning high jumpers and pole
vaulters.
And then I was the spokesman forthe team.
And so that was a lot differentbecause when things would

(04:02):
happen, the newspaper reportersor media had the microphone in
your face and they would findout where you were staying.
If it was a hotel, I got callsat all hours.
And I didn't want to take thephone off the hook because what
if one of the kids needed me?
So a few newspaper reporterswould try to call me because in
04, of course, it was part ofthe whole drug situation with

(04:26):
the performance enhancing drugs.
So we were losing some of ourathletes to positive tests.
And of course the media wantedto have firsthand knowledge of
that.
So it definitely was morestressful in 04, just because I
knew the buck stopped with me.
And again, when things wentwell, it was great to sit in the

(04:48):
warmup area and watch the meaton a little, uh, 20 inch TV,
which is what they provided usand things didn't go so well,
then it was all back to thecoach and to me and to what
happened and why.
So that was part of it.
I knew that was part of it.
I was in 92 and then 96.
And so I had an opportunity tosee the dynamics and to see how

(05:12):
other head coaches had operated.
I've been at worldchampionships, so I've been at
enough different top notch meetsthat I saw the good and the bad,
if you will.
And I was ready for it.
I mean, I never knew what wasgoing to hit, but I just knew I
had to be there and be tactfulabout it and, and protect the
athlete as much as possible.

(05:34):
How long is that job?
How many months or years aheadof retirement?
the opening ceremony.
Did you start that job?
The Olympic staff is usually atwo year project.
You get picked two years inadvance.
The others are sometimes a yearin advance.
And the thing I want people tounderstand is we don't get paid

(05:55):
for this.
This is all volunteer.
So with track and field, I can'tspeak for other sports.
We are volunteers.
We get the travel, we get thehotel or the village and we get
a sweatsuit.
So we're doing this out ofpassion and love for the sport.
And that's what I want.
That's astonishing.

(06:16):
Yeah.
You got a sweatsuit.
That's your payment for all thattime.
I even asked for an extra tshirt one time jokingly from our
CEO and he told me no.
So uh, You need to work over,over, over time for that t
shirt.
That's right.
I needed to do a little more,but the benefits and the
opportunities I've traveled theworld and seen things, been

(06:40):
places that I never would haveon my own.
So, you know, in my mind, that'smy.
Payment, if you will, but it'snot dollars and cents.
Incredible.
So you get the opportunity acouple years in advance and then
you start planning.
I know the athletes aren'tchosen until shortly before at
the Olympic trials, but you needto start your whole process.

(07:04):
Right.
What's, can you kind of walk methrough what happens?
Sure, you know, as to thepreparation ahead of time, we
have a training camp, soarrangements need to be made
with that city and find thelocation, the track, the hotel,
all the off the track stuffthat, you know, athletes are
going to need, the medical,transportation, and cities will

(07:27):
bid for these at times.
For example, in Athens, westayed an hour away from Athens
at an island.
Crete.
And so to get to and from Crete,we had an hour plane ride.
And so when we were on Crete, wewere on Crete, and then when we
went over for opening ceremoniesor for the games themselves, it

(07:50):
was a one way flight.
And then you were there in 96with the games in Atlanta.
Our training camp was at theUniversity of North Carolina in
92.
We were at a training center inFrance.
Because the games were inBarcelona and the training
center in France was, I think,about a two hour bus drive.

(08:13):
So the National OrganizingCommittee will give you
different opportunities and thenUSA Track and Field has to go
out and make the contracts andseal the deals.
Part of what I do as a staffmember, what I encourage my
staff members to do, if I'm ahead coach, is to get to know
the top athletes.
In those event areas, you know,a year or two out, even start

(08:37):
knowing the clientele, get toknow their personal coaches, get
to know their agents.
Cause now we're dealing withagents a lot at this level.
Yeah.
Yes.
At the international or theOlympic level, anything post
collegiate.
You know, you're dealing withagents a majority of time.
If they have significant familymembers that are always around,

(08:58):
you try to integrate yourselfwith them and find out a little
more about the athlete off thetrack than what you maybe would
know by reading a press release.
And to me, that made it a lotbetter and a lot easier so that
once the team was selected,Which is about eight weeks ahead
of the games.

(09:18):
Now you've already got a rapportand some kind of a communication
going with those athletes.
And when you have either somehard calls to make, like with
the relay pool, you maybe takeeight people, but then you only
take six into the village.
So you have to drop those peoplethat have been traveling with

(09:39):
you for maybe a month.
And now all of a sudden it'skind of like, well, you were
good enough to hear, but nowyou're not good enough to go
into the games.
here's your ticket home.
And that was hard.
That one I did not enjoy.
And I think of only one athletethat was really a real negative
about that.

(09:59):
But most of them were prettygood because they knew going in
that that was going to be asituation.
But of course, none of themthought it was going to be them.
So, you know, that's the otherthing.
And then you have to deal withcoaches who, if you do drop
their athlete or don't choosetheir athlete for a relay
position.
Why not?
And how come?

(10:20):
And I mean, I've been cussed outby some of the best because I
didn't pick their kid to be inthe relay squad there at the
very end, or I didn't put themon a relay prelims to finals, so
that gets a little messy.
I've got 20 pages of emails froma family of an athlete.
They were very upset that I didnot run her in the Olympic

(10:42):
games.
And yet she had already run.
She was toward the end of hercareer anyway, but she'd had so
many opportunities and she justwasn't at her peak at that time.
And so life goes on,unfortunately.
Yeah, you have to have a thickskin, it sounds like, to be a
coach.

(11:03):
Yeah, well you do, and thenleading up to it as a, a female
and being young, you get calleddifferent names and accused of
different things.
I've been called the, what wasit, the most unbending B I T C H
this guy had ever met.
And that was by a top collegiatecoach.

(11:23):
And so, you know, you get alldifferent names when you don't
conform to the, to what theywant, they want.
And so now there's more women incharge of national collegiate
men and women programs.
So that's helping, but it'sstill way behind what it could
be or should be.

(11:44):
And part of the problem too isthey have combined different
programs, meaning they put themen and women's teams together.
And so there's now six coachesfor both genders.
In other words, total beforethere was three for the men,
three for the women.
And I understand, and it is abetter coaching situation to

(12:05):
have a combined, but as theycombine these staffs, the head
coaches are looking for coaches,obviously with the most
experience.
Well, how do you get experienceif you never get your foot in
the door?
And there's a lot of young womencoaches that don't get the foot
in the door.
And so then either give it up,go to a different career or just

(12:27):
aren't given the sameopportunities.
And so that's an ongoing issue.
I think that we still have verymuch.
As a coach, you're doing thepreparations and then the
Olympic trials happen and youget your team, you know who the
competitors are going to be onyour team.
It is interesting to think howjust with eight weeks out, you
have to coalesce this group ofelite athletes who are going to

(12:50):
The best in the country, some ofthe best in the world, there
could be some egos involved, butsuddenly they need to be a team
in a very short amount of time.
Right.
Well, that's it.
Your competitor's one minute andthe next day you're given a
sweatshirt.
Now you're kumbaya teammate.

(13:12):
Now you're rooming with yourarch rival.
So, uh, yeah.
And this is when we pick thestaffs.
We try to be very, very alert tothe composition and the
personalities of the coachingstaff that they get along
because if they don't get along,then, and I've been on a few

(13:33):
staffs where the chemistry wasnot good.
And, you know, we got throughthe meet and you hope the kids
don't see what's going on, butthey probably do.
And so it's just not as good asituation as when the Head
coaches get along like an Ofour.
My counterpart on the men'sside, George Williams, we were
like best buddies.

(13:53):
So there was.
No problems at all.
And so it's a matter of usingthat time, like you say, to
suddenly now integrate everybodyinto your team.
And that's why I think it's soimportant in the years leading
up to the selection that theevent coaches have.
Got a dynamic of some sort goingon with these athletes and with

(14:17):
their coaches that they can callon it and say, Hey, maybe you're
upset at him because he beat youlast week, but now we got to do
relay handoffs and you got tomake this happen.
So no, it is a very muchpsychological exercise.
And there are a few.
Times when things are getting alittle rough, but you know, you
just work through them.

(14:37):
We do have a team psychologistthat travels with us and they
too are chosen years in advancein order to travel with other
groups to get to know theathlete because you don't want
the athlete to suddenly make.
Let's say his first Olympic teamand then have some kind of a
mental health issue and feel theneed they've got to talk to

(14:57):
somebody they've never even met.
You don't want that becausethat's even worse.
So that's where we have thecontinuity.
Within the staffs from year toyear, the medical staff is the
same way because sometimesyou're dealing with chronic
injuries or personal medicalissues that again, you don't
want your business out all overthe place.

(15:18):
And so it really helps if youknow, the team doctor, you know,
that trainer knows me, or thismasseuse is really good with me.
And so there's a lot of blendingthat goes on.
And as the teams.
Go from year to year.
There is a carry over.
I mean, we don't have a brandnew team every year.
However, it's about half of ateam every year.

(15:40):
So you have the young onescoming in.
Sometimes the veterans arewelcoming to the youngsters and
sometimes not.
You just have to do it.
Yeah, it's all based onpersonalities.
How many coaches are there?
So obviously the head coachesand then there's event coaches.
And so say at the Olympic level,what's the coaching staff size?

(16:02):
At the Olympic level, it was.
Four men and four women.
So it was like a staff of eight.
Yeah, it's very small.
And this time coming up forParis, it's going to be even
smaller because they're addingin some personal coach
credentials there.
So let's say like Bobby Kersey,who coaches several potential

(16:25):
Olympic medalists, we want tomake sure he has a pass to get
into the final warm up areas atthe expense of.
Another staff member.
So that gets to be a little bitof a political nightmare, but
they want the medals.
So we've got to do behind thescenes.
What's going to create that orhelp it.

(16:46):
Yeah.
You sort of alluded to it.
There can be a little bit of apolitical nightmare, but is that
confusing for the athletes to belistening to their personal
coach and then listening totheir Olympic coach or is there
ever discrepancies on what theyshould be doing or how they
should be training?
A good Olympic coach is afacilitator.
And you facilitate the programthe athlete brings to the

(17:10):
training camp or to the meet.
If you try to coach and changethings, that'll be the only team
you ever make.
Because the athletes do reviews.
And let's say as a head coach,if I'm on a team, and I hear
that one of my events coaches istrying to change or do something

(17:30):
to one of the athletes that getsback to me, I'll That'll be the
end of that coach.
So we don't want that to happen.
The personal coach is the onethat got them there.
Not you.
Now in 96, I was very fortunatebecause Charles Austin, who was
a personal athlete for me, hewas on the men's team and I was
on the women's staff.

(17:51):
So there, it was no problem.
In 92, he was on the team also,which made it very nice.
But if the personal coach is notaround and the athlete is there
and needing help, then you help.
But mainly help is timing,caring, starting blocks, making
sure they need what they need.

(18:11):
Do they have access to themedical?
Do they know where the weightroom is?
So a good coach, an Olympic orworld championship level is a
facilitator.
And if they think differently,they don't go or they don't go
again.
Let's put it that way.
So that's very different frombeing a coach at a different
kind of meet or a differentlevel.

(18:33):
Right.
And it's different than a teamsport, very definitely, because
like a basketball team, you'reputting the team together and
now you are coaching them andhave plays and schematics in the
whole bit.
But for swimming and for track,even though you have relays,
we're still an individual event.
But the team sports aredifferent, baseball, softball,

(18:55):
the head coach is a coach anddevelops a team philosophy.
Do you recall how you felt?
Let's just take a look.
Use the bookends of the openingceremony and closing ceremony.
If you went to that, was it, didit go for excitement and
nervousness to just relief?
I was only able to go to theopening ceremonies three times,

(19:16):
but I would think from acoaching point of view, that's
kind of like your Olympic medal.
In other words, when you're ateam coach, you do not get
medals, even if the athletesthat you're working with,
whether it's a personal coach ora team coach, you don't get
medals.
You get a certificate maybeafterwards, you know, so
marching in with the USA toStars and Stripes Forever and

(19:40):
seeing the crowd and justwatching the flags and the
people and just that wholeatmosphere.
I will never forget that in 92.
That was my Olympic moment justfor me, if you will.
Charles winning the gold medalin 96 was my gold medal, or me
and my Olympic with an athlete.

(20:01):
Each opening ceremonies wasdrastically different.
And so that was interesting too.
The fun part about openingceremonies is they put all of
the teams.
In a, let's say an adjacent gymor stadium, like a basketball
arena or something next to themain track stadium.

(20:21):
And so you have like four orfive hours to interact with all
of these other athletes on othersports within the USA team.
And so that to me was great funbecause you got to meet and you
take pictures with thebasketball players and the
swimmers and all of that.

(20:41):
So that was a problem.
Yeah.
You got to meet everybody andsee them before the action all
started.
So that was exciting.
Now, when you get into thecenter of the field and it's the
program with all the speeches,that's when our protocol kind of
breaks down.
Because now we don't want tolisten to all those speeches.

(21:02):
So now the teams start tointeract and intermingle and
talk back and forth.
In 92, it got a little scarybecause that was the first time
basketball used the professionalbasketball players, Michael
Jordan, Larry Bird group.
Yeah.
The dream.
Yeah.
The dream team.
So they marched in.

(21:23):
It's the first of the USAdelegation.
Yeah.
So all the other countrieswanted to see the dream team.
We wanted to see the dream team,the U S people.
And so when we all got to thecenter of the infield, the
Spanish organizing committee hadthese.
little guards that were there tohelp separate the countries and

(21:46):
keep us apart.
Well, they were young kids.
And when you get these athletesall storming toward Michael
Jordan or whoever, CharlesBarkley, those poor little
people didn't have a chance.
And it was kind of a mob comingat us.
It got under order prettyquickly.
So nobody got hurt or anything.
I think then they took the teamout before the end of the

(22:09):
ceremonies, but that got alittle bit treacherous.
But in 96, Charles Barkley cameback and talked to us.
Grant Hill came back.
Christian Leitner.
A lot of the basketball guyswould come back and intermix and
talk.
In 04, LeBron James was theretaking pictures.
And who else?
Tim Duncan and the littlegymnasts getting to see them.

(22:34):
And Mia Hamm, the soccer team.
And some of them were great.
hospitable individuals and someof them were kind of jerks.
So that was interesting to seetoo.
And everyone's nervous.
They're excited to be there, butno one's competed yet.
So it's all anticipation at thatpoint.
Exactly.
Now, closing from what I've seenand what I've heard is the exact

(22:57):
opposite because there, youdon't march in as a country.
Everybody's just there.
So it's athletes marching in orteam marching in.
It's much more casual.
And I know the athletes have agood time with that too.
I usually end up that nightdoing my laundry before heading
back home.
So that's, that's the only timeyou can get in the laundry room.

(23:20):
The athletes are gone.
Wait a minute.
You've coached the entireOlympics and.
You're doing your laundry duringthe closing ceremony and
watching it on TV with some ofthe athletes that did not go to
the closing ceremonies.
Yes.
It's so glamorous.
I'll tell you never ends nomatter what happens in terms of

(23:45):
the metal hall and all of that.
I mean, it must be just a verysatisfying experience to have
gone through it.
I mean, it's so rewarding andjust the honor, number one of
representing your country andbeing at a pinnacle of a sport,
the people that you've met, theexperiences, the friendships
that I still have today ofpeople that I've worked with.

(24:08):
30, 40 years ago for like alittle network and a little
family.
And the Olympic saying is oncean Olympian, always an Olympian
or you're forever an Olympian.
There's no past Olympian.
So the Olympics, it's a littlegroup within itself too, from
all the different sports.
So that's interesting fornetworking purposes and so on.

(24:30):
But day to day during those twoweeks or two plus weeks, are you
just.
Every day getting up and yousaid you're more of a
facilitator than doing theactual coaching.
So you're just up and makingsure like all the trains are
running on time.
Oh, yes.
A typical day in the OlympicVillage, once competition starts
for track, would be get up at 5,head to the Village Cafeteria,

(24:55):
McDonald's, and get your littleEgg McMuffin.
Number one, make sure yourathletes are up that are
competing that morning.
Cause the first event is like atnine o'clock.
So you've got to get out thereand go through all the
protocols.
So you're having to leave likeat six, six 30, maybe to get
there, depending on how far youare from the stadium too.

(25:16):
In Rio, I think they were anhour each way.
So that was really bad, butyou're there in the morning with
your athletes that are in themorning session.
And making sure they haveeverything.
We do have a team official whochecks their bags before they
even leave the dorm.
Because we've used to have topathletes leave like a uniform or

(25:40):
their bib or take two rightshoes and not a left shoe.
So now we've assigned a person,a former athlete, actually, to
check their bag before they goon the bus.
And so when we get to thestadium, we're not having panic.
And that has helped take outsome of the emotion with it.

(26:01):
But then we're there till maybeone o'clock, two o'clock in the
afternoon, going through all ofthe preliminaries, depending
again on the ride back and whattime you have to be back at the
stadium.
You either get a box lunch tohave your afternoon spent there
in the warmup track under a tentor something, or you'll take the

(26:24):
bus back to the village and, youknow, you got a few hours
downtime.
Before you have to head back tothe games for the evening
session.
And so the evening session,depending on what time zone
you're in, it'll probably beuntil midnight, 1 AM.
And then you catch the bus back.
So now if you're having to getup at 4 30 or five or whatever.

(26:47):
You'll see it's a very shortturnaround.
So if you could get back in theafternoon and get a quick nap,
that is one way.
If you can't, then you just napunder the tables or whatever's
there in the warmup area.
You see, it's a very glamorousjob.
The glamorous element is gettinghigher.

(27:10):
You'd mentioned that.
At least on the internationallevel, or is it just the
Olympics that it's volunteer?
I don't know if like the Pan Amgames and everything with USA
track and field is volunteer.
So the coaches are reallygetting paid through working as
high school or college coaches.
The athletes will be payingtheir coaches.

(27:31):
Some of the top athletes thathave contracts.
So they have that built incoaching stipend.
If you have an athlete, that'slike top five in the world.
The Olympic Committee will giveyou like 6, 000 a year.
The biggest complaint I haveright now with NC2A, they're
bringing in so many foreignathletes.

(27:51):
Our USA coaches are training allthese foreign athletes.
They go back at WorldChampionship or Olympic time to
represent their home country,and win medals and beat our
kids.
So we're losing out.
We can't think that we are stillthe top dog in the race.

(28:12):
When it gets down to team pointsand things, yes, we are winning,
but the margin is getting very,very tight.
And the U S Olympic committeepays USA track and field and USA
swimming and all the differentgoverning bodies.
They'll pay them for the numberof medals that you win at a
major championship.

(28:32):
Yeah.
So the fewer medals that we win,it means less money coming into
USA track and field for theathletes.
So I don't understand why thisis such a hard concept on why do
we keep training our oppositionand letting our top coaches be

(28:53):
paid and stipend by ouropponents.
And nobody seems to be worriedabout that.
And yet it's happening more nowthan ever.
And our top coaches are beingpaid by foreign countries.
They're not college coaches, soI don't want that to be
misconstrued there.
These are post collegiate clubcoaches, so some of them are

(29:15):
making a living that's decent,but they're doing it with
stipends from foreign countries.
Because they probably just needto make money, so if that's
where they can find Yeah.
The paycheck.
That's where they can find it.
And you know, they've gotfamilies, so I guess I
understand you're going wherethe highest bidder is, but I
sure wish our USA governingbodies, whether it be NC2A or

(29:39):
the Olympic Committee orwhomever, would look at this and
see, one, our top coaches arebeing paid by foreign countries,
so we're losing that expertise.
Some of our top sportsscientists are being paid by
other countries to come in andshare all the scientific
findings that we, USA, have paidfor over the last 20 some years.

(30:03):
And then looking on the athleteside, some of our top athletes
in high school are beingdeprived of college scholarships
because The colleges arebringing in these foreigners
because they're older, they'remore mature, and so therefore
they'll score points quicker.
A 20, 22 year old German, let'ssay, is going to be more mature

(30:29):
athletically and so forth thanmost 18, 19 year old kids.
So this is my opinion, but Istand by it.
Our whole development program,which I used to be in charge of
back in the nineties, has reallytaken a downturn due to these
kinds of circumstances.
A lot of our kids are not beingmentored all the way up the way

(30:50):
we used to.
Back in the heyday when we hadthe Jackie Joyner Kerseys and
the top people that had beenhelped and supported since high
school.
And so we're going to see theresults of this moving forward.
Yes.
And in 2028, where are theOlympic Games?
Los Angeles.

(31:10):
Yeah.
Right.
So our hometown country, and I'mnot sure what we're going to
see.
Do you have a preference workingas an Olympic coach versus a
college coach versus a personalcoach?
Do you feel like when it's morefun, more satisfying?

(31:31):
Well, obviously being an Olympicor world championship coach, it
has a nice resume builder, but Iget as much satisfaction out of
working with my high school kidsright now, or some of the post
collegiate or the collegiateathletes, as I did being on the
Olympic level and being houndedfor why we dropped the baton and

(31:55):
that type of thing.
So my joy is working with theathletes and helping them and
seeing them improve.
And when they improve, thenthat's kind of validation for me
that I've done a good job, I'veprepared them, got them ready
for the next level to reachtheir goals, because that's
ultimately what my success isbased upon, how well they

(32:17):
perform and meet their goals.
So that's my joy with it,regardless of the level.
What do you think accounts foryou being so successful?
It is clearly you've trainedyourself in knowing these
sports, but I wonder if part ofit is this connection that
you're able to find with yourathletes, because it's not a one

(32:39):
size fits all.
You can't just say this workedwith Susie and now I'm going to
do it with Joe.
It's a unique fit for eachathlete.
You're able to read each personand.
probably on a day to day basisto how they're doing.
So is that your particular skillset that you are offering?

(33:01):
I guess that I mean, I thinklooking at each athlete as an
individual and as a human beingwith faults and with.
Benefits with skills and yetareas that they're not so
skilled in.
My paying job over the years wasa middle school teacher and
middle school administrator.
So I definitely had 30 someyears of dealing with

(33:23):
personalities and day to daysituations.
And I think that did very muchhelp me in working with the
coaching aspect and coachinghelped me working with the
middle school kids.
So I think they worked hand inhand very definitely.
I like to think just havingempathy for the individual and
finding out what makes them tickand what works well for them is

(33:49):
something that I have access toor can do that I hope I can
sense.
I've got one top high school kidright now.
That's a really good athlete, adivision one scholarship.
He's already signed and he wasgetting a little.
lackadaisical here a little,about a month or so ago.
And we kind of had a little cometo Jesus meeting and he got back

(34:10):
on track.
So sometimes you've got to sitthem down privately.
And, and I think that's a bigthing too, is knowing when and
how to correct and when and howto reinforce and to be positive.
I don't tell everybody they'rethe greatest thing God created
and yet areas that they needimprovement on.

(34:31):
I try to do.
As tactfully as possible and yetget the message across that,
Hey, this is the way you need todo it, not your way.
I've been around the block a fewtimes more than you.
So I think try it my way and seeif that works and then just your
reputation follows you too, andthat helps because I've got

(34:52):
parents calling me weekly.
Can I join your group?
Can I join your group?
To a point you've got to say nountil your numbers drop, because
I don't want it just to become.
a mass mob out there.
You want to still have thatindividual interaction with the
kid.
That's reputable to do that.
I admire that because you couldprobably just say ka ching, ka

(35:12):
ching, sir, get out on thefield.
Right.
At the very high levels, theyhave worked for years and years
and probably spent a lot ofmoney in training and they might
get to the Pan Am Games or theOlympics and You know, we all
celebrate the medalists, butsome people have a bad day in
that prelim or the final.

(35:33):
And it's a very disappointingexperience.
How do you help them cope withthat?
That this pinnacle, the dream isto be there.
And this is not the day thatthey have peaked or they haven't
given the performance they'vewanted.
I think this is where whateverrelationship you have with them

(35:53):
really plays into a factor,because if you have a rapport
with the individual, it's a loteasier to be empathetic and for
them to believe you.
Because a lot of times too,you've got to get trust and
confidence with these elitelevel athletes.
They're so used to people justhanging onto them and using them
because they are good athletes.

(36:15):
A lot of the trust is not justthere because you have the title
coach.
You have to earn it for sure.
Yeah.
And so I think as long as you'veshown them that you're genuine
in the good times and in the badtimes, and I know from my point
of perspective with it, I wantto be there when the negative

(36:36):
thing is happening.
In other words, when they win,or do well, or set a record,
everybody's their buddy.
Everybody's there.
I stand back with that.
I'm not trying to be into allthat.
But it's when the stuff hits thefan and things go wrong, that's
when you need to be there.
Even if you don't say anything,you're just there.

(36:56):
And sometimes you're just thereand you sit on the bus and
you're just there while theycry.
And then other times you try tosay a few things, Sometimes they
tell you they don't need to hearthat right now and just to be
quiet and then that's your cueto shut up and just stand there
and be with them.
So I've had athletes tell methat, that not now Sue, not now.

(37:20):
I'm like, okay, that's fine.
I'm not going to try to intrudeon your moment of despair.
But I think that they just knowthat you're there for them
through thick or thin.
And that's the key thing.
No, there are winners and thereare losers.
And sometimes you're on one sideand sometimes you're on the
other side.
And I think being a good sportis ultimate, especially

(37:43):
obviously when things go bad.
And when you do well, not actinglike a fool is something because
the world is watching you.
These kids are watching you andthey're impressionable.
I think publicly you have aresponsibility.
To your team, to your country,if you're representing the U.
S.
or whomever, you know, and toyour family, too.

(38:05):
Did you always dream of being acoach, or how did you start down
this path?
Well, when I was in elementaryand then going into high school,
I always liked sports and wasparticipating.
Not very good, but liked to doit.
Softball, actually, was Thesport that I had most success
in.
And then as I aged out of theleague, I turned into coaching

(38:29):
in that league for a few years.
But in high school, a friend ofmine was one of the top U.
S.
sprinters in the nation.
And at that time we didn't havehigh school girls track.
So she was training with theboys at the junior college.
She'd asked me to go and.
Just kind of be there, she saidto help and to time, but I think

(38:49):
it was more, you know, haveanother female around and moral
support.
Yeah, exactly.
And so that's where the bug bit.
And as I realized that I was notgoing to be athletically very
good.
But I love the sport.
So it was like, how do you stayin the sport and not be an
athlete?
So I started quote unquotecoaching at 14 and learning by

(39:14):
listening to these juniorcollege coaches and reading up
and we didn't have internetobviously.
So it was like, go to thelibrary and read and talk to
people and watch.
And that's how I got startedwhen I was in high school,
actually.
And did you have mentors?
Did people readily kind of takeyou under their wing and say,

(39:35):
yeah, I'll show you how thiscoaching game goes.
Of course not.
Cause you were a girl.
I was a girl and I was young andunless I was helping them carry
something, I guess I was in theway.
So it was working through atthat time, the AAU, the Amateur
Athletic Union, now it's USAtrack and field.

(39:55):
And as we work through thegoverning body, cause that's how
you had to have girls.
Performing at that time, youknow, interscholastic sports for
high school was like golf andtennis and badminton.
Those were the three sports thatthe girls could do.
And since none of those appealedto me as, as much as track did.

(40:16):
I shifted over and we did theseclub sports.
And so it was through getting toknow people and going to
different competitions andclinics.
And usually I was the onlyfemale in the room or one of
very few and definitely theyoungest in the room.
And so you kind of sat by theside and just kind of watched

(40:37):
and maybe ask a question once ina while, or you just sat there
like a sponge is what I did tolearn and to absorb as much as
possible.
And around what years was this?
This was in the late 60s.
It was very definitely malefemale separation as far as any

(40:57):
kind of sporting goods.
Title IX was not in yet.
And so we did what we couldthrough AAU competition at that
time.
And I just, I don't want to saybulldozed my way in, but I was
there and I didn't step back.
I did try not to let myself getintimidated and just.

(41:18):
stayed in the room as long as Icould and nobody asked me to
leave.
So there I was.
Yeah.
You didn't give up.
You, you persevered through it.
And did you have a goal at thatpoint that you wanted to be a
college coach or did you knowyou wanted to coach at the
international level or do youremember having an end goal at
that point?
My goal at that time, becauseagain, I'm late teens, early

(41:43):
twenties, was basically just toteach and to coach and to have
some fun using athletics as myvehicle that way.
I started an age group team withmy friend's father and my
mother.
They were the sponsors.
And so I was coaching kids thatwere in elementary school.
Before I had a driver's license.

(42:04):
So my mother had to buy me, butat that time I was getting the
enjoyment of working with kids.
And it was through thatexperience then that led me into
teaching my career that paidmoney because coaching didn't
pay money.
So I was balancing both worldsas educator and coach and they

(42:27):
both worked hand in hand.
My friend, as I mentioned, wasone of the top sprinters.
So when I travel with her andher family, I would see the
national competition and I wouldsee that the USA had dual meets
with Russia, that the team wouldtravel to Germany and places
like that.
So that was kind of neat, like,okay, maybe this is something I

(42:50):
could work up into.
And then were you drawn to thejumpers or were you also
coaching the runners?
Did you do it all?
At the beginning I did it all.
That's the nice thing with trackand field is there's so many
different events.
If you can't run, you maybe canjump or maybe you can throw or

(43:11):
finding different opportunities.
So we did a little bit ofeverything.
And.
That's where, again, thestudying came in and having to
learn very quickly the differentevents based upon what athletes
I had there on the team or whatinterests they had as I matured
in the sport, shall we say, andI had more luck and

(43:33):
opportunities with jumpers thatwas primarily kind of the avenue
I took.
And yet right now I'm workingwith high school kids in a club
situation again, and I've gotsome jumpers, some hurdlers, and
they come to you and then youadapt to them as to what their
interests are.

(43:53):
How much do you think successfulcoaching is knowing the
specifics of the actual sportand how much is just being a
great coach?
I think to be a great coach atany level, the first thing is
you need to know what you'recoaching and you need to know
the events or the sport.

(44:13):
And I think people in schools,they get put into coaching jobs,
you know, either for a smallstipend or because nobody else
will do it.
And that's a real disservice tothe kids because I see enough.
High school and middle schoolcampus was right now that so
many of these coaches, God blessthem, they don't know what

(44:35):
they're doing and they don'tcare to learn.
And I'm not saying they're justdoing it for the check, but
they're just doing it andthey're not really taking an
interest.
And in some cases creating apotential health hazard or
safety hazard.
For the athlete, the studentsnow on the flip side, there's a
lot of middle school and highschool coaches that are very

(44:56):
much into it and students of theevent and learning it.
So I give kudos to them andencourage them.
I think the biggest part ofcoaching after learning the X's
and O's is just the compassionand empathy that you have for
the kids.
I mean, they're all humans.
They all are different abilitylevels and different interests,

(45:17):
different motivations.
And of course, learning that,and then learning to deal with
the parents on the younger levelas to what their motivations are
and interests are.
It's a balancing act for sure.
So I think to be a coach, youhave to be, uh, magician at
times balancing all thedifferent concepts and as the

(45:39):
students get older the problemsor the situations differ but
they're still there whether itbe on the age group level or the
olympic level.
You still have situations andthey just vary with the
individual.
Yeah.
I've seen that one of mydaughters is a high school
basketball player and just allthe psychological stuff too.

(46:02):
Like she'll get really down onherself if they lose.
She'll take it on herself thatit was her fault that the team
lost or something.
You know, so there's all themental game that can go in it
too.
Yeah.
I mean, as a coach, you're notjust dealing with what I call on
the track.
Yeah.
A lot of times, and maybe moreimportant is the off the track
activities as far as thepsychological, as far as making

(46:27):
sure they're staying eligiblewith their grades, dealing with
them when the drama of life, thetragedies of life, like breaking
up with your boyfriend orgirlfriend, or they flunked a
test or their best friend wastalking about them.
So, again, depending on thelevel.
The off the track situations arevery much there when I'm dealing

(46:48):
with the older athletes.
I mean, there you get intodivorce and you get into
relationship situations and itgets very intense at times.
So I'll, I'll guarantee youthat.
It's a really all encompassingjob, isn't it?
I mean, you're really kind of amother or auntie figure or
something probably for a lot ofthese.

(47:08):
Few people have said that.
Of course, now I'm at the stagewhere they say you're the
grandmother, but it has beenkind of a surrogate parent.
And yet you've got to draw thatline because you're not trying
to be that.
And get involved with the familyissues, obviously, but then
there's times when you kind ofneed to be involved with some of
that, because you see thingsthat maybe are happening that

(47:30):
shouldn't be happening with thechild.
And then that creates anothersituation to deal with, but it's
definitely 24 seven, if you'redoing it right.
And whether it's preparing fortheir workouts or competitions,
or as you mentioned, justkeeping them sane as much as
possible.
Well, Sue, thank you.

(47:52):
I love all these behind thescenes stories.
I feel like I've been able to beon an Olympic track, so thanks.
Yeah, just bring your bed and,uh, your sackcloth.
I'll bring extra for thecoaches.
There you go.
Thank you.
We appreciate that.
In 2028, they'll want those.

(48:14):
Drive down to L.
A.
Yes, yes.
Thanks, bud.
Thank you so much.
Okay.
Thanks so much for theopportunity to share.
I'm grateful to coaches like SueHumphrey who are intentional and
conscientious about their work.
Anyone who ever was acompetitive athlete or is the
parent of one knows theimportance of these good

(48:37):
coaches.
Plus, thanks Sue for all thebehind the scenes information
from the Olympics.
Here are some of my takeawaysfrom our conversation.
Number one.
Notice where you're experiencingjoy in your work.
Sure, the glitzy things likeOlympic opening ceremonies are
fun, but the real satisfactionmay be in the day to day, like

(49:00):
watching your athletes improvetheir skills.
2.
No matter their speed or wherethey finish in a race, treat
each person as a full humanbeing, with both faults and
skills.
3.
Titles don't confer respect.
You have to earn it.
4.

(49:20):
If you've shown your genuinenature through the good times
and the bad, and you've not justbeen there for the triumphs,
people will trust you whenthey're struggling.
5.
Win or lose, be a good sport.
You owe that to your teammates,your fans, your family, and
really, to yourself.
And finally, number 6.

(49:42):
Sometimes it's worth doingsomething simply because it's
really meaningful to you, evenif the payment isn't.
Is only a sweatsuit.
I'd like to thank Sue Humphreyfor sharing her experiences with
me.
Who knew some Olympic coacheswere doing laundry during the
closing ceremony.
If you'd like to learn moreabout Sue at her book, please go

(50:02):
to the show notes for thisepisode on our website, what
it's like to.net.
You can also find all of ourpast episodes there.
If you like listening to storiesabout the Olympics, you might
wanna check out episode 43.
When Justin Spring talked aboutwinning an Olympic medal in
gymnastics.
And episode 12 with Olympicphotographer, Jeff Cable.

(50:24):
If you're not already followingus on social media, please do.
And please tell a few friendsabout this podcast too.
I'm Elizabeth Pierson Garr.
Thanks for being curious aboutwhat it's like.
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