The path to greatness never begins alone. Coaches have always had a monumental impact on the development and turnout of the players they have taught. Track and field coach, Bryan Griffin, has been coaching for 23 consecutive years, and from the attitude and tone of his players, hopefully he doesn’t stop for at least two more decades.

“I’ve thrown for about four years now,” junior, Jahlid Manly, said. “I used to throw at my old school in Indiana. I’ve had a few coaches teach me, but I can honestly say that Coach Griffin is the best coach I have had because of the way he encourages us and teaches us to be more focused.”

Manly has had the experience of throwing at conference meets and competing against other athletes, but he knows that none of it would be possible without his mentor.

“I would say that you can tell when a coach is new at this or not, and it is pretty clear that [Coach Griffin] is extremely experienced,” Manly said.

Coach Griffin manages the field aspect of track and field; he carries a tremendous amount of experience and uses it to help teach his players. Junior and first year thrower, Cyler Meredith, admits that Coach Griffin has had an incredible impact on his development.

“In the beginning I was really bad, but he’s helped me to improve a lot. My technique has gotten better and coach has taught me how to keep my head up, both figuratively and literally. My confidence level has grown and he helped me to stay calm at competitions,” Meredith said.

There are many different coaching styles, and one would argue that a great coach knows how to talk to each player differently in a way that would apply to them. Coach Griffin knows how to get to every player together on the team.

“When you coach, you don’t just teach them at school,” Griffin said. “You get involved in their daily lives and with that experience, you feel more confident as a coach and are able to make even more of an impact,”

Senior, Brandon Kreemer, has thrown for over five years, and he’s worked with Coach Griffin for each one. Kreemer agrees with the coach’s assessment of the importance of his job, and thinks he does it well.

“I mean, he’s had 100% of an impact on my performance. He’s taught me literally everything I know about throwing. Coach is strong, motivated, and committed. He comes out and deals with us every day, and his coaching style makes it a lot easier to learn from him,” Kreemer said.

People tend to take for granted the amount of time and hard work that a coach puts into his players, team, and practices, but it is not something that anyone should take lightly. Coach Griffin was constantly stretched thin in his years as a coach. Most people don’t even know that for about fifteen years he was just a volunteer coach with no paycheck.

“A coach had asked me to help and once I became involved I just couldn’t stop,” Griffin said. “Coaching makes life easier because you feel better and you get to become involved with students and players. You have a significant impact on them.”

One could argue that coaching is one of the most important parts of every sport. Coaches are responsible for molding an athlete’s talent and hard work into a set of skills that they can use to better their performance in whatever activity they participate in, which is why Coach Griffin’s role in the track and field program cannot be stressed enough.