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.
Ever wonder if you should (or could) transition from coaching track and field to working in the business world? Bryan joins us today to talk about his transition; he coached in spots such as Cal-Berkely, Ranger JC, Harvard, Missisippi State and spent the last 8 years as the Director of Track & Field/CC at the University of Virginia. He knows co-owns a business, works different projects with super agent Paul Doyle, and consults with federations around the world.
Coach Blue is the throws coach at Cal State Pomona for the past few years. We had a blast learning about his time as an undergraduate at Fresno State and Cal State-Northridge. Did you know he played rugby? Learn this and more about his time at Southern Arkansas University and now the impact he's having at Cal Poly-Pomona.
Had a blast today getting to know Adam, the sprints/hurdle coach at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. He has had some amazing success these past few years including having a men's 4x100 run sub 39 seconds! Today we talk about how he got started in track and field, his journey through the junior college track route and what coaching means to him as it relates to his family responsibilities. Heads up, had a bit of audio trouble, but if you can ignore that and get through to the end there's a specific challenge to all track and field coaches around the country.
When the NCAA track and field season was cut short in the middle of March, Marissa sprang into action. She created a Facebook group on March 17th titled 'Coaches Collab'. Her goal was to bring a few coaches in her network together to recreate the exchange of information that occurs on a yearly basis at the USTFCCCA Convention. What started with 20 coaches quickly blossomed to 50 then 100. Almost over night it exploded to 1000 coaches and now participation sits at over 1,800+ track and field coaches from around the world! In today's episode we sit down with Marissa to talk about the many positive interactions that have occurred so far and talk about her motivation for starting the group. We're so proud of Marissa stepping up and leading in a time of uncertainty and are proud to bring you her story.
Hassaan is the assistant track coach for sprints, hurdles, and relays at ETSU for the past 7 seasons. In today's episode, Hassaan takes us back to his days in the famed Quicksilver Track Club as well as a real special time during his athletic career at the University of Tennessee. I was touched by his sharing of how his promising professional career was cut short by a freak accident, yet he was able to find his real passion in coaching track and field. You're going to enjoy getting to know Hassaan as he is going to continue putting his fingerprint on the landscape of our great sport in many positive ways. Enjoy!
You do NOT want to miss this episode! Today you'll hear about the importance of second chances and what a coach can do to turn around someone's life. Iggy is in his first year as the assistant coach in charge of jumps/pole vault/multis at Stanford University. Properly named Arthur Ignaczak, affectionately known as Iggy Oggy, he has coached high school through college and now in the Pac-12. We had a great time talking about his experiences at the Univ of Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, and Stanford, however we really got to the important stuff as we turned our attention to Iggy's upbringing in New Jersey. Enjoy!
Ernie is the associate head coach for the Eagles of Ashland and a total hurdle fanatic. Growing up running the hurdles in high school and college, he has become one of the top college hurdle coaches around. However, before coaching at Ashland he was a high school track coach for 14 years. We focused on the transition from coaching high school to coaching on the college level. Ernie discusses this transition really well and provides a lot of value for both current high school track coaches and current college coaches. Enjoy!
Lamont Johnson is the head coach of Johnson C. Smith University for the past two seasons. He has a long varied career path that you are going to find unique. We had a lot of fun, so much fun that we set two records! This goes down as the longest Connections podcast so far with a total run time of over 2 hours! We also absolutely set the record for most name drops as Mont has been blessed to be around some of the most amazing coaches in this great profession. It was my honor to bring you Mont's story and have no doubts this interview is going to touch you in many positive ways. Enjoy!
DJ is the assistant coach at his alma mater Houston Baptist University in charge of sprints, hurdles, and relays. He is really ingrained into the Houston track scene as he ran high school track in the greater Houston area as well as his collegiate career and now his coaching career. We talked about the uniqueness of the Houston track scene as well as what it was like to take a two-year jaunt up north (Valparaiso University) for his grad school program. Hope you enjoy this interview with one of the young up and coming collegiate track and field coaches. Enjoy!
Houston is in his first year at LSU as the head cross country coach after coaching several years at his alma mater Mississippi State. Success has followed Houston at every stop of his career and it's a short matter of time before his athletes are doing big things for the Tigers. In this episode we explore how Houston got into coaching, his philosophy on coaching distance, and even his extremely talented distance running wife. Enjoy!
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
