People that inspire me - Wendel McRaven

There are 42 weeks left in the year and once a week I will write about someone in my life that is inspiring or motivating to me.  Hopefully others will read it and gain a little bit of inspiration in their life as well.  There is no particular order to these writings, just a bunch of people I am fortunate enough to know.  So without further ado ….

Inspirational person #9 of 50 – Wendel McRaven

Sometimes timing is everything.

I went to Texas A&M for the NCAA Indoor Championships this past week and hung out with one of my former co-workers Wendel McRaven on Friday night.  On Saturday his Texas A&M Aggies won the Men’s NCAA Indoor Championship!

Wendel has had a very interesting journey through the world of track and field.  He grew up in the Chicago suburbs and went to North Central College in Napierville, Illinois, where he was an all-American in the 3000m Steeplechase.  I have witnessed one of the more incredible videos from his days at North Central when, during the conference championships he had a tremendously violent fall on the steeplechase barriers.  It would have won the $10,000 on America’s Funniest Home Videos back in the day (someone please upload this to YouTube).  But he got up, checked to make sure his valuables were all there, and then proceeded to pass most of the field and help his team win the league title.

Wendel is the comeback kid of college track and field.

Wendel’s coaching career began at the University of Alabama from 1991-94 where he was part of a couple titles in the ultra-competitive SEC as well as a NCAA runner-up finish in indoor track.  From there he went to the University of Nebraska where he coached as well as being the recruiting coordinator for the Huskers during a time of major success.  Multiple Big 12 championships and another NCAA runner-up finish happened during his time in Lincoln.

At Nebraska he met assistant coach Steve Rainbolt, who became the head coach at Kent State University in 1996 (during my junior year).  In Rainbolt’s second year at Kent he brought Wendel on to rebuild a down distance program.  As a member of the Kent State track team before and after Wendel came, I can attest to the difference he made … and made quickly.  Within a couple years our distance runners were a major part of our team and our women won the first ever MAC title in cross country shortly thereafter.

When Coach Rainbolt left Kent State to become the head coach at Wichita State, Wendel got promoted to the head coach position at Kent State.  Bolt had done a great job getting the Golden Flashes to a higher level and Wendel kept the ball rolling (and also made me an assistant coach!).  For the first time in school history MAC Championships became a regular thing and by the time he left Kent, he had been part of five conference championship teams.

He got the opportunity to head closer to home and become the head cross country and distance coach at the University of Illinois.  Although he had some very good success at Illinois in his six years there, he fell victim to some changes in the track and field staff and was left without a job.  I’m sure this uncertain time was a very stressful time for Wendel and his family.  But the comeback kid would not be down for long.

That’s when one of the most successful track and field programs in the nation came calling.  Texas A&M.  Before Wendel arrived to College Station, the Aggies had become one of the dominant programs in the country under head coach Pat Henry.  And with Wendel aboard things have continued to roll on, most recently with the first ever men’s NCAA Indoor national championship!

More below but first …

I asked Wendel five questions, here are his responses …

Question 1:  If your life was a movie, what would the title be and who would play you?

Wendel:  "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" with Steve Martin as the distance coach at Texas A&M! Although, in my life there aren't very many trains involved. Maybe, "Planes, Busses, and Rental Cars" would be a more accurate title!

Question 2:  What one thing would you change about society?

Wendel:  That's pretty deep! If anything, I wish there was more time to stay connected with the people in our lives. We all get going 100 miles per hour chasing our dreams and goals and before you know it you've lost touch with some important people! Social media has made some of those connections easier, but it doesn't take the place of a phone call or a face to face conversation.

Question 3:  What makes you laugh?

Wendel:  Lots of things make me laugh! Lately, three of my buddies from high school Jim Clark, Kenny Kappie, and Marc Burns have discovered the joys of Snapchat! The funny thing is that we all use it like a group of old men! The number-one topic each day is the weather!  We all live in different parts of the country so we actually do have something to report. We have even dubbed our reports the "Jim Clark Weather Network." It's some high level stuff I assure you!

My daughter makes me laugh as I see her starting to figure out the ways of the world and the innocence and naïveté in which she still views the world. I'm laughing now, but I know those days of innocence are numbered.

Of course, any references to "The Big Lebowski" or "Caddyshack" will always make me laugh!

Question 4:  What does success mean to you?

Wendel:  Wow! Tough one! In the end success to me is more about my family than anything. Being able to provide for my family and being able to come home to a loving and happy wife and child is success on a personal level!

Professionally, success is having a positive impact on the lives of the student-athletes I get the opportunity to work with. Obviously, we want to have great teams and help people run fast, jump high or far or throw far, but in the end that is just a part of the experience. I tell recruits all the time that if all they learn by being a member of our team is how to run faster than we failed them. Sometimes, it takes them a few years away before they realize some of those lessons, but they are hopefully there.

Question 5:  Who inspires you and why?

Wendel:  I get inspired daily! Heck, I get inspired by song lyrics!

Hard to pick just one! My parents inspire me because they came from small town settings where they really weren't expected to go out and make something of themselves, but they did! My dad is the hardest working man I have ever known. He was a mechanic welder and he often left the house at 4:30 in the morning and worked on big machinery in all types of weather. My mom went back to college when my sister and I were in elementary school to become a nurse. My parents sacrificed a lot to make a better life for our family. They never settled. Whenever I feel like I am working hard I think about my parents and their work ethic and realize I've got it pretty good!

A lot of my coaches have inspired me! From junior high on. My college coach, Al Carius at Division III power North Central College may be one of the most inspirational humans alive! He is a guy that never stops learning. Never stops striving to be better. While always doing things the "right way" and always being a man of high character! I honestly think he is the best collegiate distance coach in the country regardless of division!

My boss, Pat Henry, inspires me! His diligence, his attention to detail, his consistency... amazing! And, he proves that you can do things the right way and win. His values and priorities are in the right place. Whether you are the superstar individual national champion or a walk-on who never makes a travel squad, you are held to the same standards. You don't see that as much these days.

Final thoughts … Why is Wendel McRaven inspirational to me?

If there was ever someone who knows EVERYONE in the world of track and field it’s Wendel McRaven, and for everyone who knows him he has always been thought of as a great guy, terrific coach and wonderful friend.  He’s a person who has always seemed be a combination of focused, fun and dedicated to not only his work but his family and friends.  I can tell you this is not an easy thing to accomplish no matter if you’re the head coach at Kent State or an assistant coach at Texas A&M.

And as you can tell from his resume I summarized at the beginning of this blog, Wendel has worked his tail off everywhere he has been to get where he is today.  He is a testament that if you work hard, treat people right and not settle for mediocrity that you can accomplish more than you’ve ever dreamed possible.  In the world of track and field, Wendel is living the American Dream.

I was fortunate to work with Wendel from 1999-2003 at Kent State and I could sit here and tell story after story of funny things that happened at the office or on road trips.  He has a particularly funny way to give people crap – especially Coach Rainbolt.  I’m lucky to get daily Snapchats from College Station that range from his worldly travels to his daughter’s many soccer games.

But to know and be a friend of Wendel McRaven’s is a special thing.  During a particularly tough and personal ordeal that eventually led me to leaving Kent State in 2003 to move back home to Cincinnati, Wendel was the most supportive and caring person I have ever known.  Even when he was stuck with finding a new sprint coach when I left him out to dry, so to speak, he never showed any frustration and was as professional as a boss could be and as great as a friend could be.

I never ran for Wendel but I had many distance running teammates whose lives were changed for the better when he arrived to Kent.  It seems no matter where Wendel has gone in his life from Illinois to Alabama to Nebraska to Ohio back to Illinois and now to Texas … the places he works are successful and the people who come in to contact with him are the better for it.  Thank you Wendel for being such a positive role model for young people, wonderful peer for your co-workers and a great friend to all of us!