Are you a system coach or do you adjust to the individual? Can success be had with both?
Below is a story from a traditionally “system” coach about two athletes who needed very individual approaches to reach the heights of elite individual performance.
Class 3A State 1600 Meter Final, Senior Year – 400 Meters to go: As the final bell rings for Albert Meier and Chandler Austin in the 1600 meter run, the teammates trail Thomas Pollard from Gilbert.
2011: I met Chandler when he was an 8th grader. I was coaching his older brother, Brogan. Always self-confident to the point of being cocky, Chandler would always tell me he was going to be the greatest runner in state history. Brogan gave me multiple heads-up that Chandler was flighty and likely would not do the work. I was also traveling an hour to coach at Boone as a volunteer. Somehow Chandler convinced me that I should stay. I agreed on one condition: he had to show up for every workout and do exactly as I said. The summer before his freshman year he started putting in the work. And work he did, day after day. Along the way, a small black kid with a massive afro started showing up from time to time. Albert was Chandler’s best friend, and Chandler had convinced him to give cross country a chance. He looked like he had a little talent, but was hit or miss on workouts and would not always complete them even if he was there. The cross country and track seasons played out with some fanfare, but nothing earth shattering. Chandler finished 11th in the state cross country meet with Albert in the middle of the pack. Chandler would also go on to qualify for the Drake Relays in the 3200 meter run, as well as competing in that event at the state meet.
300 Meters to go: Two days earlier, Pollard had run an all-time best in the 3200 of 8:50 to hold off Austin’s 8:51. Albert and Chandler accelerate past Pollard and begin to get some separation on the backstretch as the crowd begins to rise.
2012: As a sophomore, Chandler knew he had goals he wanted to accomplish. This time he was committed to bringing Albert along with him. A scooter and a gravel road had other plans. Albert crashed hard on his leg and would miss the entire summer of training. While Albert was recovering, Chandler was logging nearly 50 miles per week with multiple hill workouts each week. The strength would pay off for Chandler as he finished 3rd in the state cross country meet. Albert would battle back through the season to finish 11th. Chandler put together a strong winter of training while Albert competed in wrestling. Despite moving up a class in track, both boys would qualify for state in the 3200 meter run with Chandler also qualifying and scoring in the 1600 meter run.
200 Meters to go: The Boone duo made the final surge of their high school careers. Chandler powered ahead of Albert while Pollard fell back ever so slightly. Stadium announcer, Mike Jay, began rattling off their accolades. This was the 5th time the duo were attempting to finish 1-2 in a state individual event.
2013: The summer of their junior year everything began to click. Chandler was comfortably clicking off 60 mile weeks while Albert had grown 6 inches and was now gliding effortlessly through the workouts. While Chandler was busy knocking-out long runs and lots of hills, Albert took a more laid back approach. No long runs for him, his body did not tolerate them well. Hills? Sure, but only a fraction of what Chandler was doing. If Chandler was a Jeep, Albert was a Ferrari. There was no workout Chandler could not handle. By this point he had become a machine of strength. Albert remained the picture of finesse and ease. Chandler came out of the gate in cross country unstoppable, picking up win after win and course records around the state. Albert followed in hot pursuit, often finishing second to his teammate. 19 days before the state cross country meet, disaster struck. Chandler was diagnosed with mono. It was assumed his season was over. After several doctor visits he was given the go ahead to run at state despite his body being incredibly rundown. Against all odds, Chandler would go on to run a new Class 3A record time while Albert charged to the finish line moments later in 2nd place. A 1-2 finish rarely seen at the state level. The track season was more of the same with Albert and Chandler finishing 1-2 in the 3200 meter run. The 1600 meter run was the same but with a flipped order of finish.
100 Meters to go: Taking no chances, the duo hit their top gear as they came off the final turn. Albert took a quick peak over his shoulder to see where Pollard may be lurking. He was close, but the gap appeared to be widening. Meanwhile Chandler was also looking back, but he was searching for Albert. Would his teammate be there for them to close out their careers the way they had always talked about doing? His glance was met with a smile from Albert as both realized they were pulling away to victory.
2014: Senior year was filled with college visits, final high school moments, and the realization that every race held the last time for something. While Chandler once again poured on the miles, Albert remained reserved in his training. The boys had a long season ahead. They would compete at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis for the first time, finishing 4th and 5th against some of the best runners in the country. Albert rolled his ankle in the race, but we assumed it would heal in a few days. A week later we discovered he had an avulsion fracture that would not heal without rest. He would not run again for the final month of the season until the state meet. While Chandler stormed to victory in a stunning time of 15:05, Albert found himself dropping to the ground in agony throughout the race, the ankle in intense pain. Somehow he managed to find himself in a battle for 2nd with 50 meters to go. With the end in sight he managed to pull ahead to complete the back-to-back 1-2 finish. 30 minutes later they would find out that they had won the team title as well. Several weeks later the boys would both qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, OR. They were the only duo from the same high school to do so from the entire country.
Track and field held even more excitement. Albert would win an epic 5-person battle in the 3200 meter run at the Drake Relays while becoming the 1st Iowa high school boy to break 9:00 in the event, running 8:58. Chandler set the pace early but faded badly near the end. With state as a chance for redemption, Chandler chased Pollard around the track in the greatest distance race in Iowa history. Both runners would shatter Albert’s record time while running 8:50 and 8:51. Albert was left 50 meters back and jogged across the line in 3rd place with a still staggering time of 9:01. Chandler would go on to run 4:07 for 1600 at the St. Louis Festival of Miles, while Albert would run a state 5k record of 14:43 in Eugene, OR at the USATF Junior National Championships.
Despite their side-by-side finishes and close friendship, the two athletes rarely trained together. Chandler competed better off of longer workouts at a slightly slower pace than Albert. Albert would rip off crazy fast workouts of low overall density. He once ran a 2000 meter time trial in 5:20! Albert avoided long runs and often ran as little as 15-20 minutes on his recovery days. The key is that we learned what worked and we did not try to force something that would not work for either one. Despite what many would believe, the two athletes had finished together at the top of the state while taking entirely different paths to get there.
20 Meters to go: Looking at each other in the final few steps, they celebrated with arms in the air for the final time. While some, understandably, thought they were showing off, it really was the pure exuberance of crossing the line victorious for the final time as teammates. Neither remembered who won, but that hardly mattered. Two very different runners and people had combined for the greatest 1-2 punch in Iowa history. Cookies and Cream indeed.
Chandler Austin and teammate Albert Meier finishing 1-2 in a state championship race for the fifth and final time in their high school careers.