February 2, 2008

PRESS RELEASE FROM INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY COACHES (IATCCC)

Track, cross country coaches induct 12 to Hall of Fame

 INDIANAPOLIS _ The Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches (IATCCC) inducted 12 athletes and coaches to it's Hall of Fame here Friday evening.

 Among the highlights was the induction speech for two-time pole vault champion Jo'l Gerardot, currently deployed in Iraq. Gerardot's induction was accepted by Bob Shank, the current Fort Wayne Northrop athletic director who was Gerardot's coach. Another highlight was the induction of Sam Bell, the retired Indiana University coach.

 Shank spoke of Gerardot's strong physical traits and tremendous work effort and said, "I'm not surprised that Jo'l's career path took him this route, that he enlisted." Shank then recalled a story of how he told an injured Gerardot, already assured of a state meet berth in the long jump, not to take his final leap at the regionals. Shank said he told Gerardot he needed to be careful not to worsen the injury and ruin his state title hopes in the pole vault. "He told me he would just jump off his right foot," Shank said. "He'd never even practiced jumping off his right foot. So I told him (again) just to pack it in. A little while later I look across the field and there he goes, down the runway. He jumps off his right foot and goes even farther. I look at my coaching buddies and say, Now that's coaching!"<

Gerardot won state championships in the pole vault in 1997 and 1998. He also placed second nationally those same years and went on to a fine career at the University of Florida.

Bell dedicated his induction to the athletes he coached over the years, which included seven Olympians and three American record holders. "Without athletes, there would be no coaches," Bell said. "I tell people how much I learned from 19-year-olds and they act surprised. I say that if you stop learning from your athletes (no matter their age), then you will not be effective." Bell saved his parting shot to fellow inductee, Troy Furnivall, a Warsaw and then Purdue University standout. Furnivall had spoken earlier about his life-lessons. Bell said: "See, Troy, you can outgrow a Purdue education."

Bell coached 19 NCAA individual champions and was the distance coach for the 1976 US Olympic Team.

Furnivall told of his youth "pre-PlayStation" and how he and his siblings played a variety of games outside with his next-door neighbors. "Between our two families, we had 5 state qualifiers in track, two members of (IHSAA basketball) final four teams, one member of a state championship basketball team and a Notre Dame cheerleader," Furnivall said. "We were always playing something outside like staging relay races or making obstacle courses."

 Furnivall was the 1982 state champ in the 400 and was second in the 200 at the same meet. He won the 1982 National Indoor Championship in the 440 (49.3) and was third in the 880 (1:56.5). He went on to compete at Purdue, running as fast as a 1:48.59 in the 800.

 Furnivall also credited the entire Warsaw athletic community for their support. He listed athletic directors, coaches, booster clubs, etc. and stated: "Without them, tonight doesn't happen for me."

 Jamie Gorrell Hardin, a two-time state champion from Woodlan, spoke of seeing all the former all star coaches she ran for. "It's my first time back for (coach's convention or hall of fame banquet)," said Hardin, who attended Eastern Kentucky and stayed in that state. "I keep up with a lot of my former rivals, but to see all these familiar faces, after all these years, is great."

 Hardin won the 1986 state cross country title and the 1987 3,200-meter title. She had four top 10 state cross country finishes: ninth, fifth, first and second.

Collette Douglas-Liss of Valparaiso, commented on the impact her coaches had on her life and career. "I probably left a lot of coaches very frustrated throughout my career," Douglas-Liss said. "I want to say thank you to them for their lasting influence on my life."

 Douglas-Liss was a double winner at the 1991 state meet, taking the 1,600 (4:56) and 3,200 (10:56). She went on to win the USA Cross Country Championships in 1999 and the USA National Road Championships (5K) in 2001. She was a five-time member of USA National teams in IAAF World Championship meets.

The other men's athlete inductee was Richmond's Jason Briggs. He dedicated his induction to his grandparents who raised him. "I owe everything to them. They kept me focused and on the right path and helped me believe what was possible," Briggs said.

 Briggs was a two-time state champion in the 800 (1998 and 1999) and went on to a fantastic career at Indiana State, competing in the 2004 NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials. He holds the record for the fastest 800 ever by an Indiana native (1:47.00).

Other coach honorees included Jim Jones of Anderson Madison Heights, Dick Shenfeld of Homestead and Allen Shockney of Plymouth.

 Jones has the distinction of coaching the first Indiana schoolboys to run sub-9 minutes in the two-mile and to exceed 60-feet in the shot put. Following up on Bell's remarks crediting his athletes, Jones stated simply: "Good kids help make good coaches." He then introduced many of his former athletes in the crowd. He also recalled his reaction to the news of his election to the Hall of Fame: "They must have run out of people to induct."

 Jones was also a founding father of the IATCCC and past President.

Shenfeld mentioned his six individual state champions but said the highlights of his 39-year coaching career (still ongoing) were the athletes with less fanfare. He recalled a story about a senior who simply wanted to break 6 minutes in the mile. Shenfeld also spoke of his wife of 44 years, Diane. As an athlete at New Haven High School and then Harding (Ark.) University followed by the hundreds of meets as a coach, Shenfeld said, "the best race I ever won, was to win her love." The couple began dating when he was 17 and she was 16.

Shockney drew the anchor leg to the night's festivities and jokingly announced he would speak for 30 minutes because the banquet was ahead of schedule. His 22-minute speech seemed more like 5 minutes as he told of his first teaching job at Ligonier High School over 40 years ago. "I got a teaching contract for $4,800 and I wanted to coach. So the principal gave me $100 and said coach all you want. I thought I got a great deal. Well, he did, too!" Shockney then said the cross country coach promptly quit and offered no help. The next day, while overseeing his first practice, Shockney lost two runners out on the county roads. "Not only did I think my coaching career was over after one day, but I thought I'd be fired from my teaching job too!"

Shockney survived, of course, and went on to coach an individual state cross country champion and four teams to top 10 finishes.

 Other inductees were unable to attend were distance star Michelle DelaVina of Wheeler, sprinter Chandra Goodman of Gary Roosevelt and contributor John Smith from Portage.