A Look Back at My Coaches
- rickdmoore
- Jun 20
- 5 min read
Hard to believe that I've been running for over fifty years. What's not hard to believe is that I know I wouldn't be where I am today with both running and my life if not for several amazing coaches.
Looking back, while each had their strengths and weaknesses, I can't actually "rate" them. I say this for a couple reasons. One, I've admired every coach I've ever had, making such an act akin to rating family or close friends. And two, frankly, I can't recall enough about details to make a fair assessment.
But what I do remember is what counts most in my mind. That being:
Could they motivate or inspire me?
Did I improve while working with them?
Were they someone I liked as a person?
With those criteria in mind, let's take a look at the coaches from my past.
Frank Good - Cross Country & Track Coach/ Sutherlin High School. (9-75 to 5-79). The man who was always known to me as “Coach.” Even seeing him decades later, I could not bring myself to call him by any other name. And for good reason. It was Coach Good who took a gawky, goofy freshman who was dumb enough to run his first workout in full sweats in eighty-degree heat and four seasons later, have that same kid receiving letters from colleges about joining their cross-country teams. Nor was it just me. His coaching transformed a collection of oddball runners into district champions. No question his training techniques helped get us there. But the key ingredient stemmed from Coach Good simply being one of the most respected and most beloved teachers at Sutherlin High. You simply did not want in any way to let him down.
I can say in all confidence that more than anyone else on this list, Frank Good's coaching changed my life. Without it, I wouldn’t have developed my passion for running, opening doors to a future I simply would never have known.
Ron Alexander - Cross Country & Track Coach/Umpqua Community College (9-79 to 5-81). This one’s difficult. I say that because as people go, I probably liked Ron more than anyone else on this list. I believe that he actually cared about each of us on his teams. I also think he made a valiant effort to get the absolute best out of his athletes. But if I’m being completely honest, the only improvements I had in my times under his coaching were when I started Cross Country as a freshman. I did not run any faster in the three subsequent seasons. If my memory is accurate, the workouts seemed repetitious, becoming rather stale. The ultimate frustration is that I feel as though I came up short in what I delivered for Coach Alexander and UCC’s programs.
Don Spinas - Cross Country & Track Coach/Western Oregon State College (9-81 to 5-82). “Stop sandbagging, Moore!” I had no idea what the hell that meant, but hearing this crabby, nasal-voiced older guy yelling it at me was all I needed to hear to shift to a higher gear in that first cross country meet for WOSC. After two years of the easygoing Ron Alexander, Coach Spinas’s abrupt manner felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over me. Coming off a minor surgery, I wasn't in as good of shape as I wanted to be, causing him to question if I intended to be on the team or was just hanging around. Being a bit more assertive at that point of my life, I told him that I'd be fine by the time we had our first meet. Which proved true.
His workouts introduced to me the concept of “Hard Day/Easy Day.” Meaning after tough, demanding workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays, he wanted us running as a group on Tuesdays and Thursdays, talking the entire time. Not only good for our bodies from a recovery standpoint, but also a perfect means of bonding as a team. (I took the liberty of trying out a few comedy sketches during a few of these runs. While my degree did not change, I did manage to cause one teammate to laugh so hard that they rolled into a ditch.)
Another concept I first learned at WOSC was quality over quantity. Whereas at UCC, we’d run twice a day, my new coach looked at me as if I’d arrived from a foreign planet when I asked him how many miles I needed to run each morning. “Hard Day/Easy Day” clearly applied to the number of miles as well - much to the appreciation of every muscle in my legs.
What impressed me most about Coach Spinas was his simply telling me to shorten my stride - continuing reminding me to do so until it became routine. That technique cut nearly 40 seconds off my 5K time. Although he had me double most of the time in Track (something I really hated doing), there were meets where he let me run a single race with the idea that he expected me to have a solid race - which I would.
Given all the incredibly talented athletes he'd worked with at not just WOSC, but an earlier stint under Bowerman at Oregon, I doubt Coach Spinas remembered me once I left WOSC. We may not have bonded as much as other coaches on this list, but damn, that old guy knew his stuff.
Norm Eburn - Cross Country & Track Coach/Western Oregon State College (9-82-5-83). Talk about a transition. Coach Eburn, who took over as the WOSC Cross Country coach for my senior year of college, was much younger than any of the other coaches I’d ever had. I had to quickly adjust to hair that was a good deal longer than mine. But he wasted no time establishing a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm. Our workouts were varied and wicked. We’d go from hills to track repeats to whatever it took to coax more speed out of us. It was fortunate that the cross-country team that year was easily the most talented I’d been on in college because Coach Eburn's plan was for each of us to run 25-minutes or faster for the 5-mile District meet. I didn’t quite make that time, but our top three runners did. And that final race still ended up being my best 5-miles ever. I didn’t get to spend as much time with him in Track as I was late joining the team (thanks to student teaching). I know that given what my friends have said about subsequent seasons, I wish I’d had the opportunity to have been under his guidance for more than one year.
I also have to share that Coach Eburn was honest. When he’d tell us that an upcoming practice would be a “ball buster,” let’s just say that following said workout, that was about the only body part below the belt that didn’t ache.
I’ve been fortunate to be able to participate in and enjoy long distance running as I have over these past five decades. A huge portion of the thanks goes out to each of these individuals. That’s my story. What about you? I would enjoy hearing about any coaching stories you have to share - as an athlete or as a coach. You can do some in the comments below or on Facebook.
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