From NJCAA Champion to D1 Builder: Coach Isaac Wood’s Vision for Pacific Cross Country | ABR 393

Returning guest and program-builder Coach Isaac Wood joins Airey Bros Radio to break down his next big challenge: launching the men’s cross country program at the University of the Pacific and re-energizing the women’s team in Stockton, CA. Fresh off five NJCAA national titles at Salt Lake CC and Coach of the Year honors, Wood explains how he’s translating JUCO dominance to NCAA Division I, why Pacific is a sleeper academic powerhouse, and what “UOP RG” (the regen mantra) means for culture, recruiting, and results. We get into year-one goals, West Coast Conference competition, race-day mindset vs. workout warriors, developing athletes into pro prospects, long-run routes through Lodi vineyards, and the season slate (San Francisco opener, Hawai‘i trip, big Minnesota test, Bronco Invite, WCC in Spokane, Regionals in Sacramento). If you’re a recruit, parent, or running nerd, this one’s loaded with actionable insight.

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Show notes
0:00 Cold open + ABR intro
1:20 Why Pacific? From JUCO powerhouse to D1 builder
5:50 The move from Salt Lake → Stockton, family & timing
8:10 Culture from scratch: why UOP “RG” (regen) matters
9:40 Year-one goals: mid-pack WCC targets, experience > outcomes
12:05 Roster build: SLCC carryovers, Utah pipeline, recruiting fit
13:00 Academics: pharmacy, dental, law & strong post-grad pathways
14:50 Pro pathway pitch: networks, agents, race directors, brands
18:45 GAK: racing mentality, finishing hard, not over-cooking workouts
21:30 Training in Stockton/Lodi: vineyard long runs & safety on campus
23:40 2025 schedule snapshot: SF opener, Hawai‘i, Griak, Bronco, WCC, Regionals
29:05 Practice vs race: threshold focus, avoiding “cooked” legs
35:15 Five-year vision: WCC contention, West Region top-10s, NCAA qualifiers
37:00 Life at Pacific: resources, support, admin buy-in, budget reality
44:45 LDS mission in Stockton: perspective & resilience
46:55 Final thoughts + how to follow the Tigers

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Airy Brose Radio be There or B
Square because it's all killer, no filler. This is Isaac
Wood and you're listening to the Airy Bros. Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Ladies and gentlemen. Howdy Eneloha, We're here, you are there,
and you are now rocking with the best. Thank you
for tuning in for another episode of aery Bros. Radio. Tonight,
we're stepping back on to the cross country course with
returning guests. Who's no stranger to building programs from scratch.
Coach Isaac Wood is with us this evening. Last time
Coach joined us, he was stacking up national titles at

(00:40):
Salt Lake Community College. Now he's taken on a new challenge,
leading the University of the Pacific as head cross country
coach and assistant track and field coach. He's charged with
launching Pacific's men's cross country program this fall and elevating
the women's squad in Stockton, California. But before we get rolling,
y'all know the drill hammer. That like button makes sure
you're subscribed on YouTube. Drop a comment, everyview, review and

(01:04):
share helps us grow and get back to the sports
we love. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts,
and as always, let's not forget. We're here to shine
a light on the program's people and stories we wish
we had access to growing up. If you were somebody
you know was chasing their dreams and athletics or beyond,
please share this episode with them. Now, let's lace them

(01:25):
up and welcome back to the show. Coach Isaac Wood
the University of the Pacific coach Woods highlights as the
new head cross country coach and assistant track coach at
the University of the Pacific, starting the men's program from scratch.
As I said, while he was at Salt Lake from
twenty twenty two to twenty twenty four, he built the
program from zero to five NJCAA national titles in just

(01:48):
three seasons. He was the twenty twenty three NJCAA Coach
of the Year in addition to the Utah Governor's Coach
of the Year State of Sport Award. He's known for
developing athletes quickly international contenders and helping them move on
to Division one and Division two opportunities. Now task with
laying the foundation for Pacifics next five to ten years

(02:09):
in cross country and track and field without further Ado.
It is an honor and a pleasure to have you
joining us again this evening, Coach. We do greatly appreciate
your time. Welcome back to Airy Bros. Radio.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Wow, let's go on. Man, I'm I inspired myself really
just hearing all things that I've done. It's like, Man,
is that even me? No, I'm just kidding. No, I
that's pretty cool. Thanks for having me back on such
a great program. Love the vibe, love the energy, and
just excited to chat again. Thanks for bringing me back.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah, we are stoked to have you back. And you know,
we followed the Stride Report and the other outlets and stuff,
and we saw that you were making a move and
heading a little bit further west. We figured we'd reach
out to touch base with you, connect and see how
all that stuff is going here about the university, the
Pacific and what you got going on, what you're thinking

(03:02):
for the next five to ten years, and all that
good stuff. So, before we get too far into it again,
anywhere you want the flans to find you, recruits to
find you, find the program, anything you got going on
on social media you want to plug or promote. The
floor is yours?

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Awesome? Yeah, I would love to see some growth on
our team's Instagram, especially it's at Pacific Underscore XC Underscore track.
Follow me on Instagram at Isaac e W. That's I
s A a ce W. And I don't know if
I really talk do anything too special on their outside

(03:38):
of just post repost our team stuff, but on occasion
I'd give some words of wisdom that might be worth
listening to or not. But I love and appreciate anyone
who has supported us in every way small or big,
or the last few just a few months since we
started at Pacific and or since I started as a
head coach Assalty Community College. Really grateful for free one
who was supported supported me on my journey, including Aery Bros.

(04:02):
Who give me this platform to talk as well. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Absolutely, we'll put all that stuff in the show notes
for you. We'll get that Aery Bros Bump over there
on YouTube. And again, our goal with doing this is,
you know, we're originally Jersey guys, and our goal is
to have someone from the state of New Jersey on
every coaches team that we talked to. So if we
can get some kids from the East Coast to do
the Manifest Destiny and join you. That'll make our hearts happy.

(04:28):
So we'll do everything we can. But with that being said,
last time we spoke, you were in Utah. Now you're
in Stockton, California. So I guess, how's it going and
what brought about the movie? Know that not too long
after the announcement was a announcement was made that you

(04:49):
were taking on the job at the University of the Pacific.
There was the unfortunate news too that they were not
going to be looking for a replacement for you at
Salt La. So, yeah, how's it going for you? And
how's everything in California treating you?

Speaker 3 (05:06):
You know?

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Last summer, spent spent two weeks in Paris at the Olympics,
and we did a bunch of other traveling and my
wife and I were like, man, we're so looking forward
to a relaxed summer, you know, And and then I
found out my wife was expecting and we I kind
of got a wind that Salt Lake was considering some

(05:33):
changes in the way that they're around the athletic department,
and you know, there's a sustainability committee for athletics that
I wasn't even involved in, which was a little weird.
Because I was like, I mean, I, although I'm new
to the school, I you know, I've had a decent
amount of success quickly, maybe I'd be someone worth talking
to about what I think would be good to keep

(05:54):
athletics rolling. But I was not invited in that and
that was made me a little nervous. And after some
conversations about scholarships and budgets and stuff, you know, in
the Pacific job opened up. I saw it and I
reached out to the person who had been in the
role before just to make sure they were okay, and
I protalked to them. They're like, actually, I'm now going

(06:15):
to be the director and I need to hire a
head coach. And he was like, would you be interested?
And it kind of just seemed like a little bit
of divine design, if you want to call it. That.
You know, just wasn't one sure if my future Assault
Lake was going to be as bright and maybe as
the last three years had been. And sometimes when you

(06:36):
found a decent amount of success, he wanted to capitalize
when your stock is at a good, good spot, and you,
to be fair, I think I'd had some unfortunate conversations
with other athletic directors in the divisional level who legitimately
had a little bit of juco bias against me, And
it was weird, like I didn't move along in the
process with a few other programs that I thought maybe
I should have been almost like a no brainer for

(06:57):
although maybe my pride got in the way of that
might or my ego, but up, but because I was
a juco coach, they were like, oh, maybe he won't
build a handle the step up to Division one, which
is so weird because I'm like, wait, my teams were
like handling the majority, not the majority. Maybe. I mean
there's there are maybe only like fifty to sixty divisional
teams that I think could have actually beaten my men's

(07:18):
team last year in across country, and and and so
you know, it was it was hard to hear, right,
And so when I got an actual opportunity at the
Division one level that was legitimate, and and then on
top of it was Pacific they were, you know, wanting
to start a men's cross country team, and the current

(07:39):
you know, Callege Athletics aliment who's starting teams right now, right,
it's the opposite, right, And so how cool is it
to be a part of a program athletic department wise,
that is excited about keeping sports there and reinvesting in
it and and so that was, you know, some of
the key factors to my decision to leave Salt Lake

(07:59):
and to take the Saecific job. I also was familiar
with Stockton because I actually did my LDS mission in Stockton,
So it was it was not going to be an
unfamiliar place for me, which maybe fee a little more
comfortable about bringing my family out there.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Is there anything in building the program, I know you
just got there, but building the program at Pacific that
remind you of what you were doing at Salt Lake.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah. The one thing that has been really cool about
just starting a culture from scratch has been everyone on
our team that decided to join us. I feel like
sacrificed a little bit to come, whether that you know,
for any of the mired myriad of reasons that they
could have, and so they all want it really bad,
like they all want to be good. And that was

(08:47):
one thing that I loved about my team at Salt
Lake Community College was that everyone there was out of
community college really for one reason, and it was just
to give themselves another chance. I college athletics and maybe
not to settle on a school they were a four
year school, they weren't as excited about and be a
part of a you know, a junior calls teum that
they feel like they could that could elevate them. Everyone
on my squad here at Pacific Man they care a

(09:10):
lot and they want it bad. And I don't have
to worry about motivating people to want to get better.
It's more just molding and given providing opportunities that that's
really my job and that has been felt really similar
to the vibe as I was a Salt Lake.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
What is your goal for year one?

Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, you know you have goals yet too early?

Speaker 1 (09:36):
No, I've always got goals. That's a great question. So
to be fair, the women's team last year was last
place at the conference meet, last place at the regional meet,
and so obviously I think in any improvement from that
would be wonderful. I also think we're significantly better than
than the team was last year. Brought in for pretty

(09:58):
good women that I think can make an instant impact.
I think there's a few women that returned that that
return that I have that I'm motivated. I think I
think they're ready to prove that you know they they're
not you know that they want to be a part
of a program that isn't the team that's getting last
in the two major meets of the year, and so
you know, I think I think being a mid pac

(10:19):
conference team on the women's sde it'd be great. And
then on the men's side, UH, we were preseason and
picked way higher than I thought we would be for
a team that didn't didn't exist. You know this a
couple of months ago. I'd like, you know, if we're
gonna look at a quantifiable thing, I'd love to be
midpack again in the West Coast Conference for the men
as well. But most importantly, if we're talking about gold,

(10:41):
I want people to have I want all the athletes
on my team to have an experience that they can
be proud of, a season that they can be proud of,
uh and and produce outcomes that they feel like was
them doing their their best and fulfilling their potential. Honestly,
so cheesy, but that really is like what I care
about more than anything else. It's like, I want people

(11:03):
who run in my program to build look back five, ten, fifty,
twenty years after being a part of the program, and
being like, man, it's hard to know you're in the
golden age when you're in it. And then you look
back and and there it was, you know, and that
that was like the golden age of their of their
running career, or maybe got running career about their life,
you know, was just this time with this team and
the opportunity they had. You know, I want them to
look back and kind of view it that way. That

(11:25):
matters a lot to me, coach.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
There's some Utah gentlemen on the roster, those people that
ran for you at salt Lake.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yeah, I got a few people to who ran for
me at salt Lake to join me and and recruit
a few kind of like other like a couple of
high school kids out that were going to come run
for me at Salt Lake that decided to come to me,
to me at Pacific. And I did my best to
get as many Saltlate kids as I could. The problem
is is, by the time I had made the decision

(11:54):
to take the Pacific job, when I knew that the
Salt Lake team was kind of not going to probably
be around for much longer, most of the like a
lot of a lot of the athletes on my team
had decided to take to take offers other places because
other division MULD schools, because you know, they didn't know
I was going to be moving on. But those who
were gonna just return back to Salt Lake. I was

(12:15):
able to so to get a handful of them to
come join me, and I'm grateful that they did because
it really helps with the culture. You know, it's easy
for them to be able to look at their to
talk to to others on the team who happened Coast
Benny before and say, hey, this is how coach what
it is. He is a little neurotic now, you know,
he's kind of like this, and but you know he

(12:36):
selfs a skill a lot better and he cares about
us and that kind of thing. And so I'm really
glad to were able to get those that bring in
some of those from my previous team.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, that's going to be super beneficial. And there's always
a transfer portal, so maybe those other ones that had
made decisions before you made your decision might might come
find you again and be a part of what you
got going on, knowing how good you do things and
how how well everything worked for them previously. I'm curious
what what kind of student athletes are the right fit

(13:05):
at the University of the Pacific.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, it's an interesting school. I really it's uh, depending
on the outlet you look at. You know, top eighty five,
the top one hundred academic university in the country, pretty
highly ranked, one of the highest ranked private schools in
the West. I think Stanford USC and then Pacific are

(13:28):
in the same conversation. So that's cool. So if you
if you have a strong desire to be part of
a really great academic university, and you know, I think
especially like things like pharmacy, Dell hygiene. You know, they
have a great law and dental school that you know,
easy transfer. Undergrads can you know, have pretty pretty good

(13:51):
access to those programs. You know, most people who who
go to University of Pacific and get that undergrad degree
from there, are you know, going to get a really
good bank for their buck for you know, just their
initial earnings. And also I think people who you know, uh,
I think we are a great place for people who

(14:12):
want to be a pro That's what I'm pitching. My
experience with professional running is you know, pretty elite, not
not necessarily all from a coaching perspective, although I have
coached some great elite athletes, but I understand the professional
running scene very well. My dad was an agent for
the best runners in the world for about forty years.

(14:33):
Our family vacations growing up were the USA Marathon Championships
and the Olympic Trials, and then I wish I was kidding.
We didn't go Disney, but we went to We been
to NC double as you know, we went to the USA,
And you know, I I want people to come run
of my program who have a desire to be a
professional runner, because I feel like I am. I have

(14:56):
a strong ability to develop them to a level that
helps them see what they can be beyond college as well,
and have the connections to help them get set up
with you know, agents, other coaches that they want to
move on from me, shoe companies, you know, road races,
big race directors, the lead after coordinators, all that stuff.

(15:17):
If you want to be a pro for me, that's
the pitch. I'm soold, let's go.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
I might have one year of eligibility if that Juco
stuff goes through.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
So, because you kind of went into what you want
the culture to be, you're looking to have professional runners.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
Is there a motto.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
Is there a mantra for their team?

Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, I love acronyms. The mantra for this team is
u O p RG University of Pacific, the region. Okay,
we're regenerating the life into the women's program and we're
regenerating a men's team from scratch. And I think the
the U O p RG mentality is like, you know,

(16:05):
no matter where you have been or come from, you
can always reframe your situation. And I like that in
so many ways. Right even in a practice if if
if you have a bad rep or a bad mile
in a temple or anything like that, like you can
reframe that. You know, it doesn't have to be a
bad workout. If you had one bad part, you know,

(16:26):
not one one bad rep is not a bad workout.
Make you know, I think that you can still overcome that.
And then you know, the region and maybe a career,
maybe you're running career hasn't gone the way you thought
it was going to be uh in college, but we
can we can, you know, we can help you regenerate
or reframe what that career looks like. You know, maybe
maybe it's a region and just you know, your your

(16:49):
desire to run post collegiately things like that. So that's
the one thing we've been talking about a lot. Maybe
you just hire a team camp and UO PRG was
a big part of that. And I think we want
to we want to just regenerate excitement around this program,
you know, in the local area, you know, just even

(17:09):
talking with high school coaches and the recruits and things
like that, Like we want we want to be the
initial place that people who live within an hour to
ninety minute radius from our campus think when I when
I think about running in college, University of Pacific is
one of the first schools I think about, because I
don't know if if that has been the case previously.
And so we're gonna we want to regenerate that excitement

(17:30):
and that that positivity towards towards our program.

Speaker 3 (17:33):
Interputation, if there's a student athlete out there listening to
this episode and they hear you, and they might not
have the marks, but they wanted to be a professional runner,
they have the passion for it, are you willing to
take a look at them.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, Honestly, we have some guys on our team with
high school marks that maybe you wouldn't have exactly put
that at Division one. But they love running, and they
they that passion has allowed them to you know, like
you if you're to see some of them in practice,

(18:11):
see the way they approach practice and the way they
approach you know, running as a whole in their life
as a whole, you'd be really impressed with them. You
wouldn't think like, oh, this person has these high school prs.
You'd be like, but this person loves the sport, and
this person, you know, approaches actice and approaches running in
a way that makes me think that they're that They
all have a that they're high level. And sometimes sometimes

(18:33):
you have to act like you're a certain way before
you can get to that way, right, almost like to
fake until you make it mentality. And and so anyone
who I think has a desire to be at that
level and wants to be coached in our system and
and go to our school, I mean, you know, there's
conversations to be had, for sure.

Speaker 2 (18:54):
I man, Rich, that's right.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
We know you love the acronyms. We know you had
one at Salt Lake. I'm curious did you bring the
Hoka sponsorship with you.

Speaker 4 (19:05):
You know, we have a we have a sponsorship with
the didas and as a as a school, that's our sponsor,
So I would have loved to done that just because
I have a great relationship with Hoka.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
Those are Those are great guys. Craig Lutz and Craig
vander Off atse at the Sound running and Jake Champagne
and Alex Lour Withholka. Those guys are awesome and loved
our partnership. Didn't couldn't bring in along, but I was
grateful for all they did, uh for Salt Lake and
the clout really they gave us. I think that this
is them having them as a sponsor really elevated what

(19:39):
we did.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
Coach from two guys from New Jersey. All we know
about Stockton, California is Nick and A Diaz. So I'm
curious is it as hard as they make it out
to be? Is there is Does the guys and gals
have to worry about running down the mean streets in Stockton?
Or what's the training grounds?

Speaker 3 (19:55):
Like?

Speaker 1 (19:58):
There's certainly parts of Stockton that I, you know, maybe
won't take my family to. Nice thing is that you
know when you're training at seven am, you know, uh
near or around campus or the certain parts of stalking
that are really actually quite nice. It's no problem. Again,
I think there's certain areas I think you just kind
of have to know, Like I wouldn't go there unless

(20:21):
you had a legitimate purpose, you know, to go in.
But otherwise think, I think it's awesome. You know, it's
such a cool multipot of of people and diversities and ethnicities.
I mean, it's really diverse, and I think a lot
can be learned through diversity. I think that's why people

(20:41):
think it matters right perspectives and things like that. So
I like, yeah, I had I've had people like parents
be like, you're telling me you want my kid to
come to Stockton, you know, And I'm like, yeah, yeah,
I'm taking my family to Stockton. And I know Stockton well,
probably better than most. I mean, having been an LDS
missionary stock and I've probably knocked every door in the

(21:02):
North side of Stockton, for better or for worse for
me personally, but anyway, no, I think. But I think
so I know the city really well, and I think
that there's so much good that it can be learned
from from living here. And and uh, you know, the
cool thing about the University of the Pacific. To be fair,
is it's quite insulated from the rest of the city.

(21:22):
It actually has like a levee that kind of like
breaks it up between a certain part of the of
the city and and and Pacific and it you know,
it actually has a point four our police patrol as well.
Just I think it's just in case. I mean, you
can't you can't walk around campus more than thirty seconds
without seeing you know, one of the patrol cards. Just
rolling around kind of reminded me actually of being in

(21:43):
the Olympics in Paris and just like the amount of
just like presence that was there to make you just
feel safe, you know, police and military whatever, not that
it's that unsafe the Pacific. It's just like I think
they do that for, you know, for a reason, just
to to provide an extra layer of action and safety
that students can feel like they can come to Stockton,
go to the universe of stity. Again, unbelievable education, and
I have to worry the things are. You know, they're
gonna say it because they are. And the campus is unbelievable.

(22:07):
So it's so pretty. It's like walking it's like it's
like you you're driving through like kind of a you know,
a you know, a regular California city and you drive
and pulland the University of Pacific and you get out
of your car and you're like, am I am I
like an Ivy League institution? Like am I am I?
You know, like it's old brick buildings and really huge trees.

(22:29):
I got like some like John Muir wood sequoias in
the you know that that that have lived for such
a long time in the on campus and stuff like that.
Like this is really pretty. That was long winded.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
Sorry, you have you have you scattered at a good
long run location like you had in Salt Lake.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Man. Dude, Yes, I spent my I spend my free
time on mattmirun dot com sponsor me. Just kidding and
uh and I yeah, there's something interesting looking long on opportunities.
There's lots of vineyards out in the city North Asota
called Lodai. Look up Crazy Clearwater Revival song stuck on
loada again and they have a ton of vineyards and

(23:11):
a ton of like open land out there, and so
it looks like, you know, there's gonna be some really cool,
some pretty fun some pretty pretty fun long run spots here,
which is awesome. I think nothing better than a fun,
stimulating long run. Nothing worse than them boring on your own.
I don't have drugs by yourself, right, So I try
as a coach to find something interesting to run for

(23:36):
long runs, especially just because they can get pretty boring.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
Yeah, so you got your first test this week coming up?

Speaker 1 (23:43):
Yeah? Yeah, first meet Friday. Okay, San Francisco.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
What are we expecting.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
Look for? Yeah, well, if they have splits, look to
see how we the last three k for both men
and women. I'm kind of treating it as a bit
of a like tempo the first art ish and then
you can let you know, let the dogs loose the
last the last three k. So, for example, the guys

(24:15):
will run probably five k at tempo pace, try to
keep five to seven guys run together for that long
and just kind of see who can increase the temple
from there, or see who didn't actually run true threshold
and just has to hold on. And the women will
go three k three k, So three kuh tempo three
k race. I just I don't actually, to be fair,
it goes against a lot of my philosophies on racing.

(24:36):
I actually have a hard time just not letting people
just race. So I think people can get in their
heads a little if if like tempo actually feels more
like race, and they're like, maybe maybe not that fit,
but it just seems like we having just started so
late in this. I don't really want anyone taking this
taking the result of this race two to heart if

(24:59):
it doesn't go swimmingly, like if it was harder than
they thought, things like that. I want to be able
to go and say, hey, well, there's a reason why
we broke this thing up in chunks. So you know,
if you so, at least you could feel like you
got you know, a good workout out of it, and
then you know, we have some things were you can
work on the ladder end of our race. So that's
the kind of the idea. We'll see how it goes.

(25:19):
First rates you always kind of really you kind of
see where the rubber reads the row With people. You know,
you can look a certain way in practice, but man,
I like to know who can handle the intrusive thoughts
and who can handle these demons that come into your
brain to tell you can't do this, and those doubts
and those fears, and and learning how to control those
and who and who here's another acronym who gags. Ready,

(25:41):
give a crap. Okay, show me some gack. Sometimes just gas,
you know, to see goes to an ass if I
get real pissed. But but you know, trying to trying
to keep my language cleans the best I can, and
we'll call it gack. And I have to see a
little bit of that too, you know, Like, like nothing
worse as a coach than seeing an athlete finishing a

(26:01):
race and someone just fly by them and watching them
like turn to see them go by them and be like,
hey see, you know, ay, good job. Like I want
to see I want to be a team that we're like, oh,
we're the ones hammered down the stretch. You know that
that like that finishing strong matters more to us than
anyone else, you know. So I'm excited to see, you know,

(26:22):
who has those natural instincts to do that and who
we're gonna have to maybe educate and teach and motivate
and inspire to be a little bit tougher down the
strets that kind of stuff. So it's great. First race
is always great for that.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, coach, we know your seasons, we know you've been
around the game for a while. Do you feel you
can get a gauge of that stuff in practice and
you have a pretty good reado on athletes or have
you had athletes that completely, Oh, you don't.

Speaker 1 (26:45):
You don't have any gag.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
You don't have any gag when it comes to it.

Speaker 1 (26:49):
Yeah, it's crazy. Racing is so different. I think sometimes
coaches get really get it wrong that like that they
they hit race pace stuff so much in practice they
think they can know who's gonna be able to do
that in a race, And I just don't think that
that's it. I think obviously you got to turn the
legs over at the pace you're going to race at
from time to time and practice, of course, like I'm

(27:11):
not saying that that's not what you do, But sometimes
I think coaches hit it so hard that by the
time they get to race, kids are cooked, you know,
because it takes a lot longer to recover from the
view two stuff, right, But the threshold stuff, you can
recover from that a day and get more work done
and you can still increase your ability to run a
faster race pace. And I and I think I learned

(27:32):
quickly based on how people look in a race, who
is maybe who doesn't have as much as ghak as
another Okay, but most importantly who maybe is working out
too hard and maybe who I need to kind of
hold back a little bit on the rains and say, hey,
I think we needed back things off a little bit.
You know, I think I'm a fan of you know,

(27:52):
it's it's been amazing to me to see athletes i've
coached who you know, maybe touched like you know, who
like would run like you know, thirteen fifty eight or
thirteen fifty nine or fourteenth flat thirteen forty for five
k or even you know, sixteen fifty I think my
school record is was like sixteen fifty six for five k.
Who like that pace? In practice they maybe ran three

(28:13):
times at the end of like a ten by eight
hindred meters session, you know, and like it wasn't like
this like constant, like you know, we hit this we
hammer this pace over an oregon because we're gonna thrill
this pace into the must not really how it works.
And I think I think sometimes coaches gets so caught
up in that and try to do these like simulator
workouts or you know, we're gonna do this workout that's

(28:34):
gonna show us what we can do in the race.
I think I think you do workouts to prepare you
to give your greatest effort in a race and allow
you to explore those limits over a five six k,
eight k, ten k distance and see how tough you
really are. Because the race is the true test, is
the true celebration of fitness. If the workout is the
celebration of fitness, that you're doing something wrong and so

(28:57):
it's a good chance for me. A race is as
well to reflect the on the way I'm coaching, the
maybe running our training and just making sure that we're
doing it right and that people are hitting the right
stuff in practice to prepare them to have to do
the real thing in a race.

Speaker 3 (29:11):
I appreciate that perspective. Rich will tell you as a runner,
I was a practice guy. As a wrestler, I had
that gag. That's why I wrestle on was my supported choice.
So I appreciate that perspective. I know, I know we're
still early in, but has it been hard to be
in the rebuilding phase coming from where you came from

(29:32):
at Salt Lake?

Speaker 1 (29:34):
Yeah? I mean I think I'd be lying to you
if I said it was like you know, I didn't
miss what I had at Salt Lake, not because I
don't love it. I have a Pacific, but you know,
I had eighty five athletes coming to that team for
this fall. Wow, and now there's fifteen there. And we
had a total control over a total control. That's not fair.

(29:59):
We had a a stranglehold on. You know, we're on
recruiting in the state in terms of like if they
weren't they were going to BYU or maybe another D
one school that in the area that was giving them
a good scholarship, they were probably coming to me. I mean, yeah,
some chose other schools. You know, snow College as a
junior college that got started a program a couple years ago,
and they're kind of on their rise. That's where a

(30:20):
few of my kids went, and they're going to be good.
And so then i'd hopet times to get kids that
I wanted and things like that. But I think in
general we were and I miss kind of that like
kind of that like no brainer, like like our program
is such a no brainer for kids, and I would
recruit them and I want Pacific to get there and
we will. And I'm not saying it isn't a no
brainer for a lot. But I have to get there

(30:40):
and have to redo that because that took some time.
At salt Lake. I miss the fact that, like I
didn't have to really educate people anymore about who we
were by the time I meet. By my third year
at salt Lake, it was like it was more like,
you know, just making sure I did the right things
as a recruiter to get kids to come, not you know,
explain to parents why they why community college is good

(31:01):
for them, you know, good for their kids, like Pacific
is a no brainer academically for a ton of kids.
It's it's the it's that next step of you know, wait,
you guys have a team or wait, oh you guys
like you know this is Oh, you guys have like
a renewed you know, like reputation, and you guys are
looking like a strong contender in the Westcale conference. That
kind of thing, Like that's the hard stuff, that's the

(31:21):
grassroots stuff that just takes effort and time. And so
I missed that for sure.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
I want to get into a long term vision. But
before I do, I'm curious when you made when the
announcements made, did you got to get a lot of
emails from the other JUCO coaches like, oh man, I'm
so sorry to see you go, but congratulations, so luck
to you.

Speaker 1 (31:49):
You know, I had a couple of people reach out
of you kind of find out who your friends are
when you make big changes like this, you know, like
who your real friends are and who just and then
maybe who who never liked you the whole time, and
that's okay too. You know, there was a book when

(32:10):
when DILG. Taylor just got first started at by U,
I was the director of operations in the program. In
my office was five feet from hers for sixty five years,
five years, and she had this book on her desk.
That thought was such an interesting title of a book.
I've never read the book. I don't I don't know
what really talks about it there, but I can probably
tell you. But the book title was the Courage to

(32:32):
be Disliked. And I think about that from the time
to time because I am a people person, you know,
I want to be liked, you know, And sometimes though,
I think you have to have the curse to be
dislikes in order to do the thing that's necessary in
your job, your family. Yeah, I make hard decisions, and

(32:54):
so I think that you know, I had to make
the hard decision to the junior college and move onto
Division one, and you know that might have caused and
I had to also try my best to be this
because I could at the Junior Calls level, right, Like,
you know, any competitive person is gonna want to win,
and so with winning and success, it's gonna come some
people who don't like you. That's okay.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Yeah, I can't please everybody, you know, gotta gotta look out.

Speaker 1 (33:20):
For him so hard for you know you guys ever
watched the TV show Recess maybe maybe cartoon? Yeah? Yeah, Recess? Okay,
yeah we did, Yeah, Okay. There's the main character, Mikey
No is that his name?

Speaker 2 (33:38):
I think so, the guy with.

Speaker 1 (33:40):
The red hat. There's an episode that I think about
all the time. There he is someone in the class
doesn't like him, okay, and everyone likes him, right, you know,
most likable guy in school. But this person doesn't like him,
and he does everything he can for an entire twenty
three minute episode, commercials of me getting my football fruit loops,

(34:02):
you know, attempting to get this person to like him,
and they just never do. And I think about that
too from times. I'm like it's amazing how you know,
those of us who are wired like that, Like, it's
crazy the lengths that people go to try to get
someone to like you, who like you know, we'll probably
like they're like, why do we care that much? You know,

(34:24):
there's a quote that says, like, you know, we we
spend money on things we don't need to impress people
who we don't even like.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Yeah, anyway, So.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
Coach, what is it? What is the long term vision?
What's your five year plan? You know, I know you
said you'd be happy with like middle of the pack
and West Coast Conference? Are we for this year? This year?

Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (34:46):
Yeah, I know, but down the road or we want
to be top of the West Coast Conference? Are we
thinking about regionals and getting the nationals and maybe even
beyond and above that?

Speaker 1 (34:55):
Yeah? I mean, of course, I'm a competitor man, you know.
I I want to take our team to whatever is
the highest level we can achieve and obtain. I do think,
you know, with some reason. Uh, you know, we will
probably have the lowest scholarship totals between men's and women's
in the entirety of the conference this year. It's not easy.
I'm hopeful that if we have a decent amount of success,

(35:17):
that will then be able to you know, you know,
gain more and and and have more reason to give
us a little more in that regard. But uh, you know,
I would hope by five years in, let's say, five
years in from now, you bring me back on the show,
and I'm I I would be hopeful to say that

(35:38):
we have had several handful of athletes to make it
to the West Freedoms on the track that we've been ranked,
you be finished top ten in the West region across
country multiple times with either qualifying for nationals once as
a team or or at least getting really close and
maybe getting an individual qualified to inc doubly meet uh

(36:00):
handful of times at least. That's kind of my my
thoughts and my hope for now. And you know, we're
we bringing in athletes I think in several years will
be you know, you know, ladies that will break sixteen
minutes for five king, Guys that will break you know,
thirteen forty for five k. I think we got the
people that can do that. It's just a matter of
just and building it. So but that's the vision for sure.

Speaker 2 (36:24):
And then the university has three campuses correct, Yeah, so
what I'm assuming all the athletics is in Stockton.

Speaker 1 (36:33):
They are they have you know, the law of school,
you know, the dental school, or in Sacramento, and then
they have some other classes and things taught at their
San Francisco campus, but most everything the hub is in Stockton.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yeah. What's the undergrad population there? Roughly?

Speaker 1 (36:52):
That's to me here, I think I think thirty four thousand,
and then they actually have more gratitudes they do undergrad
really yeah, so I think they're at about nine thousand
total between the two.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
Okay, coach, how has your role changed at the University
of the Pacific as it was at so Like.

Speaker 1 (37:14):
I don't have to do as much administrative work, which
is so nice. The director of the program, Josh Jones,
he's awesome. He does a lot of it for me,
and I have an assistant who does all the other stuff.
Evan knows I'm the worst receipt reconciliation person on the planet,
and oh my gosh, like just getting me to actually
like take a picture of a receipt and file in
the index of what where it belongs to is nigh

(37:36):
into getting a third grader to do math and just
high thing what's happening outside my door here. But anyway,
so I think, you know, I'm happy about that. What
else has changed maybe for the better. Obviously, I think
we have a better operating budget, so I think we

(37:58):
can go and do some things that we're probably doing
a salt Lake, but we can continue to do it.
And you know, the demon infrastructure. You miss that, Like
there's some things about that I didn't think. I didn't
realize I missed it at salt Lake, Like you know,
like a really big training room, you know, and someone
who does the equipment stuff and and you know, it's

(38:20):
just facilities that like are legit, you know, like a
really nice swimming pool and like anyway, I just you know,
academic advisors didn't have that in the outlet department at
salt Lake. You know, I was supposed to wear all
those hats. I don't know how to get a job.
I did wearing all of them, but I tried, so
all those things really, I mean, just really take the
load off. I mean my day really consists of you know,
coaching and writing workouts and you know, meeting individually with

(38:44):
athletes and recruiting and a few you know, high level conversations,
and I let the people around me do the things
that they do best.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
So said, your day consists of part of your day
consists of writing workouts. Was it as easy as take
the workout some so I like and bring with you
or is it a whole different ballgame? You know?

Speaker 1 (39:07):
I don't know. I really haven't asked those questions to
other coaches before. I actually would be curious to know
what they've done when they've gone to other places. Certainly,
I harkened back to my pero. I keep tracking my
purianization on a Google sheet, and I write every workout out,
and then after every workout happens, I actually go back
and give it a code green, yellow, are red. Green
means they've been better than my expectations. Yellow means it

(39:30):
was kind of it happened, it was fine, nothing great,
nothing bad. And red means Isaac, you're an idiot, like
you know, reread Jack Daniel's running formula or something or
a quick your job now, And so I did. So
that helps me because I think that that allows me to,
you know, go back and see what works and what didn't.

(39:50):
So I took that last year's and the year before,
and I saw when I did things and said I
like that workout, then I like that workout. Then I'm
gonna do something different here because of our situation. Maybe
the volume changes for the men women because men ran
only run eight k, women only ran five k at
the juical level. So we got to do a little
bit more work on the women's side and a lot
more on the men's to get to ten k from

(40:12):
a volume perspective, that kind of stuff. So some some
plug and play things. Some things I'm reimagining working with
a new assistant coach and maybe using her background knowledge
and things that she does well to help me, maybe
uplint in some practicings as well.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
Has recruiting changed it all from the juco perspective to
now a D one? Does your approach change it all?

Speaker 1 (40:31):
My approach is the same as like, this is who
I am, this is how I coach. The profile of
who we recruits pretty different. I mean, I'm recruiting still
a lot of Utah kids because my ties are there,
right And I think you taught kids spit well in
the academic and athletic profile pacifics. That's good and I
think I can continue a pipeline there. But you know,

(40:51):
it's definitely not like you know, I mean religion Utah.
Within a probably twenty minute drive of me, you could find,
you know, thirty guys under thirty in the two miles
and thirty women under eleven thirty, you know, or or
thirty guys under four twenty five and thirty women under
five twenty you know, Like like, yeah, I don't have
that per se. The definitely Utie is crazy. And so

(41:13):
from a recruiting perspective, I'm not doing as many home
visits and that kind of stuff. Yet I just feel
also like, dude, I spent all summer just trying to
get kids to come for this year. Then now I've
got to kind of now that my team this year,
I kind of got to reset in my brain a
little bit. I got to reji in myself, reframe it
and and kind of get after the the class of
twenty six and in this upcoming years group and uh.
And so it's changed in the sense I don't know

(41:34):
if I quite have the the local highs yet, but
I'm working on them. And and my assistant coach is
actually from the area. That was a big reason why
she she got hired. I think she adds a little
bit of that connectivity there, and but the pitch is
the same and the way everyone the program is the same,
and so that's that there's maybe the contrasting things.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
I know, Well, I'm excited. You guys are go in
Hawaii next next to it?

Speaker 1 (42:00):
Two weeks, Yeah, yeah, in two weeks. Yeah, I hope
I get to go. My wife might be My wife
is very very very pregnant, so uh, there's a chance
I don't get to go on that trip, and that's okay.
I'd rather beat it for the baby. I think we
all would. But you know, if I but if it's
not here yet, I think I'll plan on going. But
Hawaii will be a good trip. It's a good alter

(42:23):
sustaining opportunity and you know, a good way to kind
of keep things rolling and have a kind of a
meat that feels a little bit less pressure, which is good.
And then we'll hit Griac big meat Minnesota tough course,
and then we have a little bit easier course that
brought at our home meet and the Bronco win Vie
is ripping fast, and then conference at West Coast Conferences

(42:44):
in Spokane and then regionals up the road in Sacramento,
and you just never know, maybe we get somebody to Nationals.
So that's how it goes. That's the season. Okay.

Speaker 2 (42:53):
And I guess you said in conferences in Pullmans and
Washington states in there now.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah, no, yes, Washington State, Oregon State because that got
R in the conference for another year, and then they'll
go to the PAC twelve. Okay, okay, something's open up
for us a little bit in that regard to this
was some good schools, some good programs, So I'll be
happy to slide into some of those slots that they
are leaving, hopefully.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Did you have to do your recruiting pitch to get
your wife who was expecting to make the movie?

Speaker 1 (43:30):
It was great, it was It was a strong recruiting pitch. Yeah, no,
for sure. I mean it was not an easy decision
in that regard. Yeah. Yeah, changing insurance is mid mid pregnancy,
and yeah, medical providers and changing schools for a third grader,
you know stuff. But here we are, right, yeah, man,

(43:50):
we're doing it. We're doing the thing.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
Is there any culture shock for you and the family.
I know you said you spent time in Stockton.

Speaker 1 (43:59):
It's been more than I thought I would like to
admit like just you know, not even like a not
even like big things, which is like little things having
to stress about where you put your thermostat at you know,
like dude, and Utah just said that thing of seventy one,
I still paid like one hundred bucks a mother don't care.

Speaker 3 (44:17):
You know.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
Here, if I set that thing of seventy one for
so the day, I think I'd be, you know, spending
a mortgage payment on my power bill. I think, you know,
there's is just a smaller things. I think obviously Utah
California are different, and so I think there's been some
a little bit of culture stock. But you know, we've
been here monthish and so it's getting better and have
a good community here already. Nice thing about being remember

(44:41):
the all this faith is the community is strong wherever
you go, wherever you live. It's organized so kind of
have an instant builting a committee for the church. It's
a nice too, Cook.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
Is there anything about the University of the Pacific that
we haven't spoke on that you want our audience to know.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
I've never been a part of univer who's academic side
of the school is is as invested as they are
in athletics never have. They are so invested in fact.
In fact, they have like a university like intentional outreach
program with like various members of the executive team, vice

(45:21):
presidents of the of the college, things like that who
are assigned to a sport, not a faculty athletic rep. No,
that's the thing you have to have in double A
for you each university. But this is like people who
are like vice presidents of student affairs or vice president
of this thing, who are assigned to your sport and
they meet with you once a month to make sure
you're okay and that you got everything you need. Like
that is cool. That doesn't happen Like that is such

(45:43):
a really neat concept for me to be a part
of a university who just really cares about athletics not much.
It's awesome.

Speaker 3 (45:52):
Yeah, that is definitely a plus. Yeah, coach, we did
the final flour with you not too long ago, so
I don't want to go into that. But I have
one kind of non running question for you. You said
you did your mission work for LDS in Stockton. Do

(46:12):
you have any funny stories about, you know, going going
door to door and people not being too happy with you?

Speaker 1 (46:21):
Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, I mean, this is
this is a long story I'll keep incredibly short. But
like I had a guy stick a gun to my
head and make me buy him beer a cigarettes as
a Mormon missionary. I bought my first tollve pack of
beer in my first art and cigarettes in my life
and only to be fair as a as a Mormon missionary.
So you know, when the guy, when the guy does

(46:43):
that to you, you just do what they say, you know,
you just kind of say, sure, just don't kill me.
So yeah, that's a fun little morsel. I don't have
too much PTSD from that, thankfully actually, So that's otherwise
it would have been hard to move back here. But
I've I'm okay, I made We're glad you made it
me too, Thanks.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
Coach, Thank you for your time tonight. Can't wait to
follow you and the program Aery Bros. Expect big things
from y'all and we know you're gonna do some big things.
So excited to see what you guys got going on
down the pipe.

Speaker 1 (47:22):
Thank you very up. Let's get it. Let's get it
go on, huh your PRG Absolutely coach.

Speaker 2 (47:26):
Good luck this week and good luck with the season.
And also we didn't say that when you mentioned it,
but congratulations as well. So we hope everything works out well.
And you know, timing is right, so maybe baby comes
before and then maybe you can get on that plane
and do the meet or just after you get back.
You know, it always works out. So best of luck
to you and we do appreciate you, so thank you

(47:47):
for your time tonight.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
Thanks gus appreciate you absolutely.

Speaker 2 (47:51):
All Right, ladies and gentlemen, that is it for the
air Bros this week. We will be back next week.
We will be doing a little bit across country and
track and fields. We'll also be doing a little bit
of wrestling, so uh, stay tuned. We will be back
on Wednesday and Thursday. Next week. I have a cross
country meet on Tuesdays that I need to attend. I'll
be doing my own coaching duties, so uh we'll catch
you all on Wednesday. Have a great weekend.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
H h