Madison Weekend Recap

At the WMMB office - sponsor for 2016!!

            The past several days have been almost a bit of a whirlwind and overload!  On Thursday, Andy and I headed down to Madison, where a whole lot of awesomeness happened.  I’ll highlight the big moments.  First, we met with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for a 2016 sponsorship meeting.  I’m ecstatic to announce that the WMMB (Chocolate Milk) will continue its sponsorship partnership with me for 2016!  One of the number one things when it comes to a sponsor, is being able to stand behind their product or message.  With the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, I stand behind their message of Chocolate Milk being the ultimate recovery beverage 100%.  We also received surprise tickets for awesome seats at the Badger Men’s Basketball Game vs Ohio from them, so we were able to watch the Badgers beat the Buckeyes.

Alan Webb and I

            Friday and Saturday were long days spent at the WISTCA Track Coaching Clinic, where we got to hear from Olympians, UW coaches, and other great speakers.  I was looking forward to hearing from and meeting Alan Webb, who is a 2004 Olympian and American Record Holder in the Mile (3:46.91).  He was the first (and only until this weekend) to break 4-minutes in the mile indoors in high school.  He competed as a Pro for Nike until he retired in 2014, where he had a short stint with triathlon until he had a bike crash during a race in 2015.

            The big surprise treat was meeting Alan’s awesome wife, Julia Webb!  Julia just had her 2^nd daughter 4 months ago.  She has her own World Record for her 10K time pushing a stroller (38:15, beating the old record by almost 5 minutes).  She’s a speedy woman hoping to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the Steeplechase.  Andy and I headed out for a run on Saturday morning and ended up running with Julia for her warm-up.  Unfortunately we had no chance of keeping up with her in her workout of 4x2 mile repeats at a 5:45 pace!  She’s an amazing woman that I feel so blessed to have been able to meet!  I officially now think she’s the coolest lady ever.

Julia Webb and I!

            I attended some sessions on the High Jump, as I would really like to focus on coaching that more this season, and I learned a ton.  MIND. BLOWN.  Great information from UW Coach Nate Davis.  I’m excited about coaching the high jump this season now and now I’m anxious to get going with it and see some big PR’s from my student-athletes!

            We attended the WISTCA Hall of Fame Luncheon this year, because a standout Clear Lake native (who graduated with my oldest sister), was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year!  Kate (Juedes) Sharinger is a bit of a legend, as she was a 4-time State Champion in the High Jump, with a PR of 5’10” in high school.  It was moving hearing her talk about the influence her high school coach had on her, who was actually Andy’s mom.  That is the type of positive impact I would like to have on all of my student-athletes.  While I continue to strive to be a better athlete, I also strive to be the best coach I can be.  We ended the trip being able to see old friends and faith family.  I couldn’t have asked for anything better!