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RE-ANIMATION – SPONTANIETY AND CREATIVITY

June 19th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
The responses from my last two blog offerings, outlining the ineptitude, ignorance and arrogance of the current leadership of USA Track and Field in their handling of athletes’ interests and rights, has engendered a great deal of diverse ego boosting. I have been urged, with some urgency, to continue the clarification and criticism, but there are recent developments, that if followed to their logical conclusion(s), will create a major shake up at the highest levels of the organization and hopefully start us down a more productive path of athlete support. So lets see if these people can be as self righteous and self critical of their own misdeeds and unethical behavior  as they insisted that Marion Jones and Lashawn Merritt had to be as they were kicked to the curb by the very people who should have “had their back”.    

 

However, if the truth be known, something entered in to the mix before I sat down at the computer that totally soured me on scrutinizing these poor souls who simply do not “get it”, but smugly rest content that they are right and the rest of us are just plain uninformed and only they have the right to make decisions in the “best interest” of the rest of us in track and field. What happened was my watching an HBO documentary called MASTERCLASS. This particular segment dealt with Michael Tilson Thomas ( MTT ), classical musician extrodinaire, and conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra. He was shown interacting and briefly tutoring three young prodigies ( cello, violin, piano ). The whole process was very intriguing and enlightening on several levels, however, there was one thing he said that really threw me for a loop coming from a classical musician. As you know, in classical music, as opposed to jazz, the composer basically sets out everything to be played, and even uses certain words to describe how, and in what mood and manner, the piece is to be played. It is assumed that the performer essentially has little or no room for personal expression outside of what the composer indicated was demanded and required to maintain the integrity of what was written.

 

In direct opposition to this assumption, he advised the three prodigies that they needed be aware of the fact that they had to bring something of themselves to the music and not simply lay back and rely on the genius and brilliance of the composer to maximize the impact and message of the music. He advised them to re-animate the music and bring some spontaniety to it. Since the space allowed for this to happen is so small, the need for it was even greater and the talent needed to do this was even greater still. It made me harken back to something I tried to communicate to some hurdlers. I advised them that it was my job to define and lay out for them the hard science involved in their event. It was their job to understand and grasp what was required of them and use their talent to access and implement the science through their mental and phsyical gifts to the point that what they did became the definition of the event.

 

For me there are several athletes that were so good at what they did with their talent in their events, that they became the actual definition of their event. For example, when he was at his best, Allen Johnson was not only the best male hurdler in the world, he was actually the definition of the event. When you thought 110 meter hurdles on a conceptual level, you thought Allen Johnson. When I think middle distance running ( 800 – 10,000 ) I think Mary Decker. She was so good that she actually not only dominated, she defined, and at her best, was the actual definition of the event. The same can be said for Kip Keino and Jim Ryan at their best. These athletes were able to achieve this status because as MTT advised, they were able to re-animate something as cold and arbitrary as science and physical mechanics. They did this because they were able to bring a certain self-awareness and spontaneity to something, that in others, was merely repetitive and robotic. The result was that on a very gut level they were creative, and this creativity manifested itself as a kind of special charisma that each brought to their event, themselves and ultimately the sport.

 

I have witnessed this re-animation in several forms and not even recognized it for what it was/is. I remember in 1969 going to Moscow with the U and we were taken to the Bolshoi the very famous Russian ballet establishment. I remember the ballet performed that night was SWAN LAKE. I was immediatley caught up in the fact that it appeared to me that the good male dancers were able at the top of their leap to hold themselves aloft for a magic instant. For that briefest of interludes, they defied gravity’s pull on them and in so doing they were able to re-animate and create at teh same time. 

 
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I SAW JOHN CARLOS LAST WEEKEND

June 3rd, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
At the California Relays last weekend I ran into John Carlos. He was holding court in the lobby of the meet hotel and was regaling those present with sage and witty remarks about the sport and life and general. When he saw me he called me over and the following exchange took place:
Hey Brooks, I talked with your boy last night ( David Oliver 110M Hurdler ). I told him all about you. I told him about those parties you used to throw in Washington, D.C. after the meets.
John, did you tell him about the lights out parties ?
Hell yes ! I told him how when the party really started to swing and groove, I would go around and whisper in all the pretty little things’ ears not to leave. Then I would switch the lights on and off and announce that the party was over and ask all the people, especially the dudes,  to leave. When they would ask me where they were going to go that early, I would tell them, “Brother I do know or care where you go, but you got to leave from up in here.”.
Yeah and I remember telling you not to do it.
Yeah, but you didn’t say too much because you needed all the help you could get with your lame ass game. I made the odds better for you to get over with the ladies who stayed.
Yeah, you were right on that score at least.
Man, I was right on a lot of ( expletive ) ! You know that.
Yeah John I do. John, you were right on a lot of stuff.
During this exchange I had a flashback to 1968 and John and Tommie Smith standing on the Olympic victory podium in Mexico City with clenched fists stuffed into black gloves, raised into what some thought was a Black Power salute, while at the same time their heads were reverently bowed. I remember the first thought that flashed into my head, ” Those niggers are dead !!!”. That very same year we had lost Bobby Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King Jr to assassins’ bullets. Five years earlier we had lost President John F. Kennedy to an assassin’s bullets. Bottom line, life was cheap for those who challenged the status quo and took strong stands for civil and human rights. This was the case even at the highest levels society and politics, where life was worth no more than the black powder and lead it took to take it. That being the case, there was no doubt in my mind that John and Tommie had essentially committed suicide. After realizing this, I can feel the tingle sensation that took over my spine. I can still feel my back getting straighter and more rigid in a defiant manner. I can still feel the vicarious pride now, as then, knowing these very talented and brave young men, in my sport, were taking a stand, at very extreme, and probably fatal, risks against those who would take away legitimate rights, guaranteed by the law and constitution.
In the case under consideration for this effort, the law simply is this: Article 220524, which is derived directly from the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act
of 1979, and subsequent amendments, states clearly and without ambiguity that National Governing Bodies ( USATF among others ) shall:
Keep …..ATHLETES informed of policy matters matters and REASONABLY reflect the VIEWS of the athletes in its policy DECISIONS” ( emphasis mine ).
This language is repeated verbatim from the Ted Stevens Act and repeated without modification or change as part of the Governance Manual of USA Track and Field. So it is patently clear that athletes are expected to be participants and have their views reflected in any policy decisions that impact them. But just the opposite has brazenly taken place. Not only have basic rights and privileges of athletes, guaranteed by the USATF constitution, been disrespected and disregarded,…. funds earmarked and designated for the exclusive use and allocation by athletes have been transferred to the General Fund with control of these funds now away from athletes and in the hands of the CEO.
What we need to do here is to speculate on a couple of things. Under the previous regime the USATF budget was approximately 15 million dollars a year which was generally, but barely, met . It has been reported that the new CEO has submitted a budget of approximately 21 million dollars.. The logical and compelling question is, “Where is the money coming from to get from 15 to 21 million ?”   Is some of that void and shortfall covered by funds that were originally awarded and earmarked for athletes ? There certainly have not been any new sponsorships brought in to the tune of 5-6 million ( the rationale for approval of the current CEO was,….. despite the fact he had absolutely no background in the sport , he was supposed to have a FORTUNE 500 rolidex that he would use to greatly increase USATF sponsorship dollars).
It has been reported that the USATF High Performance Center at Chula Vista had a budget for athlete support to the tune of $ 900,000.00.. The USATF administrators there only spent approximately 300-400 thousand with approximately $500,000.00 unspent. Was this money, that was earmarked for athletes , reverted to the USOC, or did it find its way back into the General Fund of USATF ?  Bottom line, if the report is true, that is half a million dollars that was intended for athletes,…. that athletes never saw. Some one needs to address the questions this report raises.. Keep in mind that USATF has committed about half a million dollars a year for new staff compensation and benefits who are responsible for the High Performance aspect of USATF, while at the same time virtually none of the NIKE Project 30/12 money ( one million ) has been spent or awarded to athletes as of a week or so ago. This despite the fact that the announcement of the funding was made last summer to much fanfare and promise.  It seems USATF is much better at committing money to new staff, as opposed to athletes for whom the funds were intended in the first place. If the funding was approved as of last summer, and athletes have been training since October/November, in most cases for 2010, then why is it the proposed NIKE 30/12 funding only retroactive to January of 2010 ?  Does that mean that October, November, and December do not count ? Or is it a ploy to save on three months worth of funding in order to get more athletes’ money into the General Fund ? What happens to any NIKE Project 30/12 funds that are not awarded ? Does that money revert to NIKE ? Does it carry over to the next year and increase the 2011 funding ? Or does it get stuffed into the General Fund to cover the shortfall for 2010 and beyond ?
These questions and many more need answers that are not forthhcoming. For example, when questioned by the head of the Athlete’s Advisory Committee if the new head of High Performance accepted the fact that the position was established to work FOR athletes, the response was NO, for the head of High Performance the position was established to work in the “best interests” of athletes.  The next question becomes, how can a person who has been out of the sport for more than two decades, who is directed by a person who self-admitted to ” knowing nothing about the sport”, really feel either one can determine what is ” in the best interests” of athletes without athletes’ input before, during and after policy decisions are made ? Keep in mind the law mandates that no such decisions can be made that do not “reasonably relfect the views of the athletes”. Can either one of these people honestly and credibly declare they know what is “best” for athletes separate and apart from input from athletes themselves as a pre-audit ? What kind of abject arrogance would allow a person to even entertain such a thought ?  For example, Adam Nelson attended an Ivy League un
iversity, he has a graduate degree from another prestigious university. He has Olympic and World Championships’ medals in the shot put. Is he so void of intelligence in general, or of his event in particular, that he should/would not be consulted about what is good for his event, BEFORE decisions are made about policies and programs regarding his event ? The obvious answer to this question is pertinent, pervasive, and compelling, and applies to events across the board in the sport. My good friend, George Williams, head coach at St Augustine’s College and the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, frames it up very well.
If you are not in the hurdle, then you do not know the play !
At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of athletes to make sure that their rights and privileges are not abridged, misappropriated, or denied. In 2003 I saw an athlete lay down in the middle of the track at the World Championships in protest because he felt he was being unfairly singled out for unfair treatment . He was roundly criticized and chastised afterwards and took banishment from further competion at the meet. I remember feeling my spine tingle, and my back taking on a long lost erect attitude when he resorted to his last form of protest. When we met outside the stadium I shared with him my pride in the courage he demonstrated in taking on people who would arrogantly, arbitrarily and mistakenly deny him his rights. It is time for him and more athletes to look back and “see” John Carlos. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that specifically addresses issues for non-profits like USATF, stresses as a federal mandate and charge that these non-profits conduct themselves with two very critical elements uppermost:
Accountability
Transparency
It is long overdue that athletes insist that the law be observed and their interests be served as per the law.
Stay tuned for more next time.
Brooks T. Johnson
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WHEN THE SPORT REALLY WORKS

May 16th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
A couple of weekends ago I was in Kingston, Jamaica for the Jamaica International Invitational. It was a very interesting and rewarding event to attend for me, not because athletes I coach did well, but because of the positive spirit and upbeat ambiance that permeated the whole country and culture. It is more than eveident that the Usain Bolt phenonemon and phenomnena have imbued the country with a new sense of pride and self-confidence. The people walk and talk with a special muted swagger. The tempo and temperment of the country is more brisk and boistrous. This is a far cry from the kind of atmoshere and ambiance I felt in prior visits to the island prior to Bolt.
Sport,…when it really works, does more than entertain. It provides people with an identity and cause for celebration and coalescence around, and for, something positive and hopefully pure. Bolt, and the manner in which he connects with his people, brings a pure quality of unfiltered joy and pride to his country of two million people. He does this because it is obvious that he takes pride and great joy from what he is doing, and is willing to generously share this with his people. This is a very unusual phenomenon.. As we have discussed in earlier efforts, athletes who perform at the outer limits of human performance, have extreme needs and are rampantly self-centered and “me” focused. Sharing, real and honest, is the very last thing they seek to do. Willingly sharing is rare and a difficult thing for them to do. Self-indulgence and self-absorption is the order of the day and builds barriers to true and pure sharing. Bolt somehow seems to have escaped, at least for the time being, getting too caught up in “self” to the exclusion of other things, people, and values. When he ran at the Penn Relays he did so because track and field agent ( not Bolt’s agent however ), Cubie Seegobin, and his coach Glenn Mills, discussed with Usain about the merits of his giving something back,……for free, to his fans at the Penn Relays. ( keep in mind that everyone but Seegobin and Mills were given credit for getting Bolt to Philly for free ). Usain needed no convincing or special urging to do this. Bear in mind that he has been offered upwards of $500,000.00 as an appearance fee, and it is generally understood that he gets $250,000.00 appearance fee on average. The obvious retort is, “Making that kind of money, he can afford to run for free.”.. That is the logic of a person trying to apply simple-minded logic and arithmetic to psychological mathematics they simply do not understand. The more these people are in demand and indulged, the more perks they get, the more they feel “entitled” to the the dollars and rewards they get. Doing something for free for many in this circumstance is “going back” to the scary and scarce days when they were struggling and hoping for recognition, love and acceptance, so to do something “free” brings back all the heartache and hurt from those early days in their career.
Bottom line, for whatever reason, Bolt seems to have escaped this and it is felt by a very sophisticated fan base in Jamaica. The culture of Jamaica is one of intense competition. The people there are very aggressive and “pushy” at almost all levels. They are a people and country where most of the people there make their living by their wits, natural intelligence and innate wisdom. This being the case, they can smell a phony a mile away. They are not easily taken in because they approch each day with a certain paranoia and suspicion because they are also aware that Jamaica in so many ways,… is paradise lost. Given the weather, the productivity of the land, the location, and basic intelligence and creativity of the people, it is obvious that Jamaica and Jamaicans should enjoy a way of life far superior to what is currently the case. They know instinctively that something has been unfairly taken from them and they approach each other with some suspicion and qualms because the next person might be one of the reasons why they are being cheated of the elevated lifestyle  and gifts that the natural resources of the country should easily provide.
So for Bolt to be able to impact his country in the manor he does, speaks volumes to what the people there see in him based upon their collective insight and wisdom, and reluctance to trust easily. They have experienced and dealt with all manner of phoniness and cheats, they know the real thing when they see it.  In doing what he does, Bolt represents the good thing(s) that can come from sport that is working right.
Contrast that to what is currently going on within the inner sanctum of  USA Track and Field, and the suspicion and distrust they have engendered among U.S. elite track and field athletes, and you will see the direct opposite of what Bolt has going in Jamaica. Take the recent Penn Relays. Allyson Felix has been running the second leg for the 4 x 100 and since 2004. Allyson Felix is one of the true princesses of the sport of track and field and everyone within the sport knows and understands that.. She has been a quiet, but positive force in the sport since 2003. She has never insisted on special attention or treatment. At the Penn Relays the decision was made by the new high performance team, without ever consulting Allyson, that Sanya Richards was going to run 2nd leg on the “A” 4 x 100 and Felix was going to run 3rd. This despite the fact that they were advised about the history behind Felix’s running the 2nd leg over all these years. When Felix informed the high performance people that she had never run 3rd and did not see the reason for running 3rd, the high performance people had to beat a hasty retreat . Sanya made it known that she did not mind running 3rd and until she got hurt in working on the handoffs, that would have been her leg to run. But the confusion and consternation never should have arisen in the first place. Given the lack of time to work on handoffs, the less fiddling around with positions the better. All the leadoff people for years have been working with Allyson and there was/is a known and experienced connection there.
But this is really just  a small manifestation and fallout of something of even greater concern and consternation of elite American track and field athletes. They have lost total and complete confidence and trust in the new administration both from a manner and matter perspective. They feel the new people in their manner are too high handed and tyranical in their handling of decisions and decision-making processes regarding elite athletes. Further, big dollars that were specifically earmarked for use and control by elite athletes were matter-of-factly rolled over into the general fund category of the USATF budget and out from the control of athletes. When questioned about this arbitrary re-allocation of athletes’ funds, they were advised by CEO, Doug Logan, ” This is the way I do things.”.  WOW !!!!
In order to really get a handle on why elite athletes have such strong legitimate suspicions and distrust of the current adminsitration, there are several things that you must keep in mind.
1. Without athletes there would absolutely be no need for a federarion. So the federation exists only because athletes exist. The athletes CAME first and rightfully should BE first !!!!
2. The federation then, exists to serve and protect the best interests of the athletes. Unfortunately we have what I have termed, Corporate Role Reversal. Instead of the federation ( corporation ) existing to serve and protect the interests of athletes, it is now insisting that the athletes are to benignly sit by and allow the federation to take all their rights and privileges, some that are guaranteed by federal laws and the federation enabling constitution. Instead of the federation ( corporation ) existing to serve the athlet
es, it is now expected that athletes exist to serve and protect the federation.
3. The USA Track and Field Governance Handbook, in outlining the duties of the federation and its adminIstration under article: 220524 – GENERAL DUTIES OF NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES ( USATF ) Item # 3, they are mandated to: “ KEEP _ ATHLETES INFORMED OF POLICY MATTERS AND REASONABLY  REFLECT  THE  VIEWS OF ATHLETES IN ITS POLICY DECISIONS;”.
The obvious and unerring conclusion from this unambiguous language is the fact that the CEO could not unilaterally take money earmarked and desginated for athletes and roll it into the general fund where he, as opposed to them, would have control over its use and application(s). Further, if you read the language and intent of this passage, it is all too clear that decisions should be made that ” ….reasonably reflect the views of the athletes…” To my knowledge no athlete, with the power to approve and condone the removal of earmaked athletes’ funds, ever consented to this overreaching and illegal action.
You may have heard about the great fund of money ( one million dollars ), that USATF was going to get from NIKE to help athletes improve performances and better the U.S. chances for 30 medals in 2012, at this date, not a penny of that one million dollars, that NIKE has approved, has been seen by any athlete and here we are 10 months or so after the announcement. So not only is money within the organization being taken from athletes, money that has been ballyhooed as in the works for athletes has not been seen by athletes either.
It was a very long time ago, but once when I was attending business school at the University of Chicago, a very sage thing was explained to us. ” If you really want to understand what a company stands for, forget about the mission statement, observe how they allocate and treat their precious resources.”. For USATF their most precious resources are athletes,… after all without them they would not even exist. However, the athlets are treated like immature and mindless children, despite the fact that most are college grads, many attended school and have degrees superior to those who are supposedly ”attending” to athletes’ needs.  The next most precious resource is money, especially that earmarked for the most precious resource,…athletes. The record here is one of unethical and inept treatement  administration in the extreme.
So unlike the positive spirit of upbeat oneness Bolt enjoys with his fan base and constituency in Jamaica,…..and that is a very good thing, there is no such feeling of reciprocal respect and trust between USATF and its most important constituency,…….ATHLETES !!!!!
Stay tuned for more on how the current USATF leadership and adminsitration is going to drive the federation into ethical, fiduciary and fiscal bankruptcy.
Brooks T. Johnson
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QUEST FOR CERTAINTY – Why Elite Athletes Cheat ?

April 23rd, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
William and Henry James were a brother intellect team, one an author, one a philosopher. It has been said by critics that the author sould have been a philospher, and the philosopher should been an author. It is not the purpose here to critique either one, but rather to use the title of one of their books ( I am not sure which one ) called the QUEST FOR CERTAINTY  to hopeflly make a point. Actually this is a another response on an old theme. Much like jazz, we see the same basic chord patterns being the basis for new riffs and improvisation on the same theme and melody. Once the basic chord changes are known, then there is almost an infinite potential for how an individual can play off them. For example, one of the basic and fundamental mindsets for athletes and performers who “do their thing” at the very edge of human performance and accomplishment,……..and beyond,  is the inherent commitment to ” do whatever it takes” to “succeed”. This usually comes from a compulsive/obsessive drive and need to overcompensate, and eventually, supercompanstate for a real or perceived deficiency . Once the athlete has entered into this bargain, contract and arithmetic, namely seeking sufficient accomplishment and status on one side to balance off the sense of inadequency and inferiority that rests within the performer and is employed on the other side as the engine to drive the athlete to ever higher heights of “success”. Like many other such behavior patterns and mind/body altering activities, sooner or later the amount of “help” needed to provide the same sense of satisfaction and well-being increases. We see these “over the top” and “off the charts” episodes by athletes that boggle our minds and insults our sense of sensibilities, especially when we feel “let down” by the athletes..
Fred Hubbard was a tall, wiry black man. He moved with the kind of grace, dignity and authority that authors often assign to the heroes in their books, but seldom exist elsewhere. Fred was literally and physically black at a time when blacks placed great value on “white” characteristics. So it was really something of an accomplishment and rarity that he held such high status in the brown bourgeoise group that comprised my poker group back in Chicago in the early 1960s.  The thing that is relevant about Fredd Hubbard for this effort is his labeling one of the regulars, ” Locks-Or-Better “. “Locks” was a term applied to a hand that unquestionably was a winner by normal, well adjusted standards. To even seek assurance beyond that and look for “better” simply meant that the player had an unreasonable need to feel secure in what he was risking. Nothing would even begin to be accepted unless it was absolutely a certainty.
This is where the James brothers, Fred Hubbard, and “Locks-Or-Better” coalesce to provide us with a better understanding of the all too regular headlines we read about elite athletes engaging in “cheating” in many and myriad forms, and “bad” behavior also manifested in myriad and many forms. Just about every competitive effort, in its purest form, involves a trade off.. Are the results I can likely attain worth the risk involved in striving for the results ? For some people, the activity itself is its own best result and reward and that usually is the take of well adjusted and “normal” people. However, people who operate at the outer and extreme limits of performances are any thing but “normal” and well adjusted. The fact that some outer limit performers can function within society and mask their extreme needs does not for a minute mean these needs are not there. Because of the extreme values and needs placed on these extreme feats, a lot of pressure can be released and diminished if the performer is “certain” of the results. So many elite performers have an insatiable need for Absolute Certainty and/or ”locks-or-better” before they can undertake the effort and work necessary to perform at the level they desire and feel they need to scratch the extreme itch they possess. Thus we have the QUEST FOR CERTAINTY that leads to ever increasing needs to get an advantage to better assure the outcome they so desperately want and need.
What really stuns and disturbs so many of us is the fact that we think, and know, that certain of these athletes could/would be successful, even at the extreme levels, without the ”cheating”. Marion Jones made the U.S. Olympic Team in 1992 as a high school junior ( 17 years old ).  Within two years in her first year of college, she was the starting pointguard on her college basketball team that won the NCAA National Championships. Her superior and innate athletic ability is all too obvious to anyone who looks at her gifts with even a scintilla of objectivity. So why did she cheat ? Because despite all of her gifts and talent, there still was that nagging sense of uncertainty that successfully cried out to be addressed. In many ways it was the sense of uncertainty and inferiority that motivated and forced her to go to the extremes necessary to make up the arithmetic necessary for her to feel balanced and whole. Paradoxically it was that same sense of uncertainty and inferiority that allowed her to look for avenues and methods to diminish the sense of uncertainty and “cheat”. In objective retrospection it is obvious that Marion did not have to “cheat”. It was equally obvious before she took shortcuts that she had mega talent and did not have go that way. But we are not Marion and we do not have to deal with the demons she had to deal with. In my interaction with her I found her to be a very warm and unselfish person, who never took on the attitude and attributes of a diva. One example of what I mean took place at the World Cup Finals in 2002 in Madrid, Spain. On the day we designated as relay practice for the women’s 4 x 100 she showed up on time and worked with those present to get the passes down. As a result she was excused to then focus on her own preparation for her individual events. The day after this relay session Chryste Gaines arrived in camp and she and Inger Miller decided that we needed to run the relay in the order it was run when they set the American record. This was a reasonable request and idea. However, Marion had been excused from further relay work in order to get herself personally prepared for her individual events. Chryste went over to the other side of the track where Marion was in the middle of her personal preparation and asked her to join the team for more relay practice. Without any resistance, Marion graciously picked up her stuff and came over to work with new partners on the relay exchange. For me, body language speaks volumes and validity. What I saw that day was a woman who was willing to forego divadom, and its perks, in order to work with others.
As the Tiger Woods sex issues were being playing out in public, I often wondered why he had such and extreme need for affirmation, acceptance and control. At the end of the day, what the elite performer is seeking is control. They feel vulnerable in certain areas and have to have certain areas where they feel in control and safe in order to counter and calm the areas where they feel vulnerable and undervalued and insecure. The journey to control has to pass through a greater sense of certainty, so whatever it takes to create that sense of certainty and security, however fleeting, the performer becomes dependent upon, even as they are trying to exercise their independence and attain control. The initial dependence in the elite performer gets even greater because the amount of certainty and control needed to scratch their psycholigical itch becomes increasingly larger.  One observation I would make about Tiger Woods is the fact that none of the pictures I saw of his sex therapy partners were of black women. That takes us way back to Fred Hubbard and another topic.
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PLEASED, ……..But Not Satisfied !!!!

March 19th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
DOHA, QATAR – SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2010
The warm-up area at the 2010 IAAF Indoor World Championships is actually a domed, air-conditioned, full-sized soccer field with seating for fans on either side. It is quite an impressive structure, which makes it consistent with everything else architectural about Doha. The meet had ended and the big cavernous building was slowly being emptied, as fans, officials, and athletes made their way to the exits. Seated in the middle of the soccer field, a position that offered a good vantage point to the giant monitor that beamed back all the action on the track during the meet, was Bobby Kersee, John Smith, and me. This is the position we had basically occupied during the three days of action because it allowed us to follow what was going on in the actual track and field stadium which was connected, but separate, from the warm-up area. The noise, excitement and electricity had left the building and still the three of us sat there quietly reflecting and reviewing what had taken place over the last three days of competition. Each of us was deeply into our own thoughts and analysis of what had taken place as regards athletes we coached at the meet and how we were going to move forward. It was unspoken and unwritten that this kind of privacy and personal introspection, even in this very public place,  was not to be broken, and each of us waited for the other to make the first move.
At the U.S. Indoor Nationals, Ginny Powell, who is coached by Bobby, had won the 60 meter hurdles, easily defeating Lolo Jones, who in turn won the IAAF 60 meter hurdles in a new American record time.  Ginny finished fourth in Doha. Lolo won the event despite almost not even qualifying in Doha the semifinals. She was the 8th qualifier. Carmelita, coached by John, had won the U.S. 60 meters and had a victory over Lavern Jones-Ferrette who most figured to be Carmelita’s biggest and best competition in Doha. Veronica Campbell, who had switched coaches, selecting someone that none of us knew, was not even considered in the mix.  David Oliver finished second to Terrence Trammell at the U.S. nationals, ran a very weak semifinal, and there was serious and legitimate concern about whether he could/would medal. Indoors is really not his strongest distance, but had he not improved over his semifinal performance ( in the final he finished 3rd in a new P.R. ) I would have ripped up his plane ticket and made him hitchhike back to Orlando, Florida. So there we three sat, deep into our own world of comparative and competitive thought and contemplation, all of us respecting each other’s privacy and were reluctant to speak.
As it turned out, none of us had to make the move. Veronica Campbell’s new coach came over to pay respects to John Smith and almost apologize for the fact that he coached the woman that beat Carmelita Jeter ( 3rd place ) in the 60 meters. John was terse in his response.
Thanks man, Veronica was the best out there today. Good job.
In the back of my mind I had to smile because I knew that the operative word in that statement was TODAY. No way was he going to accept defeat as anything but a fleeting phenomenon. That sort of broke the ice as Bobby and I exchanged knowing smirks. John caught us in the act and felt compelled to say something.
Like we say, “The only thing indoor track can do is to show us where OUTDOOR track is”. I can not wait until we get outside and she can really show what she has in the tank,… 10.50 or better is going to be in very serious jeopardy.
Bobby responded.
I told Ginny that she had to get close enough to the podium in a meet this big to first smell it. Then she can gear up and set herself up to get up on the podium. I think she did that.
I chimed in.
John, you are right, I can not wait to get outside. I think we are on schedule to challenge the world record with Oliver.
John reacted.
I feel the same way about Carmelita. Watch her times for the 100, but I think she will be a real factor for the 200 as well.
Bobby continued.
If I can just get Allyson Felix to buy into the 400, then I think she can get the American record. Ginny should not be that far behind if she keeps making the kind of progress she has demonstrated this indoor season.
My response.
David Oliver usually runs the last five hurdles in 5.50 seconds. Put that together with his 7.44 today and that gives us 12.94, and he has already run that,… right here in Doha in 2008. However, he feels he can run the last five hurdles in 5.40 and that means 12.84 and a new world record.
Other coaches, mostly foreign, who had observed Veronica’s coach approach the trio and escape unscathed , now felt comfortable in coming up and talking about the meet and all of the stuff they wanted to share with John and Bobby. The mood was gone,  and after a while it was time to leave and we trudged up the stairs toward the exit. As we approached the doors leading to the outside, we were pleased with what we had learned from the meet but knew we also had some serious challenges and opportunities ahead of us. Satisfaction is a very elusive and seductive thing. You are sucked into the idea that you will some day grasp satisfaction firmly in your hands,…. and are driven by that potentiality. However, reality is satisfaction is a very promiscuous and fleeting thing that knows no fidelity or master. But that does not deter us in the least.
Brooks T. Johnson
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A CALL FROM JOHN SMITH

March 18th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
The phone rang right in the middle of training on Wednesday, March 17, and my first thought was, “Oh hell no, another stupid St Patrick’s Day greeting !!”. But looking at the phone number I knew it was from John Smith.
Hey man, Wayne just passed.
What ?
Yeah, Wayne just passed today.
Man,…. that is the second Olympic silver medalist in the 400 meters to pass in the last couple of years. Losing Wayne Collett and Larry James so close together is really sad, really a bad thing .
Yeah, it’s really a serious trip ! I don’t want to take up too much of your time and I got some more phone calls to make to people to let them know about his passing.
Yeah, talk with you later.
John and Wayne were team mates at U.C.L.A. in the glory years of that storied program that won 11 NCAA national titles before, during, and right after John and Wayne were there. During those days, Jim Bush, the head coach, had the program on a very impressive run and they attracted the very best talent in California, as well as elsewhere. But it was more than just strong recruiting, there was a system of talent development and improvement that was almost unique with the U.C.L.A. program. John and I had often talked about Jim Bush and Wayne Collett because of John’s relationship with both of them. Jim Bush called Wayne Collett the greatest athlete he ever coached. When you consider the great athletes that came out of that program, that is really a great accolade and praise for Wayne. The relationship between John and Jim Bush was less cordial, and at times was very salty. John felt that Bush favored Wayne and as a young man on his way up, this caused John some testy moments with both Jim and Wayne, but death, like pure competition, is the ultimate leveler and we tend to put petty stuff behind us in these circumstances as the magnitude of the occasion itself takes over from petty concerns and small slights.
John was there when Wayne enjoyed the pinnacle of his success at the 1972 Olympics, winning the silver medal in the 400 meters behind Vince Matthews.
John had pulled a muscle in a “warm up” meet the Friday before the start of the Olympic Games on a cold, windy night in nearby Austria. At the time John was #1 in the world and the world record holder at 440 yards ( still is ). He watched as his gold medal was placed around the next of someone else and to some degree has been chasing that medal every since. I see this in his eyes and body language as he goes about preparing athletes he coaches. There is a drive and demand there that he imparts to athletes, that harkens back to a time when he could/would do it himself at the very highest levels, given the opportunity. Having been greatly disappointed in 1972, he does not take success for granted, or as his personal case of entitlement, or birthright.
But now he has to reflect back on a team mate gone. He will relive those warm days of Southern California when the competition between him and Wayne was very hot. He will relive the personal pain and disappointment of Munich, but see the success his friend and team mate enjoyed there through a different prism of reality and finality.
Wayne is gone. This being the case , John will take it upon himself to redouble the excellence and effort of what he passes on to those he coaches,…. as a silent, and perhaps the only, fitting tribute to his team mate.
Brooks T. Johnson
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PINE TERRACE COURT , 34786 – 34786 WINDERMERE/ISLEWORTH

March 5th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
9532 Pine Terrace Court, Windermere, Florida, 34786, was my original address when I came to Florida in the 90s. When Tiger woods came to Florida in the 90s we shared the same zip code ( 34786 ). Despite the same zip geographical zip code, we were worlds apart in almost every other aspect of our life except one, and we will get to that later in this effort.
Lenny Vaz is my very dear friend and classmate from Plymouth High School, in “America’s Hometown”, Plymouth, Massachusetts. We graduated together ( 1952 ) and over the last decade or so have stayed in pretty close contact with each other. When the Tiger Woods sex thing first broke, Lenny called me and asked,
“Hey, what is your boy going to do now ? “
“What “boy” ? “
” You know damned well what boy ! Your neighbor, Tiger Woods. “
” Lenny, he’s not my “boy”. He’s not my neighbor and I do not have a
clue what he is going to.”
” What the hell do you THINK he’s going to do now with all this s–t !”
” Lenny, I don’t know what HE’s going to do,…… but if it were ME, I
would take my billionaire ass, get on my 135 foot yacht with my family,
tell the captain to turn around when my wife says its time to return to
shore, and tell the rest of the world to kiss my black billionaire ass ” !
” Jesus Christ !!!! Don’t you think he owes people an explanation ? “
” No. “
” C’mon ! He’s an idol and role model to everybody for Christ’s sake !”
” Lenny, I never heard him profess and preach that he was someone the
rest of us should look up to as some sort of representative of goodness
and righteousness. As a matter of fact I have heard people complain
because he uses the “F” bomb on the course and criticize him because
he has NOT taken up causes and issues of righteousness and stuff.”
” I still think he should let everyone know what really happened with all
this.”
“WHY ?”
” To clear the air for Christ sakes ! ”
” Lenny look, I am reading a very thick book called THE DEFENCE OF THE
REALM – The Authorized History of MI-5, by a guy named Christopher
Andrew. It is over a thousand pages long…..”
” Am I supposed to be impressed because you are reading a book or
something ?”
“No, but dam it, you interupted before I got to the relevant part.”
“RELEVANT part ? WHAT,..”relevant” part ?”
” The part on page 498 that reads, ” We know of no spectacle so
ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality.”
“What the hell does the British public have to do with Tiger Woods ?”
“Lenny, you missed the point.”
“Yeah, really,….just what hell point was that ?”
” WE KNOW OF NO SPECTACLE SO RIDICULOUS AS THE BRITISH PUBLIC
IN ONE OF ITS PERIODICAL FITS OF MORALITY.”
” Yeah, I heard you the first time. So ?”
“So substitute “American” for British and “press” for public”
” Hmmm,….I have to think about that.”
I mentioned above that there was one area other than proximate geography, that Tiger Woods and I shared. It is the basic shared knowledge that people who perform extreme feats, in any area of human endeavor, have extreme needs for which they have to compensate and over compensate.. This is the matter and motivation underlying greatness and superior achievements. No well adjusted and “normal” person will willingly subject themselves to the stress and duress necessary to train and prepare for real greateness. People who do make these sacrifices have serious issues, and even demons, that they have to exorcise or  otherwise address. That does not mean they are “bad” people, because many are able to express and exorcise their demons in a manner that we find acceptable and even laudable.. Some are able to channel the drive that comes from the demons in ways that we find attractive and praiseworthy, even socially and morally redeemable, but that does not negate the fact that the demons are there. It is only the manifestation that is different.
Next week, for example, I will be at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. There are athletes that I personally and directly train who will be there and there are some that I quasi-consult about their training. No matter, at the end of the day, any of them who attain the podium, and most that do not, will minimally be driven by a clinical neurosis and/or clinical psychosis that “ordinary” people simply do not have. Again, this does not mean that they will act in a manner that grosses us out, or offends us, in many instances just the opposite is the case. But all too often
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WHEN JOHN SMITH RAN INTO LITTLE WILLIE JOHN

January 20th, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
As stated in previous efforts, John Smith and I go back to 1967 when he was the Junior Olympic 400 meter champion and I presented him with his medal. Since then, as an athlete, he set the world record at 440 yards. As a coach he has had outstanding success working with Olympic champions and world record holders. If I have to detail all his accomplishments, it means you are not clued in and tuned in enough to get what follows anyway, so why bother ?
John and I talk an average of twice a week, and depending on what is hot, perhaps as much as three times a week. For both of us it is a form of venting about things that we want to keep semi-private, but at the same time feel the need to discourse about. Some times it is just a basic exercise in talking with someone who sees the sport from a perspective similar to your own. And,….if I were to be totally honest, we sometimes just gossip about whatever is juicey out there.
After a recent seminar at which he was asked to speak, John was pretty heated because he felt he was not being fully understood and his work was not fully appreciated.
Brooks, man , I am really teed off at some people.
So what else is new ?
No, man, I mean I am really angry at some stuff, really upset.
Really, what in the hell can that be ?
I did this presentation recently and afterwards I felt like I was raped.
John, who in the hell would want to rape you ?
That’s not funny ! I’ll have you know that a lot of people find me atrractive.
Then what is your issue ?
People liking you, and then have some other people try to ”punk” you and take advantage of you is two different things.
Okay, point accepted and duly noted. So what ? What happened ?
I got the feeling that the people at the clinic were not really tuning into what I was trying to get across. They only got the surface stuff and never really got into the depth of what I was trying to put across. They did not understand the authenticity of what I was telling them. They did not get down into the nitty gritty of what I was explaining about our sport. On the other hand, they acted so smug and smart like they knew my stuff better than I did. It was like they were taking something from me and misinterpretting it all to hell, then acting like they invented it. When they talked to me about it, it was all phony and light weight.
John, that kind of stuff happens all the time.
Yeah !
Yeah ! Have you ever heard of Little Willie John ?
Little Willie John ? What the ……you talking about ?
Little Willie John was a Rhtyhm and Blues singer in the early and middle 50s.
One of his songs went like this:
“Meet me in the alley down behind the barn
Don’t worry baby I’ll do you no harm
We gonna rock, we gonna roll
I’m going to satisfy your soul”
So he was talking about having sex, right ? Did he get raped too ?
John you are missing the damned point.
Well just what the hell is the point then !
The music in those days was not as explicit as it is now and double entendre was the order of the day.
Double what ?
Double entendre. What you say has two meanings.
I’ve run into a lot of experts at that —-.
The point I am trying to make is Elvis Pressley Bill Haley, and lot of white singers tried to copy the black Rhythm and Blues singers and made “covers” of their records, like Elvis covered Big Willie Mae Thornton’s ” You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog ” and made it into big hit. The music that black Rhythmn and Blues singers were performing was called “RACE” music by whites and when all these new white artists started to ”cover” black songs, they could not call it “RACE” music so white people started to call it “ROCK and ROLL”.
So a black Rhythmn and Blues code for having sex became the name of the new white music ?
Yep, and every time I think about that fact I grin inside because it reminds me of the messy mistakes we can make when we do not fully understand the origins and authenticity of what is being played out on us.
You know what ? That’s what I was feeling after my lecture to these people. They did not understand what I was saying about coaching and training on the authentic level, but they took the shallow and surface stuff and ran with it. They really think they got it.  They just did not take the time to look deep into what I was saying, but ran with the easy stuff.
John, you just met Little Willie John face on.
Brooks T. Johnson
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[FWD: LENIN/ TROTSKY/GLEN MILLS - DIALECTIC BEDAMNED !!!!!]

January 1st, 2010 Coach Brooks Johnson
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: LENIN/ TROTSKY/GLEN MILLS – DIALECTIC BEDAMNED !!!!!
From: brooks@spikesandflats.com
Date: Fri, January 01, 2010 10:15 am
To: blog@spikesandflats.com

The last edition of this stuff was focused on how we too often get stuck in a time warp of arrested development and progress. Near the end I made a slovenly and lazy mistake. In making the point that Dawn Harper was arguably the 4th best 100 meter hurdler in Bobby Kersee’s training group in 2008, yet she won the Olympic gold in 2008,  I listed Michelle Perry as the 2008 gold medalist. This obvious mistake was immediately caught and commented on by the “Gotcha” Birds. Apologies to both Michelle and Dawn. Bobby had me work briefly with Michelle in 2004 at the U.S. Pre-Olympic training camp in Crete, when she was still a heptathlete on the U.S. Olympic Team and we have remained close every since. So I was fully aware of her accomplishments from 2004 onward. Now on with further development of the point I was trying to make in that overall effort.
The whole discussion centers around the fact that we all too often demand and expect too little from ourselves as coaches and athletes. This is all too often the fault of the coach who does not have sufficient confidence in him/herself to make the demands necessary on the athlete and the coach involved. Coaches often find a comfort zone and tend to remain static in that area for most of their career. We think that the present represents the ultimate and acceptable level of accomplishment and get stuck in a static time warp. As a rule, a coach will establish their level of competence within the first 5-7 years of their career. It is no coincidence that we see the same coaches in America providing the overwhelming majority of our Olympic medals. If you exit, Tom Tellez, John Smith and Bobby Kersee from the Olympiads of the 80s, and exclude Tellez, Clyde Hart, Bobby and John in 90s, plus take away Hart, Kersee, and Smith during the first decade of the 21st century our medal count drops to a totally unacceptable level. At the 2008 Olympics, athletes that Kersee and Smith coached were involved in slightly more than 33% of the total U.S. medal count. If you add athletes Clyde Hart coached, the tally is up over 50%. That is three coaches who  account for more than 50% of the U.S. medal count !! With more than 40 Olympic events and more 100 U.S. Olympic athletes, these three produce 50% of the medals. At a recent convention of college coaches in Orlando, Florida, more than 1000 coaches were in attendance. The fact as few as 3 coaches can, and do, produce these figures speaks volumes about how much room and need the coaching cadre has for growth and real excellence.
All of the above named coaches have several things in common, but the most glaring and striking commonality is the fact that all of them have coached people to world records. That means at some point they have shrunk time and space down to the point where athletes they coached skipped over and became today what a lot of other athletes will achieve some time in the future.
I have often tried to make the point that track and field specifically, and athletics in general, can move forward expediently if we learn and benefit from the lessons and history of other fields of historic endeavor.  In 1917, right in the middle of World War I, the Russian ( Bolshevists ) communists, led by Vladamir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, found themselves victorious over the royal czarist regime of Emperor Nicholas II. The Marxist/Hegelian doctrine and dogma ( DIALECTIC ) that Lenin/Trotsky and the communists/socialists were supposed to be strict and faithful adherents to, called for them to follow the historical and orthodox mandate of Dialetic Materialism. For Marx and Hegel it was an historical certainty that the revolutionary progress to the utopian society of communism/socialism, should/would  in accord with the concept of Dialetic Materialism which for them was a historical fact and dogma. It goes  as follows:
( 1 )At the beginning there would be a society based upon agrarianism
and the exploited labor of those who worked the fields and farms
( 2 )The next phase of the dialetic would occur when the society became
highly industrialized and the exploited workers would unite and rebel
against the factory owners and the repressive government that supported
it
( 3 )The united and exploited workers would overthrow the government
and nationalize the industry and through the “dictatorship of the
proleteriat”,  create a utopian democratic society that would extract “from
each according to their ability” and give “to each according to their needs”
Under Marxist/Hegelian rendering of inevitable history, this was an irrefutable dogma and doctrine. Lenin, as the leader of a revolutionary movement that supposedly subscribed and adhered to strict Marist/Hegelian theory, in October of 1917 found himself in a very difficult spot. If he were to strictly adhere to Marx and Hegel, he would be bound to allow the second of the three phases of  Dialetic Materialism, namely a highly industrialized society, to come into place and wait for the united workers to rebel against the exploitive industrialists to establish the utopian socialist state. As it turns out, Lenin was not about to adhere to what was dictated and mandated by orthodox dialectic  doctrine. He was not about to relinguish power and control and allow Russia to evolve into a democratic capitalist, industrial society. His expedient doctrine and reinterpretation was to “Telescope History”. Namely, he was going to compress history is such a way as to make the independent and stand alone middle phase unnecessary. The industrial phase and the socialism phases would be merged into one, negating the need to turn over control to industrialists and capitalists. He essentially took what was supposed to be an orthodox, three phase process, and reduced it into a two phase process, saving time and effort and his rule.
Coincidentally this is essentially the same process we have seen with some successful coaches and athletes, especially in the sprint events. The orthodox litany as far as foot action was: ( 1 ) Touchdown, ( 2 ) Support, ( 3 ) Pushoff. The “front side” mechanics as practiced by Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene was based upon shortening the process. This meant combining and compressing phase #2 and #3 into one action rather than two. This meant less elapsed time on the running surface. This resulted in reduced contact time on the surface and a faster overall time for the event, and dominance of the event by the best of thsoe who could “telescope” the process .
Glen Mills, who coaches Usain Bolt, like Lenin/Trotsky defied the orthodox . In the past it was pretty much ordained that good Jamaican sprinters  ( Donald Quarry, Billy Miller, Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell, Berton Cameron, etc. ) would matriculate to the U.S. for school and training. Glen Mills was one of those who led the way away from that orthodoxy in terms of keeping the good Jamaican talent on the island and developing it there. But more important, he was able to see beyond the current orthodoxy as it related to performance. His mind and imagination took charge and control of the moment and found a way to compress and telescope performances that we will see often in the future, to being unique and special for today. He was able as a coach to make the necessary demands on Bolt to perform in a futuristic fashion today instead of waiting for tomorrow. Like Lenin,
he had a once in a life time opportunity thrust upon him. He could “go with the flow” or he could seize the opportunity and turn it into something historic. It is clear that the results he has attained are more successful than Trotsky’s and communism turned out to be, but the creative seizing of the initiative and opportunity are parallel. He has been able to shrink and compress the time it takes to get to sub 9.6 for the 100 meters and sub 19.30 for the 200 meters. He has been able to successfully bypass the hubris and gravity of orthodoxy and fully exploit the talent he has been given rather than allowing it to wallow in mediocrity. He has been able reach out and grasp for today what is promised and supposed to take place tomorrow. That opportunity to shred time is out there for every coach and athlete in the sport on one level or another.
In order to overcome the inertia that keeps us bound too much to the present, track coaches and track athletes need to look and see things around them outside of the sport that have a direct bearing on their quest for excellence and success within the sport. There are lessons and beacons to guide and support us,…. all around us. The one thing we can not do is to rely upon “common knowledge” and the dialetic dogma that currently dominates most of the sport. The saying that ” The Future Is Now” is most accurate when applied to our sport and what is possible and doable within it. “Coaches Unite” and throw off the chains of mediocrity should be our chant and mantra, and until that happens, then the Smiths, Kersees, and Harts will continue to account for a disproportionate amount of our Olympic and World and Championship medal count, and the Glen Mills of the world will out Lenin us. For three of them to make such an inordinate contribution to our overall success at the Olympics and World Championships speaks volumes. Our new mantra and chant should be ” Track coaches of America unite and throw off the shackles of mediocrity”. But this will not happen unless we develop a broader base of demand, expectation, and confidence. We will not develop these things unless we look outside our sport for guidance and inspiration.
May 2010,……. indeed be a NEW YEAR !!!!!
Brooks T. Johnson
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KEEPING IT REAL !!!!!…………REALLY ?

December 24th, 2009 Coach Brooks Johnson
Growing up in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the early 40s through the early 50s was a very special experience for a black male who had started life in the deep South ( Florida ). There are many things that experience that influenced and impacted my life, but the one thing I want to focus in on now is the fact that if you were black and could place one foot in front of the other without falling down, it was assumed that you were going to excel at sports. Being a black male that desperately wanted to “fit in” and “integrate” I allowed myself to be swept up in the demands and expectations of others. But there were even limits on the degree that I would totally comply and conform. I insisted on being the quarterback on the football team and the point guard on the basketball team. These positions were typically, and almost totally, reserved for white athletes who it was assumed were “smarter” than black athletes who were, of course, more “natural”. Refusing to give into the typecasting was my quiet method of rebellion and revolt and the cause of my not staying with football and basketball when I went off to college where the quarterback and point guard positions were strictly off limits for blacks. But this is really not a “race” piece it has to do with the fact that I centered and focused my energies on track and field because I had to deal with less prejudice and could/would deal more intimately with raw reality. At its core, track and field is very cold, objective, and real. You either ran 10 flat,…. or you didn’t. There is no room for excusing subpar results because of the failures of others who did not do their job. The line didn’t block, or the point guard didn’t get me the ball at the right time, are the kinds of excuses than can be offered in sports where we depend on others to make us look good. In track and field it is you against the science of the sport. The science of the sport is cold and without compassion. Sir Isaac Newton really does not care what your gender, color,  or heritage happens to be. You either effectively applied force ( mass x acceleration ) in the right amount, and at the right angle or you didn’t. There really is no in-the-middle, or “grey areas”. Reality and objectivity cuts to the bone,…. and excuses do not cut it at all. Lauryn Williams lost the 100 meters at the 2007 World Championships by one thousandth of a second. It gets down to something as finite and definite as that. Where is the wiggle room ?
Too many of us ( coaches and athletes ) get too deeply involved in chasing the ghosts in the sport. We are too prone to make allowances and excuses for not measuring up to expectations and demands for excellence. We create and generate “boogey men” and ghosts to medicate and sedate ourselves against the harsh reality of failure or less than satisfying success. What a grand waste !!! Too many of us make ourselves too comfortable and complacent,… wallowing and basking in the hot tub of mediocrity. Why so harsh an assessment and accusation ?  Because the reality involved in making excuses never leads to real excellence and total potential realization and accomplishment. Coaches and athletes both are often guilty of finding ways to deny themselves very attainable and doable deeds because they refuse to grasp and grapple with the difficulty that comes with accepting raw reality and the challenges that comes from this acceptance.
What is the justification and explanation for so harsh an accusation against the practitioners and participants of our sport ?  It is staring and glaring right at us. It is presented to us with startling clarity and consistency, yet most of us refuse to recognize this reality  for what it is. Up until 2008, anyone running 10 seconds for the 100 meters was considered to have “made the cut” for excellence. Anything under 9.8 seconds for the 100 meters was considered very fast. At least that was the case until Usain Bolt, bolted to 9.69 in his fourth race over a two day period at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China,… making it look like child’s play and ridiculously easy. This fell on the heels of Tyson Gay running 9.68 windy at the U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2009, Tyson was able to improve on his 9.68 windy despite the fact that he had a serious sports hernia. So what does Tyson’s and Bolt’s times indicate,… especially when we consider the circumstances under which they achieved them ?    They simply make the statement that what seems almost unattainable today ( the world record, for example ),….becomes ordinary tomorrow. It is just a question of time. The world record holder compresses time down and gets there before the rest of us. At some time in the future very ordinary people will equal what was considered unattainable and extra ordinary in the past. But only coaches and athletes that are willing to take on this reality will make that quantum leap NOW, rather than at some comfortable time in the future. Marilynn Neuville from Jamaica held the world record for 400 meters at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany at 51 seconds flat. Novlene Williams, also from Jamaica, ran sub 50 seconds in her semi-final and final 400 at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany and finished 4th !!!
So the attraction of track and field for me is the cold hard, harsh, nasty reality that we do not have to “hold open” positions for certain people ( black people in certain events and whites in others ). What an insufferable insult to the science involved in what we do.  We do not have to hold back in our demands and expectations on the coaches and athletes that are participating within the sport. What we have to do is to “keep it real” and not compromise and accept mediocrity. We should not complain because the demands are so high for now. We have to realize that the pain of failure is not the same as defeat. Failure is food for success when properly seen and understood.  What we need to do is to embrace and celebrate what is yet out there to be accomplished and the accompanying difficulties and hurt that maybe involved in achieving it .
One of the people I admire most in the sport is Bobby Kersee. Bobby coaches his people to win. I have heard too many coaches and athletes talk about how great it would be to make the finals. Kersee has one goal, and one goal only and that is that the athletes he coaches be the best they can be. The high level of expectations and demands he makes on athletes he coaches was manifested in the results of the 2008 Olympic 100 meter hurdles for women. In 2008 Bobby was working with four female hurdlers:
Joanna Hayes – 2004 Olympic Champion
Michelle Perry – 2008 Olympic Champion
Virginia Powell – 2007 NCAA Champion and U.S. National Team member.
Dawn Harper – NCAA All-American from UCLA
Harper, who most considered the fourth hurdler in her training group, won the 2008 Olympic Games ! Why ? Because he only coaches athletes to win at the highest level no matter their standing and status within the training camp. All the athletes he coaches are treated equally in that they are all expected to perform at the highest levels no matter what. No compromises, no excuses, just the raw reality that it is out there to achieve.
Get out your performance telescope and squeeze the two ends together,…… and let reality take over.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Brooks T. Johnson
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