Message from the President

I am excited to welcome all levels of coaches to your Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Clinic. I believe our organization and the clinic are growing and getting better every year. This, in turn, has made our sports stronger each year on the national level. I hope that you will continue to support your organization and attend the clinic this year.

This year our clinic will have demonstration sessions by nationally renowned coaches and athletes. We will also continue the popular panel sessions on Saturday morning. We will have high school and college coaches as well as athletes presenting.

The M.T.C.C.C.A. will also induct five new members into the Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place during our luncheon on Friday. This ceremony reminds us why it is an honor to be called Coach. We will also honor our coaches of the year in track 2007 and cross country 2007. Our True Team State winners will be honored at this time also. Please continue to nominate your assistant coaches (two per school each year) for the Charlie Finch Distinguished Coach Recognition Program Award.

As President this year, my goals were to continue the popular activities my predecessors began, while adding a few new things to the clinic that would help this organization grow and prosper. This year we added two nationally acclaimed track and field speakers to the one we had begun over the past four years—Mike Powell, Long Jump world record holder, Dennis Mitchell, Olympic gold medalist sprinter, and Willie Banks, former Olympian and American record holder are our athletes!!

We are increasing our vendor numbers to make more money for the organization and give coaches more products to look at. This year we should have 30-40 vendors. We will move the vendors to the Expo area to accommodate this as well as registration. There will be a coaches socializing area in the middle with drinks. We will be drawing after every session in this Expo area with five free gifts.

Our business meeting will have a new addition to Mr. Bingelli’s presentation for MSHSAA, as we have United States Track and Field Education Coordinator, Mike Corn, coming in to tell you what is happening in track and field on the national level. Mike is bringing information on F.A.T. qualifying pros and cons since it has been an issue at our meeting. We will still have an open session at the end to discuss and vote on items coaches would like to bring up. We will have a few sessions in the expo rooms so presenters can demonstrate drills to the coaches. Sponsors have been added to bring in extra income to help offset the clinic changes.

The social format that Steve Kissane started is intact. Aaron Moser and M-F Athletics Perform Better are sponsoring this activity. As usual, Dennis Licklider has been spending hours compiling true team results, Dean Hayes is putting together a history book of our sports with his compilations on the web site, and Mark Sisson mans our website. Karen Sanders has put together our Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and Chris Scott has been in charge of the vendors. I wish Karen the best next year as president and Chris the following year.

In closing, I have watched this group grow since my first clinic in 1980. Please spread the good word of this organization to your fellow track and field and cross country coaches. We all win when coaches in our sport learn more about their sport. We also positively affect MSHSAA when we make suggestions because of the numbers we have in this group. This pushes Missouri Track and Field and Cross Country up the national ladder of excellence.

Good Luck on the course this fall, and in your track preparation period. Let’s make December 7 and 8 a big opening day for the 2008 track season.