Stay ConnectedUnlock the world of track & field coaching with The Gill Connections Podcast! Host Mike Cunningham brings you inspiring stories, real conversations, and coaching insights from leaders at every level. Discover a new coach’s interview every Monday. Plus, don’t miss the Ted Talks of track/field podcasts with our NEW Gill1918 Project episodes Tuesday-Sunday — short, powerful lessons from top coaches to help you grow on and off the track.
Powered by Gill Athletics — Supporting Coaches Since 1918.
Coach Will, Coach Lonnie, and A. Lew from the awesome Beyond The Blocks Track & Field Podcast took some time to share their experience as coaches and parents of athletes in three key areas of the college recruiting process. Their advice is real, practical, and able to be implemented right away. Athletes, coaches and parents will all benefit from these quick tips! You can enjoy their insightful and entertaining in-depth T&F interviews on YouTube and Instagram.
Got a topic you'd love to share with our Youth T&F audience? Contact David Mitchell to learn how.
Some conversations go long.
This one goes deep.
In this episode, Rita Gary, head coach at Furman University, delivers a masterclass on leadership, accountability, and what it actually takes to build something meaningful in today’s NCAA landscape.
From her early influences as a young athlete to becoming a Division I head coach at just 24 years old, Rita shares how her leadership philosophy was shaped—and how it continues to evolve.
Despite a shorter conversation than usual, this episode is packed with insight for coaches who care about:
💬 Rita breaks down her leadership framework—awareness, action, and accountability—and how it applies to both athletes and coaches at every level.
💬 She also shares how Furman became a national contender by focusing on people, not just performance.
💬 And she doesn’t shy away from tough conversations about the current state of college athletics.
This is one of those episodes you’ll want to run back a second time.
🔥 Key Takeaways:
🗣️ Quote from Rita: “Culture keeps the right people in—and it pushes the wrong people out.”
👉Dive into nearly 400 episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on Twitch.tv, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more!🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode:Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs Tuesdays through Sundays. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.📲 Stay Connected:Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍
Lyle Smith gives us an insider's look at his new book "Blood, Sweat & Spikes: Running the Wetmore Way" on today's Gill1918 Project episode.
Check out his book at the Amazon link above; here's the description for this exciting new book for our exciting sport!
At the height of the first American Running Boom, a small town in New Jersey emerged as a magical place in the sport. Tiny Bernardsville, in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey produced dozens of local, state, age-group, and national champions and claimed a place in the pantheon of American distance running. A junior program fed a high school team of boys and girls that claimed legend status. Before he was one of the best collegiate distance running coaches on the planet, Mark Wetmore was the young, ambitious, experimental coach of this program. BLOOD, SWEAT & SPIKES is one story of one of those runners in that town and the people who made it unique in the history of the sport.
I'm throwing a birthday party for myself and YOU'RE INVITED! My friends at Glazier Clinics are hosting a FREE Virtual Track and Field Clinic with some of the best coaches around (BYU, TCU, Under Armour, and more!) on July 24 and 25 and I want you to be there.
Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mV2Pd0Share it with a friend!
To help you see the quality of these presentations, and to celebrate the upcoming July clinic, here is the first part of one of the presentations from December. If you want to watch the full presentation go to Glazier Drive: https://production.glazierdrive.com/library
I'm throwing a birthday party for myself and YOU'RE INVITED! My friends at Glazier Clinics are hosting a FREE Virtual Track and Field Clinic with some of the best coaches around (BYU, TCU, Under Armour, and more!) on July 24 and 25 and I want you to be there.
Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mV2Pd0Share it with a friend!
To help you see the quality of these presentations, and to celebrate the upcoming July clinic, here is the first part of one of the presentations from December. If you want to watch the full presentation go to Glazier Drive: https://production.glazierdrive.com/library
I'm throwing a birthday party for myself and YOU'RE INVITED! My friends at Glazier Clinics are hosting a FREE Virtual Track and Field Clinic with some of the best coaches around (BYU, TCU, Under Armour, and more!) on July 24 and 25 and I want you to be there.
Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mV2Pd0Share it with a friend!
To help you see the quality of these presentations, and to celebrate the upcoming July clinic, here is the first part of one of the presentations from December. If you want to watch the full presentation go to Glazier Drive: https://production.glazierdrive.com/library
I'm throwing a birthday party for myself and YOU'RE INVITED! My friends at Glazier Clinics are hosting a FREE Virtual Track and Field Clinic with some of the best coaches around (BYU, TCU, Under Armour, and more!) on July 24 and 25 and I want you to be there.
Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mV2Pd0Share it with a friend!
To help you see the quality of these presentations, and to celebrate the upcoming July clinic, here is the first part of one of the presentations from December. If you want to watch the full presentation go to Glazier Drive: https://production.glazierdrive.com/library
Summer is a former NC HS all-state hurdler whose collegiate career at NC Central and UNC Charlotte recently ended earlier than expected due to medical retirement. She shares her insights on her transfer portal experience and reflections on the highs, the lows, and the inherent beauty of experiencing both in a sport she dearly loves. This is a great episode for athletes, coaches, and parents to hear! Connect with Summer on IG (@shesosummer -- personal) and (@ssummer.studioss -- creative arts business).
If you've got a topic to share with our youth T&F audience, contact David Mitchell to learn more.
There are episodes… and then there are full-circle moments.
This week on the Gill Connections Podcast, Mike sits down with Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Woods — a former athlete he once coached — for a conversation that spans mentorship, adversity, growth, and what it really means to build a program and a life.
Chris opens up about his journey from a late-start high school athlete to SEC head coach, including the pivotal moments that shaped him — getting kicked out of school, discovering track, and the coaches who stayed consistent when he needed it most.
The conversation goes deeper than X’s and O’s. Chris shares the reality of getting fired (twice), navigating uncertainty, and how those moments ultimately positioned him for the opportunity he has today leading one of the premier programs in the country.
At its core, this episode is about impact — the kind coaches have on athletes… and the kind athletes can have on coaches years later.
🔑 In this episode:
🔥 How one year as an athlete under Mike Cunningham helped shape Chris’s path🔥 The power of consistency from coaches during a young athlete’s toughest years🔥 Getting fired, staying in the profession, and turning setbacks into stepping stones🔥 Why competition — not times — is what truly matters🔥 The moment Chris realized he had to stay at Mississippi State🔥 Transitioning from athlete → assistant → SEC head coach
“If I’m going to be successful, I can’t do it by myself.” – Chris Woods
👉Dive into nearly 400 episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on Twitch.tv, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more!
🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode:
Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs Tuesdays through Sundays. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.
📲 Stay Connected:
Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍
I'm throwing a birthday party for myself and YOU'RE INVITED! My friends at Glazier Clinics are hosting a FREE Virtual Track and Field Clinic with some of the best coaches around (BYU, TCU, Under Armour, and more!) on July 24 and 25 and I want you to be there.
Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04mV2Pd0Share it with a friend!
To help you see the quality of these presentations, and to celebrate the upcoming July clinic, here is the first part of one of the presentations from December. If you want to watch the full presentation go to Glazier Drive: https://production.glazierdrive.com/library
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