Coaches Job from The Athletes Perspective

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Miles Gutzman

The track and field team has recently hired Coach James Thierfelder, a former Belmont Abbey track and field athlete who is now a well-respected and very dedicated coach with many records to his name that hopes to advance the program further. This past year he graduated and accepted a job to help coach the track teams sprinters. I got the chance to interview him and get an insight into the key differences he has noticed and experienced since becoming a coach for his past team.

“What influenced you to want to become a coach?” 

“I wanted to offer the skill and knowledge I learned from being a part of the team along with bringing a new sense of coaching and further developing the team’s abilities.” 

Previous teammates of Coach James stated that he has experience in his training through practicing as a teammate, proving his form of practice has been very beneficial.

With the freshman class coming in, the team has picked up a handful of talented athletes in all events that have come to further their abilities and help improve the team’s ranking. One freshman athlete, Miles Gutzman, is a long jumper and short sprinter from Marietta, GA. Miles’ personal records include 21ft 11.75″ in the long jump and 11.3 seconds in the 100 meters. He hopes to increase both of these personal records substantially and possibly even break the school long jump record of 22ft 5 1/4″ in the up-and-coming season with the help of Coach Dan, Coach Tomas, and Coach James.

Many more outstanding freshman athletes add to the amazing team, steadily improving and performing to the best of their ability. With these athletes coming to the school, providing their strengths, and being guided by amazing coaches, there is no doubt that the team will finish conference ranked higher than ever before.

This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.