Oklahoma

The past few days I was in Oklahoma on a recruiting trip to OU for a potential 5th year of competition in grad school. Going into this I didn’t really know what to expect, since I had never gone on any of these trips, but I had a hunch that it would be pretty cool and a lot of fun. Now that I’m back, I can safely say that I am blown away the the OU cross country and track programs and would love to run for them next year. The team dynamic and the synergy between the entire team, including all of the coaches, is amazing and something I had never seen. Everyone just seemed to genuinely love each other, and the coaches, while able to maintain a professional demeanor when necessary, were included as family in the team brotherhood.

The whole trip was great but there were a couple events that really wooed me to this program. The first night, Coach Smith and his lovely wife Renee treated Kyle (my roommate/fellow recruit), Kevin Williams (guide for the trip) and Kevin’s roommate and team member Bill Kogel to a delicious dinner at a local steakhouse. After dinner we got our first insight into Coach Smith when he “held court” at the dinner table for an hour and a half. The man totally overwhelmed us and he really showed his love for running and the team. I came away from dinner thinking that this man belonged in the company of the great guru-coaches with men like Bowerman, Jumbo Elliot and Lydiard. His coaching record over the past 30+ years is incredible, as is his charisma and his infectious enthusiasm for the sport.

The next night for dinner, Coach Smith and Renee hosted the entire XC team plus the recruits (Kyle, myself and 3 freshman) for a great dinner where we bonded with the team. This was a great experience and I really noticed how well the team got along. This really sold me on coming here; by hanging out with the team and seeing their interactions, it was obvious that everyone got along with everyone else and really enjoyed their company, and the coaches were involved in the banter and company as well.

Overall this was an amazing trip. Tiring, busy and hectic but really a great experience. Before this visit I had never seen a team that got along so well. The nearly unlimited athletic budget, great meets to go to and environment for training and improvement didn’t really hurt either. Coach Smith was just great and made every effort to talk to us and let us know what we would be getting ourselves in to. He told us that to really be successful in the program, we would have to buy into it, and who am I to argue with his kind of success? He took the team from nothing to 5th in the country in XC in 6 years, and has coached 274 All-Americans! Not many coaches have that kind of track record. I would love to be a Sooner next year!