My writing on a great coach

I love to write, especially when I get to investigate and analyze and then tell a story. It's how I make a living, although much of my writing for work isn't the most interesting thing to read (or sometimes even write).

That's one reason I love Simplot Games -- I get to write about sports, and interview some of the most fascinating people. In my 13th year with the Games, I'm to the point that I get to pick and choose what I'll write about before the event. This year, I chose to write about longtime high school track coach Tony Wells, who is receiving the Spirit of the Games Award, a very high honor.

I interviewed him yesterday and wrote the article this morning. When I was done, I felt like I really nailed it. I wanted Tony to review it for accuracy, but Tony doesn't use e-mail, so I called him at his home in Colorado this afternoon and read it to him over the phone. I thought it would be awkward, but it was a really cool experience. He clarified a few things and expanded on some stories as I read. As I read the last sentence, I told him, "That's it. What do you think?"

The phone was quiet for a moment. Then he told me: "Wow. That is very nice. Much more than I expected. Thank you." Who says I don't get paid for volunteering at the Games?

Here's the article, in case you'd like to read about the great Coach Tony Wells:


Demonstrating the Spirit of the Games
Coach Tony Wells of the Colorado Flyers
by Jason Bohne

For all of his accolades and awards, and all the medals and recognition his athletes have received during his 38 years in track and field, Tony Wells continues to coach for one reason.

“I have fun watching kids grow up, believe in themselves, and get an education. It makes me feel worthy, like I did something,” Wells says, then pauses. “I love it.”

A recent recounting of his athletes’ successes includes numerous records and championships, but Wells’ pride is evident as he talks about college scholarships and the number of doctors, lawyers, and other professionals who once ran for his Colorado Flyers team.

It’s this dedication to mentoring and teaching young athletes, along with his 32-year commitment to Simplot Games that make Tony Wells the 2010 recipient of the Spirit of the Games Award.

“I had a tear in my eye when they called,” Wells confesses. “It’s been a great experience. I’m so proud to receive this award.”

Wells began bringing the Colorado Flyers to Pocatello when the event was known as the Bennion Games (it became Simplot Games in 1979). They have been back every year since.

“I was looking for a place for my kids to compete,” Wells says. “Back then it was us and the Canadians. When people would ask about Simplot Games, I would tell them that this small place in Idaho has the best meet in the country. Now they all come.”

The proximity to his home base in Colorado and the fast track kept the Games in his mind. But it was the way he and his teams were treated that kept the Games on his schedule.

“They run a great meet,” Wells says. “And the people in Pocatello have always been so nice. The whole town reached out to us and was so nice to the kids. It’s gotten better each and every year.

“We’ve always had a great time. It’s great exposure, and a great experience.”

Wells is renowned as the sport’s foremost authority on sprints, hurdles, and jumps – a legend burnished by his work with many great high school girls, including Aleisha Latimer, Yolanda Johnson, Cheryl Smith, Pam Greene, Dominique Calloway, Alexis Joyce, Ashley Owens, the Newsome sisters (Collinous and Cynthia), and many more.

When asked for his secret to speed, Wells laughs: “I was lucky, got good runners.”

Then, however, Wells turns serious.

“It’s all about two components, stride-length and stride frequency,” he says, demonstrating his technical chops. “You need to optimize one and enhance the other.”

Wells built his career on that concept, which is simple to say, not so simple to do. He has been a dedicated student of the sport, learning as much as he could to fully understand the technique, angles, and strategy that unlock this dynamic duo of performance.

“I crave knowledge,” he says. “I’ve read everything I could find. I’ve talked to all the great coaches, men like Ed Temple, Loren Seagrave, Gary Winkler, Brook Johnson. I read personal profiles of the great athletes (he admits sneaking into the Olympic training lab in Colorado Springs to do that). I’ve taken what I could use and put it all together.”

His reading material included hundreds of scientific articles from Russia, East Germany, Italy, and other foreign powers. He often had to translate them on his own with a pocket translator.

“I was crazy,” Wells said. “I was a nut for knowledge. And I’m still not afraid to say I don’t know something and call for help. I’ll call ten coaches if it’ll help my kids. I have no shame in that.”

A certified Master Coach (one of about 25, out of more than 38,000 track coaches in the U.S.), he has pioneered testing and workouts that are now standards. And he generously shares his knowledge through clinics, speaking engagements, and published articles and videos.

“I keep it scientific,” he says. “If we can pick up a hundredth (of a second) here and a tenth there with some small adjustments, they add up to a big difference.”

Those small adjustments have added up to at least 50 national records from the more than 2,000 athletes he’s coached, plus countless state championships, college scholarships, and other honors.

When asked how many Simplot Games’ medals his athletes have hauled back to Colorado, Wells thinks, then laughs: “A bunch.” (An unofficial count is more than 125 medals, with at least 50 golds.)

The Games’ record book has listed the names of many Flyers, including two whose records appear unassailable in the near-term: the shot put record of Collinous Newsome (51’ 5-3/4”) set in 1994, and the sublime 60-meter record of 7.19 seconds run by Ashley Owens in 2004 – still the national record.

He can vividly describe favorite Simplot memories, such as Aleisha Latimer’s stunning 60-meter win over the great Angela Williams in 1997 (which, Wells notes, was almost repeated by Alexis Joyce in 1998), or hurdle-specialist Dominique Calloway’s jaw-dropping victory over LaTasha Colander in the 200 meters in 1994.

For all the success of his athletes on the track, however, Wells is most satisfied with their success off of it.

“It’s not about winning as much as it’s about getting another opportunity in life, getting the chance to better themselves,” he says. “We took girls who had nothing, and through track and field we gave them the chance for a better education and a better life. I feel good about that.”

That’s what makes Tony Wells a great coach and a great man, and someone who truly demonstrates the Spirit of the Games.