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"Sue Humphrey is the consummate teacher," says Mike Holloway, Head USA Men's 2020 Olympic Coach and University of Florida Head Track & Field Coach.
Sue is a trailblazing track and field coach who rates among the most successful coaches ever.
In the early 1970s, after Title IX was enacted, she originated the women’s track program at Arizona State University. She also has coaches at the University of Texas and California State University - Long Beach. Sue is the only female coach to have coached NCAA champions in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump.
Sue also coached for Team USA at the Olympics 3 times, including as Head Women’s Track & Field Coach in 2004. She individually coached 1996 Men’s Olympic High Jump Gold Medalist Charles Austin.
In this conversation, hear about her 50+ years in coaching and a variety of expert insights. The conversation includes:
- How Sue got started as a coach all the way back in high school
- Progress made since Title IX
- Ongoing challenges for female athletes and coaches
- What it’s like to coach at the Olympics
- Her experience working with all-time great athletes Wilt Chamberlain and Jackie Joyner-Kersee
- Key lessons from her book, I Want to Run: The Olympic Developmental Training and Nutritional Guide For Young & Teen Track Runners Ages 10 To 18
Find Sue’s book, I Want to Run, on Amazon.
Subscribe to Sideline Sessions to hear the rest of our fall-winter season. We’ll continue to bring you insights from diverse coaches across the sporting landscape. Subscribe here: https://sidelinesessions.transistor.fm/subscribe
About the host
Ross Romano is co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and also hosts The Authority Podcast. He began his career in the pro sports industry before becoming a leading communications, marketing, and management expert working with education companies. He is founder and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. He also works directly with professionals at all levels, in all industries, coaching them in their pursuit of success.
Are you a professional looking for insights to reach the next level, find a fulfilling new career, or achieve peak performance? You may be a candidate for performance coaching. Schedule an introductory chat here.
Creators & Guests
What is Sideline Sessions?
Designed for coaches, parents and other stakeholders in the world of youth, scholastic, and amateur sports, this show brings you interviews with leaders at the highest levels of their respective sports.
Hear from coaches and performance experts with experience in the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Olympics, and NCAA Division-I, plus those who run elite youth programs, successful high school teams, and more. Hear about their motivations, philosophies, and strategies for success, and take away actionable insights to support the athletes in your life.
[00:00:00] welcome everybody to another episode here on our first season of Sideline Sessions on the Be Podcast Network. It is my honor today to have Sue Humphrey as [00:01:00] my guest. Sue has coached for Team USA at the Olympics three times, including as the head women's track and field coach in 2004.
She actually coached the 1996 men's Olympic high jump gold medalist, Charles Austin, and she's also coached at University of Texas, Cal State, Long Beach, Arizona State University. She is, in fact, the only female coach to have coached NCAA champions in the long jump, triple jump, and the high jump. She's also author of a recently published book called I Want to Run, which we'll talk about a bit today, and a lot more.
She's done a lot more here, so we'll talk about that in our conversation. Sue, welcome to the show.
Great. Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Great. Thanks for being here. And, you know, I think. Even how you initially got into coaching is a great place to start and, uh, something that I'm sure that a lot of our listeners, you know, may relate to, we may even have some student athletes listening who might be thinking about this, but I know it was all the way back in high school, [00:02:00] right?
Um, that you initially got interested in, you know, how did you learn about coaching? What was that process like? And how did you kind of start to get involved in that way?
Well, I definitely put the learn by doing concept together, um, and implemented it because back when I was in high school, we didn't have interscholastic sports for girls or women, or, you know, this was all before Title IX. And so any activities that the females wanted to do were pretty much through the AAU, Amateur Athletic Union, or through Parks and Recreation and like play day type of things.
In other words, nothing real structured, interscholastic at the high school level. And so one of my friends my freshman year Uh, she was older and she had been running and actually was one of the top sprinters in the nation. And when I, when we became friends, uh, she said, do you want to come to practice with me?
And she was having to train [00:03:00] at the local junior college with the men's team, because as I said, there were no women opportunities, uh, for her. And so I said, sure, you know, let me see what it's like. Well, That's where the bug bit and, uh, we started going to the junior college after school and training with the men's team.
I was more of a manager type of individual because I figured out very quickly I was not going to excel athletically, but I was very intrigued with coaching and teaching and in the sport and so that's where I say I got hooked on it and, uh. then led to coaching a youth team, a girls team, there in Phoenix, Arizona with the AAU, and it kind of blossomed from there.
Excellent. You know, you referenced, you know, in your high school days there, right? The lack of opportunities that were typically available for female athletes. And, you know, I mentioned in my intro that you had been coached at Arizona State. And in fact, you started [00:04:00] that program right after Title IX was passed back in the 70s.
Tell us about that. How did, how did they approach you or how did you get involved in kind of getting their program started there?
Well, my paid job, let's say, was teaching middle school in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is about 15 20 minutes away. from ASU. And so in the early 70s when Title IX was accepted, all of a sudden, you know, the colleges were scrambling because now they had to, by law, put into effect a program. And apparently the athletic director had Been asking around and talking around and one of my parents of one of my athletes that I worked with basically, I guess, suggested he contact me.
So that was a blessing and, uh, AD, you know, interviewed me and so forth. And I guess because I was, um. able to come over for a 4, 000 stipend at the time. [00:05:00] Uh, you know, I came over after school. My principal was very cooperative because I had to clear everything with him, you know, to leave right after school was over and drove over to ASU and definitely started the program.
I mean, our uniforms were homemade from one of the girl's grandmothers. Um, we had very little, if any, equipment, you know, just basically what the P. E. department had put together. And so, uh, it was definitely from the ground up as to putting the things together, and now it's one of, you know, one of the top programs nationally.
So I'm very proud of it, obviously.
And I believe, uh, I believe next year will be the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Um, so, is everything solved and everything's equal now or are there still challenges in women's sports?
No, it's not solved. It's better than it was. But, um, you know, there are definitely challenges along the way. [00:06:00] The number of females. in the coaching profession is still down. It's not, not as equitable as we'd like it to be. some of the programs, now the one thing that is pretty advantageous to us is the Title IX provides an equal number of opportunities for the women as the men, and the schools that have football take up like 85 scholarships and so as a result the women's side get more scholarships and this has led to a somewhat unequal balancing in my mind but the women get 18 full ride scholarships and the men only get 12 and a half.
So, right now, from a scholarship point of view, the women are ahead of the men, but, uh, you know, when you look into other activities, as far as, like I say, what programs are fully funded or fully, uh, scholarshiped, you know, those are limits, [00:07:00] uh, unfortunately, because of. Title IX in football. Like I say, the football numbers are what skew it for the men.
And so, uh, we've been on a situation where some of the men's programs have been eliminated or cut down because of the football numbers. And I'm not saying get rid of football, but I'm not sure why they need 85 full ride scholarships either. So, you know, that's still an ongoing issue with the athletic directors and the powers at the NCAA.
Yeah, there's been, uh, in recent years, I mean, a lot of stories, uh, about colleges and universities cutting, um, the quote unquote non revenue generating men's sports, and then, um, kind of, you know, I think attempting to point blame at, at title nine as a cause for that, right? Saying, well, we can't fund these.
Um, [00:08:00] which is, is unfair, of course, to female athletes who deserve the opportunities afforded by title nine and also unfair to the male athletes who, um, participate in all of those sports. And now, you know, those opportunities have There's not as numerous as they once were.
Exactly. You know, I mean, the amount of money that's put into football, and I realize it's keep up with the Joneses on some of these programs, but one of the schools that cut the men's program, but then reinstated it had just spent like 4 million or something on a building. For the athletes, to train in or to rest in or something, you know, and we were like, okay, you say you don't have money and yet you can just build this 4 billion building for the football team.
So, again, I, I think it's, you know, definitely the tail is wagging the dog and, you know, I realize again, like you say, it's the [00:09:00] Revenue generating sports, but I think it's definitely gotten out of hand, uh, just because everybody's trying to be one better than the opponent.
Yeah. And you also touched on this part briefly, but, uh, about female coaches, what there is, but I think there's probably a little more to that as far as what's kind of the state of, of opportunity right now for female coaches. What are some of the, challenges that still exist, even as. Women's sports have, have increased in, in number and opportunity there.
Um, it's still not always, you know, equitably, distributed as far as where those coaching jobs go.
again, part of this whole transition to including women over the last 50 years, uh, when we first started, there were 2 separate groups, the AIAW and the NC2A, and then the NC2A, I guess, bought out or collapsed So that the women were now included in the men's, same governing [00:10:00] body.
Well, as part of that transition, then a lot of the track and field teams were combined and their staffs were combined. So instead of having a men's team and a women's team, like you do, let's say in basketball. They were combined to just a track team, a cross country team, and so the staffs were then combined so that you would have, let's say, six coaches for the program instead of three and three.
However, when you did that, obviously, people were shuffled around and so forth, and, you know, a lot of the women were eliminated or not given the opportunity, I should say, to, you know, to really. Interview and get a chance of being selected there and you know, there's a variety of opportunities and variety of reasons.
I mean, I, I get on the women coaches sometimes that, you know, you've got to get out and push the way we had to, you know, and [00:11:00] you've got to make yourself viable. You've got to produce. You've got to be educated. You've got to learn the sports and the techniques because if I'm a head coach, I want the best candidate.
Not necessarily somebody to fill the field, you know, fill the checks, the boxes of, you know, gender equity and so forth, but I think it's, it's part of the women's responsibility to make themselves into that situation. Also, then you get the situation of society and how the female is usually the family person, if you will.
And the male is the breadwinner and all of that, and it's a lot of times if the husband gets a job in a different city, the family's expected to uproot and move. Well, I'm not sure our society is caught up to the fact if the woman gets a better job. That the husband and the family are going to get up and move.
There are a few, [00:12:00] and I really do respect those men that, you know, are able to be neutral in that and not, overpressing the, uh, women's opportunities, but those are few and far between, unfortunately. And, you know, a lot of times the women just, again, will not. Be persistent enough in following through to make themselves viable and I have a problem with that because like in basketball when we first started women's basketball was almost entirely women coaches, you look at the programs now and it's very few had women coaches, and that's really too bad.
Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, make important point about the money, right? And when the money is Isn't equal. it's harder to continue to prioritize the pursuit of those opportunities because financial realities might say, well, there's something pulling me in another direction here. And although there's been a lot of [00:13:00] progress in those areas, there's.
You know, still is a way, to go, but I wanted to even, you know, zoom out a little bit at just around coaching in general, and of course we have listeners who are going to be coaching all types of sports and, um, and many who are educator coaches. So I think this part will resonate with them. And it's this quote that I had.
Picked out from Mike Holloway, who was the head USA men's Olympic coach in track and field in 2020. And he's the University of Florida head track and field coach. And he described you as the consummate teacher. Um, and I wanted to check in, you know, how do you, how does that resonate with you as a coach?
Right. And, and fit into your definition of what coaching is to you and what your objectives are around coaching.
Well, as I mentioned, I started my career after college as a teacher and, you know, my degrees are in elementary and secondary education, P. E. and reading. So, you know, there wasn't, when I came up, a coaching [00:14:00] directive, you know, a specific coaching diploma. And I think that's, again, where... To me, we are teachers.
We are, the way we can evaluate our progress is how well our, uh, students that we're working with, whether it be in a classroom or in the track and field area or wherever, how well they're improving. How well they learn. Uh, you know, I don't always measure How many All Americans a coach has. I'm looking at more with the, uh, where that athlete was when they first came to you in the program, and then where they are each year, what their progress is.
And that is teaching. That is, you know, motivating, teaching them new skills and so forth. And I think that's valuable. Because these athletes will go on into their lives, their adult lives, and very, very few of them are going to be professional. I mean, let's be honest about it. you know, we want them to be good citizens, good [00:15:00] mothers, good fathers, and so on.
And that whatever career choice. that they make, that hopefully skills they've learned through track and field and through competition and being part of a team, and with your input, uh, of leadership with them, that, you know, they become successful citizens, for the future. So to me, It's a matter of trying to get the individual more confident, more educated in whatever skill they bring to you, and then to keep building it through, uh, the time that they have with you, because in many cases, you've got 4 or 5 years.
With the student and then they're off to the next level. Uh, some of us have the ability to stick with athletes after college and work with some post collegiate athletes and that's been very rewarding because I've really seen recently some real progress and as this one athlete calls it. She's [00:16:00] adulting.
Uh, she's becoming an adult, maturing, uh, through lessons that she's learned, uh, through the track and field programs and the ups and the downs of the track and field programs. So, you know, that's rewarding when you stick with an athlete long enough to see them make that progress. And so I just believe that we're here.
My philosophy is that, you know, I'm here to instruct and to make them better than what they were when they came to me. And if I can show that, then I feel good and feel proud of what we've done.
And is that, you know, does that kind of reflect also the conversations that you're having with maybe a young athlete and their parents when they're getting started and telling them, Okay, here's what to expect from coaching. And here's how to get the most out of this. you know, here's the mindset you want to bring to this.
Here's the attitude. Here's the effort and those things to, to have them. Right, prepare themselves to understand what your approach is going to [00:17:00] be and, and of course, how much of it is reliant on them, what they bring to the process and, um, and how they can gain the most from your support.
Definitely, because, you know, in today's world, at least in the U. S., youth sports is very prevalent all over the place. I mean, you, whether it be youth football, or soccer, or basketball, or track, or field, or whatever. Uh, you know, and a lot of times, you get different types of parents. And you've got to realize that these kids are They belong to the parents, not to you.
So you've got to definitely be sure that you're including the parent as much as possible in the program and what you're doing with the, uh, with the student and what your expectations are and so forth. Because in many cases, when you're dealing with younger kids. The parent has to get them to practice.
The parent has to be sure they're picked up from practice, has to provide expenses in some cases. You know, [00:18:00] some of these, AAU volleyball and basketball programs, my goodness, you know, there's several thousand dollars for just a summer. I mean, track is a cheap sport compared to some of these club sports.
It's amazing. Uh, the other thing that I found though is that you really have to keep with the parents because some of them will try to, let's say they're frustrated athletes that never Achieved what they wanted to when they were competing, and so then they put that expectation on their child, you know, be better than mom, better than dad, and just really pushing them to either get a scholarship, or to be national champion, or whatever, and it's a lot of her burden for these kids.
You know, when you see 10, 11, 12 year olds, really being verbally harassed, I would say sometimes by their parents or by the coaches. I mean, it's not just the parents that are involved. I mean, some of these coaches, [00:19:00] unfortunately, are reliving their dreams through these youngsters. And, and I really do have a problem with that because again, we're trying to develop the human.
We're not trying to just develop the fastest sprinter around.
Yeah. I think you touched on an important point there at the end, which, is true at, at every level. but certainly at these youth levels where there are coaches who have a hard time not making it about them and, you know, believing, too much that credit for the outcomes is all a reflection of them and, you know, maybe also leads to, incompatible expectations at the beginning and well, because I'm such a great coach, I'm going to help you do this. receive a division one scholarship or whatever the case may be that they're just these blanket expectations with no real regard for the [00:20:00] individuality of athletes and the fact that they may have different goals but they also have different skill sets and different potentials and that as you said your goal for each of them is to improve and learn and get better than where they started and.
That could lead in any number of directions based on who they are, but it's, it's realistic and reasonable and it's, and it's individualized, right? Versus that everybody that comes into the program is just automatically going to attain a certain level just because. of magic, right?
right. No, I mean that's very true that you know, just because they are coached by person X. It doesn't mean that all of them are going to become national champions or state champions or regional or whatever, and like I say, it's, it's been more of a push lately in the last, let's say, 10, 15 years than what I saw initially, but then again, scholarships are on the line and economics and family [00:21:00] economics are an issue.
And, you know, there's so much push and pressure on these youngsters. to get scholarships. And there's a lot that goes into these scholarships. I mean, the last three or four years, I've been fortunate enough to be working with athletes who had the ability and the grades and so forth to be considered for Division One scholarships.
And through my contacts and things, I've been able to help them open some doors quicker, maybe than they would have normal naturally with their Just sending an email, but then when it gets down to the nuts and bolts of it, it's been tough. It's been very tough because with the different rules they have with, you know, when COVID came in and the college athletes got extra seasons because of the COVID years, uh, the influx of foreign athletes, especially in track and field, it's been tough.
It's been very overwhelming that if I was a high school male athlete right now, [00:22:00] it's very difficult to get a full ride scholarship in track and field, and it shouldn't be that way for our USA students, you know, to be fighting this, hassle, but it is because the COVID years. And so. Older athletes are staying in the sport a year or two longer, and as I mentioned, the influx of foreigners.
We're, you know, we're training most of the world in the NC2A. You look there and some events, you can't find a U. S. born athlete in the finals, and, and I find that very unfortunate.
Do you, so you work with a lot of, now, you know, younger athletes, youth, high school, you know, and even younger, athletes for whom it's their initial introduction to track and field and different track events. And there's so many of them. What is that process like of helping those young athletes find [00:23:00] their particular sport or event and kind of what does that look like?
Well, usually when you start a season or, or get contact with a youngster, you want them to try a lot of different events, and like you mentioned, there are plenty. There are 19 different events, so you can be a runner, a jumper, a thrower, a sprinter, you know, and And so I think a lot of coaches and hopefully a lot of coaches will have their, their students go through and try all the different events and see what, what clicks, you know, what they have a natural talent for or what they have potential talent for.
Some athletes, you'll see that they come in and they're right away. They already have decided they're going to be a jumper or a thrower. I'm going to be the fastest female in the world type of thing, you know. And yet they can't break 15 seconds for 100, which even for an age group, a girl is not going to do it.
And so [00:24:00] you try to then guide them to trying other events or other areas. Because, again, you want them to be successful, and so if they say, well, I want to be in this event, and you're like, yeah, but you're not, not achieving much, uh, and they start seeing their friends and other people getting, you know, rewards and honors and getting, uh, to travel out of state and things like that, usually they'll come around, but Oh, okay.
Let me try this. And I think if a club has that philosophy that we cross train, in other words, you train all the different events initially and just kind of see where the athlete rises. That that's the best philosophy.
And your, book kind of fits into this too. So the book for listeners is called I Want to Run, uh, the Olympic Developmental Training and Nutritional Guide for Young and Teen Track Runners Ages 10 to 18. So how does that kind of fit into your work with, with younger athletes and [00:25:00] what inspired you to put it into book form?
Well, mainly I wanted to focus for a young or beginning coach or a student athlete who's coming out wanting to coach and giving them a guide, an easy to read guide for all the different track events, track events, hurdles, relays and so forth. And so each event is discussed, sample workouts are there, techniques are there.
Uh, I do uh, continue on to what I call the off the track activities, which are the nutrition, sleeping, academics, because without the academics, it really doesn't matter how fast you are. it's a guide for them and or for parents of youngsters who want to become athletes or student athletes.
Even the students can read it. I mean, it's at that level where it's, it's an informative read to learn about the events. I think too many times [00:26:00] we don't, we go into things and we don't really learn about what we're doing. We just do what we're told and I find that problematic. So this, I wanted to give a good cross right over of all the different track events.
Is there a particular way, that you would recommend for, say, coaches to read and then use the book versus maybe parents, um, versus particular, you know, potentially the students themselves and just kind of the way they might want to, to absorb it and then take action on or, or support, you know, their student athlete, depending on their role, in working through this developmental program?
Yes, I think, you know, is to, let's say you're getting ready to start the season or start a club or do cross country, whatever it might be, and if you are new to it, uh, reading the different chapters that are on the events that you're going to be working on, or again, read through the whole thing to get the cross, [00:27:00] how some events are very similar, some events are very different.
And it gives you, again, sample workouts so that if you have no idea what you're doing, and a lot of times high school coaches will be kind of put in that situation where all of a sudden their athletic director says, Oh, well, we need this jump coach this season. You're it. And so this way. That person can pick it up, find the section relating to the events that he or she's doing, and quickly do a read, be able to go to practice that day, the next day, and, and have, you know, look like they know what they're doing.
And then, of course, keep studying up with that, because I do firmly believe in coaches education, as far as. learning the sports and being, being somebody who is a reference for your athletes. In other words, don't go in and just try to wing it or BS your way through, have some pride and some knowledge of what you're doing.
I also [00:28:00] do talk about for the parents, because many times, especially in summer track and field and club coaching, a lot of the parents are the coaches. So if they have experience only from back when they were in high school or college, or have no experience, this again will be that same quick study for them to get ready.
Are there particular other sports that are, maybe kids are playing other sports and haven't been involved with track, but that they're good indicators of, certain track events that that those kids may be well suited for that they may want to check out?
Definitely. I mean, that's where again, you know, as you see the soccer players, depending on the position they play. A lot of them, if they're up in the front, get non stop running, you know, for 45 minutes or whatever the halves are. And, uh, you know, so those can be looked at as far as your running talents.
Uh, [00:29:00] basketball, volleyball, those are your jumpers. And, uh, potentially throwers. So, yes, the crossover, I think, you know, in the U. S. especially, we've gotten so specialized, so young, that. It's created a generation of really talented youth. But then it's still too early to tell if they carry on to college age and post college Olympic level athletes because they've specialized so young.
I think being, again, a crossover so that you're doing a little of everything and just kind of see where your talents are, that there is definitely across, again, the volleyball, basketball there is, but it's because that's such a team sport. the club system is so intense right now in the U.
S., sometimes we lose our top jumpers to volleyball and basketball, and so I kind of have to fight with them on that to say, well, you can high jump and long jump [00:30:00] and dribble jump to, you know, gymnastics. Once they've outgrown gymnastics, they become very good pole vaulters. So, um, You know, there, there's a way to kind of recruit some of them.
Some of the softball players are good javelin throwers. So we definitely have kind of a eye out for the other sport talent identification.
Excellent. Yeah, I mean, I've often watched something like, Pole Vault and thought, how do you get started in that? How do you, because
It's a big thing. I tell you, they, they have a big following and, uh, the boys and the girls, but yeah, you, you've got to have upper body strength, obviously. and not be afraid. You've got to be a little bit daring and wild and crazy to, to do that one. Initially,
so a couple of, there's a couple other things, covered in the book that are good to touch on. I think relevant to student athletes in any sport, one being nutrition. I think particularly when we're talking about these younger [00:31:00] kids, middle school, getting into high school, at that age, but given the way metabolism is and everything, it may not have been a point of emphasis as much yet.
And yet, of course it plays a role, in, Performance in athletics. Um, what are some of the important lessons to absorb around nutrition and the importance of paying attention to that?
I think the biggest thing right now, and I'm in Texas. So, you know, we're going through this heat wave all over the US that to stay hydrated to drink water. as much as possible, you know, and to really keep the hydration going throughout the day, not just the day before the day of a meet or competition.
And so, you know, I think sometimes we need to, it's just a matter of balance. It's a matter of, you know, not too much. Not too much of the carbos, not too much of the, proteins or the fats is to, as you go back to the old saying, you [00:32:00] know, a well balanced meal or well balanced diet, uh, working in the middle school for 30 some years, though, I definitely saw.
sadness situations because a lot of those kids are having soda and chips for lunch or pizza and soda for lunch. And some of the cafeterias have definitely gotten into a more balanced, healthy options. So that's good. But again, the kids have to choose it. You know, and if you go through the cafeteria line and you buy just the chips that are on the counter there, the cookies, and you don't buy the regular lunch, it's kind of counterproductive.
sometimes the kids will... They'll bring like a granola bar or something like that to have before practice because if you don't eat and you don't eat breakfast and then you don't eat lunch and you go out and try to do a workout, especially in the heat, you're going to get probably sick and [00:33:00] not feel real good.
And then, of course, that diminishes your love for the sport when you feel like you're going to get sick all the time. You don't want to be doing that. I think parents have a big responsibility, and yet in today's society, a lot of these kids go home to an empty house, or, you know, they, they don't go shopping, the parents do the shopping, and so when you look in the pantry, what's there, you know, if it's, Just sugar pops and, junk food, then that's all you've got.
So, again, I think it's a family decision on being healthy and having fruits and fresh, vegetables as much as possible. And just using some good common sense. It's not magic or anything like that. one thing that we do recommend, though, is after practice. To get some type of protein back in your body within the first hour, and that can be some of these protein shakes.
It could be a peanut butter, half a peanut butter sandwich, something like [00:34:00] that, so that you're replenishing the body fluids and getting the muscles repaired and things like that from the workout. So that would be something that's maybe a little different than when the parents came up through their athletic career.
and of course, I mean, you've, you know, been a coach at all kinds of levels, of course, when you're working with, the Olympic staff, they're, they're going to have maybe a high level of knowledge about this, but, many coaches and kind of youth sports, I mean, how, I mean, most people, I would say, um, have, limits to their knowledge about nutrition.
And of course, a lot of what we know about nutrition is often changing. but yet there are certain things that have held consistent over time and that we do understand. But, you know, do the, the coaches of these sports often have a great knowledge about the types of nutritional guidance they could be giving or, You know, perhaps even their, their influence over [00:35:00] what's made available through their programs and program budgets, because, while, right, as you, you know, schools are attempting different things around the types of balanced options they can provide, and, parents are doing the best they can do, there's, there's knowledge gaps, and there's also economic factors, there's, you know, a variety of reasons why there's inequitable, uh, you know, access to Healthy meals.
but a big one that just comes up and again, and this is of course what you wrote about it. It's, that a lot of people just don't know or understand what that looks like and, and how simple it can be, like you said, a half a peanut butter sandwich, things like that, that aren't a big deal. It's not complicated necessarily, but it's understanding what are good sources of protein, how do proteins and carbohydrates interact with one another, right, to form energy in the body, hydration, right, and what hydration really looks like, how much do we need to be hydrated, and what is, you know, hydration, is it just water, is it electrolytes, [00:36:00] or all these kind of things that, again, doesn't need to be complicated, but it's something that, You know, even, even the adults who are running these sports programs, uh, may not always be super tuned into,
right. I think the biggest thing is what you hit on is just the lack of education and that's where, uh, I really support coaches that go out and and keep their education going and learning things, not just learning how to make the kids run fast, but learning all these off the track activities to that.
You know, the size of portions is important. as far as protein, that when you have a chicken breast, it only needs to be the size of your palm. It doesn't need to be some humongous piece of meat. having something green on your plate, whether it be the vegetable or the salad. Watching out, you know, with hydration, where we have these, electrolyte drinks and not against the certain [00:37:00] companies, but when you look at the nutritional label, some of those are 30 grams of sugar.
They're just heavy sugar. And so some athletes can taste that. And so we diluted that the value of the drink is not really negated, but the sugar content is somewhat neutralized. And so I think that's real important is to check the nutritional labels of these products, because again, everything is being sold as this is healthy, this will get you.
You know, stronger, faster, lose weight and all of that. Well, a lot of that is just advertising. It's not scientifically proven. and so you need to be educated or educate yourself in that so that you aren't doing more harm to your body than just, you know, nothing, so to speak. I think, again, it's. It's important for the coach to explain this or to bring [00:38:00] somebody in to have like a parent meeting, a club meeting with the kids and the parents, because we go back to it if the child is in middle school or high school, the parents are pivotal in this as to what's available in the house.
I mean, the kids just can't get up and drive to the store if they're, you know, 14. 13 years old. even when some of our, uh, athletes go off to college, it's very interesting, you know, what are some of the, uh, snacks and treats that they have in their room? And some of that's scary, you know, when you see that.
So it's an education all the way around. And even at the Olympic level, I mean, you'd think that those athletes would know What's good or what's not good for their body, but sometimes you look at those and their plates of food that they bring out, you know, the cafeteria and you're like, Oh, goodness. So, uh, you know, you could be so much faster.
If you, you know, follow these rules, [00:39:00] the U. S. Olympic committee has a real good, uh, site on their website. If you just Google. USOC for the United States Olympic Committee and then Nutrition Guide. They've got some real good visuals, uh, that show you what a good plate is for nutrition, for protein, for endurance, uh, athletes or sprinters and so forth.
So we give that out to a lot of our athletes and, coaches at different clinics or workshops that we have. So the nutrition, as you mentioned, is always It's kind of ongoing and changing at times, but we try to keep everybody as up to date as possible and encourage them to also, because going in with a healthy body can make the difference of, you know, a few tenths of seconds or a few seconds and how well they recover, you know, it's not just that performance, but how well they are Putting things in their body or doing things to their body to help [00:40:00] them recover so they're able to train better and then therefore compete better.
right? Yeah, and, and understanding that these, these things aren't budgetarily possible at every level and in every sport, every place, but there's a reason why, you know, really high level NCAA programs and certainly professional sports teams, right? They have chefs on staff. They provide the meal.
The athletes come in. They're fed. It's all there for them. They don't have to think about it. It's all prepared and done by people who understand the nutrition and the science of it and things because the more things you have to think about, the harder it is, right? And, and it's, convenience is a major fact of life in this, uh, 21st century with how, you know, the amount of time that's available and things that it's about, you know, what are we making accessible and available and, and easy to get to and, and just creating those habits and routines.
Um, another. One of which, [00:41:00] um, related to, but outside of nutrition, which is also sometimes made difficult by the way school schedules work is sleep, the importance of sleep.
Yes, that that is so important. And, you know, a lot of times I'll ask the parents, you know, I'm like, take those kids phones at night. Put them someplace safe, you know, a lot of the kids, and these are some of my better kids actually, you know, are up on their phone, social media, or talking to their girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever, you know, to all hours of the night, and then have to get up for a 6am practice or 8am class, and it's ridiculous.
I mean, you know, they're tearing their body down so much and not giving it a chance to recover. I mean, we think as we get older, we don't need as much rest, but you need more. You know, it's kind of the joke of, you know, in kindergarten, we all had [00:42:00] to take those afternoon naps. Well, now, if you were in high school, you would welcome an afternoon nap, uh, compared to what you did when you were six or seven years old.
So, sleep is probably the most, abused trait right now that we're having with our youngsters. Is the end middle, I mean, you know, post collegians too, is they're just trying to burn the candle at both ends and just trying to do so much. Our society today is just push, push, push, fast, fast, fast, but these phones, uh, and social media are definitely a problem.
And I would really encourage a lot of the parents to get a handle on that because that'll destroy those kids with they, um, you know, are staying up all night getting, uh, getting online.
a, it's a challenge and I don't, you know, and kids are going to feel it in different ways. sometimes, you know, you don't [00:43:00] notice how. Underrested, you are, right? Your body, and of course it relates to athletic performance as well as academics and everything else and just, you know, ability to pay attention and engage and recover and rest and you know, not just physical performance, but injury and all other things where, you know, the body is, it's just not properly rested and fueled and, and there's such a variety of factors that something happens and it's not always as simple as saying, Oh, this happened because of this.
So this happened because I didn't get enough sleep or because I, you know, Didn't eat the right thing or whatever, but it's all those things in combination. you know, and, and there is a, a lot of recovery time needed that isn't always also built in, I think. I mean, when you think about, I remember playing, high school sports, one thing led immediately to the next, right?
The first day of [00:44:00] basketball was the day after the last football game, and then baseball started
still
then there were summer camps, and, you know, there was no, there were no breaks in between, and, um, And no real opportunity to do that. And hopefully some of these things have, have gone away by now, but it, you know, we had the water makes you weak.
It was all we ever heard about that. Right. And in football and all, you know, all these things that are horrible, terrible ideas, that were prevalent and, The continuing education for coaches and parents and, and student athletes to, um, become more and more aware of all these things is critical.
Um, so I wanted to do a quick, quick lightning round here. It's only a handful of questions here, but as we're kind of, you know, getting closer to the end, but, um, there were some, you know, interesting things that stood out in your, your bio and your work and things that wanted to touch on. and one of which is.
The idea of some virtual coaching. So I know this [00:45:00] is part of your process. Do you do, what does that look like? How is that possible?
basically having a coach video, you know, we all have access to videos now with our phones. And so this is probably one of the biggest. Transformations that we've had over the years is access to immediate feedback, and it's not always what you as the coach see or what the athlete feels as much as, okay, let's see what it looks like and match that to how it felt.
And so, uh, virtual coaching basically is that. In other words, the coach on site. Films the athlete doing whatever he or she's doing, and then either, immediately showing it to me in a different city or state, or sending the clips, and then we make comments and send it back to them. The most immediate way would be to be on a FaceTime type of platform and, you [00:46:00] know, that I watch each, interval or each set repetition of something and make comments and corrections for that next attempt or the next rep.
And so that's, that's becoming more popular.
Uh, what was it like to work with Jackie Joyner Kersee?
It was an honor. It was Stressful at times because of the expectations that she has on herself and that the world had on her. we have an excellent relationship, still, you know, I saw her at the Nationals a month ago. And I think it was a matter of I was kind of a buffer that I was working with her in the high jump and kind of as a mental coach, if you will.
To when things started getting a little bit hectic and stressful at competitions that I was somebody who could kind of neutralize it, not make it as intense or as stressful for her. One thing that she told me. [00:47:00] At a meet one time and she said, it's so hard because everybody expects me to set a world record every time I'm out there and you know, and that's got to add up, you know, you look at our athletes today across the board and we do kind of do that.
You know, if an athlete wins, but their mark isn't quite as good as what they've done before, or they don't score as many points as they did before, You know, we're kind of like, oh, well, you must have had a bad day or a bad game and it's like, no, I'm human, you know, and so, uh, like I say, working with Jackie was a real honor to work with somebody that good and yet that nice a person too.
You know, she definitely is an awesome person.
Yeah. And how about another record setting athlete, better known for basketball, Wilt Chamberlain? Well, what's that story?
Will Chamberlain was really, a good supporter for women's athletics. And he lived in Southern California, and we would [00:48:00] go over there, again, I was in Phoenix at the time, and we would go over there to Southern California for meets. And so then... In 1980 81, uh, one of the athletes I was working with got married, and her husband got a job over there, and so it was one of these where I had a, um, midlife crisis at age 30, but I went too, and so, uh, Wilt was the sponsor of our team.
and I have nothing but positive experiences with him. Uh, he helped, fund my weight of meats. He helped pay for my gas to go to practice. He was very supportive and encouraging. And you know, there's all these different stories out there about Wilt and his lifestyle and so forth, but I have nothing but positive ones.
I mean, he called me one New Year's day at two in the morning. you know, whenever you get a call at two in the morning, you're kind of... panic about what's happening. But he called just to talk about life and [00:49:00] my future and my goals and my dreams and to give me advice on things. And I thought, you know, that that's a really neat situation.
And really, it wasn't just track, you know, it was supportive. And, I have nothing but good memories and good thoughts, uh, with Will.
Excellent. Yeah. And listeners, if you're interested in more on that, there's actually, uh, was a recently released three part documentary series on Showtime called Goliath. about Wilt Chamberlain's life that talks a lot about this and his support of women's sports and you know, everything he did outside of basketball.
Um, so one last quick question here on the wrap it around is what do you consider your greatest success?
I would say helping young men and young women become better with themselves. In other words, whether it be academics or athletics or just feeling better about themselves, self image, uh, you know, today, so much as mental health and, uh, [00:50:00] self image and confidence moving forward. And I think sports. It helps that and it hurts that at times.
And so, if I can be there as a mentor, teacher, coach, whatever word you want to phrase, and help somebody grow up into, you know, everything they can be, I'll, I'll be happy.
Excellent. Awesome. So as we close, um, I know there's one more thing that you're involved in is the gold medal coaches summit. and I'm sure a lot of our listeners would be interested in hearing what that is and what it's about. Um, so I'll give you the floor on that.
Okay, thank you. Uh, what I've done with the gold medal coaches, it's track and field coaches, and again, it's more for the, middle, coach the middle level that's just getting into the sport or have a few years of experience and or parents or it can be for an experienced coach too. I have 30 different sessions, our sessions with some of our most elite coaches in the country.
And we go through and talk about, it's [00:51:00] like an interview process, kind of like this, and, uh, I ask them questions and they explain their programs and what they do to help their athletes, uh, improve, or different drills, different workouts, and so forth, and it goes for a week. It's free. as far as when the schedule and then you can, purchase lifetime access to the videos if you want to have them.
We'll do it in the winter, so I do release it right before the, uh, season starts, the outdoor season. So it'll be like a release in January, February. And it's goldmedalcoaches. com is the website where you can see last year's.
And then next year, about this time in September or August, September, I want to do one more specifically targeted in for cross country and distance coaches. So I'm going to been kind of segment off based on the [00:52:00] different event groups.
Excellent. Yeah, so listeners, you can check out, gold medal coaches.com to learn more about that. You can also check out sue Humphrey coach.com to learn more about Sue's other coaching work, and we'll put the link to Amazon if you wanna check out her book as well. So all of that is below plus social media information and everything else.
So feel free to follow up on any of that. Please do also subscribe to Sideline Sessions to hear the rest of our fall season. We're going to continue our conversations with coaches from across the sporting landscape, all levels, all sports, a lot of different voices that you're going to want to hear from, and please do also visit bpodcast.
network to learn about all of our shows. Um, Sue Humphrey, thanks so much for being with us here.
Thank you. I appreciate it. [00:53:00]