Alan Babbitt: Welcome to the Hope Athletics Orange and Blue podcast. My name is Alan Babbitt, sports information director at Hope College. I am thrilled to bring you interviews during the school year with Hope College coaches, administrators, especially amid these challenging times during the COVID pandemic, it's nice to be able to hear from our coaches and see and hear about some of the great things they and our student athletes are doing. With us today is men's and women's track and field coach Kevin Cole. The Flying Dutch and the Flying Dutchmen got the chance to compete first time this school year this past Saturday at Grand Valley and not thrilled to talk to him about that. Welcome to the podcast, Kevin.
Kevin Cole: Thanks, Alan.
Alan Babbitt: First and foremost, take me back to the weekend and being able to compete over at Grand Valley State University for the first time since February 29 last year when you were at MIAA indoor track and field championships. How would you describe the mood and the feelings for everyone, yourself included, being able to compete again on Saturday?
Kevin Cole: It was a lot of fun, hectic for sure, because we came back to practice the day before and then had a meet. But it was just really good to get back and everybody was just really happy to be competing. It was low-key; there were only three teams there. We only had 25 athletes out of our 100 or so total athletes. It was still just great to get competing again.
Alan Babbitt: What did you hear from your student athletes? What were they saying to you either during the meet or after the meet as you guys are headed home or what you've heard from them perhaps afterward?
Kevin Cole: They were just glad to be competing again. It's been so long. Really they've just been training on their own for what seems like forever. Now, all of a sudden they get to be together and competing and being socially distanced six feet away from each other, but at least being social and seeing some other people — track and field is all about that competition — and when you're just by yourself all the time. You're really losing the major aspect of it.
Alan Babbitt: How was coaching? Was it any different besides maybe the distancing? Was it the same as you had pre-COVID?
Kevin Cole: It was actually really nice. It was easier for me there. There were fewer people, both on our team and the other teams. They had the entire track cleared of anybody but athletes and coaches, so it was just wide open. You can get to where you needed to. Kind of nice, really, that way. Not having spectators there changes things a lot, but I enjoyed it.
Alan Babbitt: What have these past 10 months been like for you? Everyone's figuring out a new normal, so to speak. For you, being connected with your student athletes and not being able to practice with them and help them out and, leading them, I know you enjoy your time with your coaches as well. What's been your focus? How have you been able to try to get through these challenging times?
Kevin Cole: It has really been a challenge because I have so many athletes that are all doing so many different things. But what we've tried to do is just post the workouts for them, stay in touch and communicate with them when we can. We're putting things on hold, but trying to maintain the level where we left off so we don't drop anything coming into the season, ready to go whenever that was. It seemed like every week, things would change and we kept being prepared to start over and over and over, then just kept getting pushed back or canceled and who knows what's going to happen next week, You've got to be flexible.
Alan Babbitt: I know a big part for you and our coaches is that emotional connection. Especially it can be hard when you have a large team trying to make sure you're connecting and supporting. How did you try to work through that with a sport that obviously has a large roster? That's a unique challenge.
Kevin Cole: That was probably the toughest thing there is. I think they kept in touch in small groups and kept each other going a little bit. With NCAA rules, we can't do things like having them report what they're doing for workouts and all that kind of stuff. Staying within that, but then also staying in touch somewhat. Just getting the method message out there and hoping that they're mature and driven enough to keep themselves in shape and a lot of improved that they are
Alan Babbitt: What impressed you about your student athletes and how they've dealt with everything because they're the ones that are missing the chance to, compete and be with their friends. That's a difficult thing
Kevin Cole: I just have found them to be just super accepting and pretty laid back about it. It's like, 'Oh, this is what it is. This is what the normal is, that's what we do. I think they're adapting really well to that and I think they're really, really grounded young adults that realize that no matter how bad it is. They've still got it really good and so they keep a positive attitude on things. I've never had a team that complains very much because I don't put up with it. They just haven't complained. It's like 'Thank you Coach' for giving us the chance to compete. Thank you for putting in the time to give us the workouts. They've been great about it.
Alan Babbitt: I wanted to talk about the adjustments our athletes had to make this past weekend wearing mask, with us being able to test three times a week and being able to do that with the state guidelines and expectations of masking since we can't test six times a week. It's a different thing to have to contend with. Having started running myself during this pandemic. I wore a mask a few times and it's different.
Kevin Cole: We let them know pretty early on that they'd have to compete with masks on and practice with masks on. I told them to experiment with a bunch of different masks and see which ones work the best for them. They found a way to do it. I think they adapt better than us old guys. Again, it's the new normal to them. We've got to where we will figure out a way to make it work. We had people running 3000 meters, with a mask on and really I don't think it affected them much.
Alan Babbitt: Talk about some of the performances this weekend. You and I spoke after the meet on Saturday, and you were very pleasantly surprised, considering that lack of practice, with how well your student athletes did. What were some of the performances and efforts that you know stood out to you between the men and women?
Kevin Cole: I always keep my expectations low for the first meet regardless of the circumstances. Taking that few people there and a lot of them were freshmen that have really never competed. The sophomores barely got a season last year. They definitely exceeded the expectations I had. I had six people on the team who got personal records. To just come right in off with no training is pretty amazing to do that. There weren't a lot of meets last weekend across the country, but there were a few of them at least. It's kind of fun to go in, we can look at the nation leaders early, you look really good if you get an early meet. There's some other meets out there and we've got two people that are leading the nation. We've got six people that are second or third in the nation in their events. That won't hold up if they don't get faster, but it's still fun to kind of see that right now.
Alan Babbitt: I saw some familiar names and some new names as well. I mean, Ana Tucker's been an outstanding runner right from the get go for us. Ellie Haan was another name just a net and Nathaniel Woolum as welll. Talk about what you have on this roster and what you see are strengths as you move forward.
Kevin Cole: We're definitely deep in the distances Ana was an All American in an abbreviated season last year. Ana actually went to the indoor meet and warmed up a little bit. Then they shut down the indoor national meet and they made anybody who qualified all American. She came away with that. She's an awesome runner. She's going to be one of the tops in the nation. Regardless, and she had a great 3K time. So did Nick Hoffman on the guys side in 3K. Those are two just stalwarts of the team. Then we've also got some really good looking young people who came in. We had Dan Campbell run his first mile since maybe junior year of high school and gets like a 11 second PR. He's in second in the nation right now. We're kind of deep and with our older people, but also our younger people, too. Like you said, Nathaniel Woolum. He sits second in the nation, but Drew Dow was right behind him. Hannah Kenny is leading and both the mile. In the 800 Grace Behrens, she's one of the people who came in and great shape came right in and Almost got a PR in the 60. You got a PR in the 200; Nate Trumble came back and got two PRs. That's tough to do right off the bat in the first meet.
Alan Babbitt: With you getting practice going this week, getting that regular part of your regular routine, how does the rest of the indoor season shape out? What do you focus on in practice? What else do you have on the calendar right now that you are looking forward to.
Kevin Cole: We're trying to make practices as normal as possible and pretend like we've got a normal season other than wearing masks and staying distanced all the time. We're trying toact like it's a season. We're trying to get ready for that conference meet in early March. I've got some meets on the schedule. We've got Grand Valley this week Saturday. We have a couple of conference meets towards the end of February and early March. Everybody knows that it's a week to week with that. Meet that are on the schedule may disappear or I may find another one. Maybe I can set up a dual meet with Calvin, or something like that. Everything we're still just kind of working things out. Whereas, usually in a normal season, we'd have it all written down, and we know exactly what was going to happen. In outdoor, I've no idea yet. We'll see.
Alan Babbitt: Obviously with our weather, although it's been unseasonably not snowy here so far — maybe I put a jinx on right now — how do you train in the winter as you compete during an indoor season.
Kevin Cole: Obviously we get outside when we can. It's just easier on the legs to be out there especially you know distance runners. We've got the nice snowmelt that we can use sometimes in downtown. What I can do with sprinters and jumpers, this week's is awesome because there's nobody around. I've got the whole (DeWitt) Tennis Center where we can do 200-meter ovals in there. We've got our pole vault plant box in there. We've got jump mats in there. It's kind of fun. I'm calling it track camp. It's kind of neat having a larger percentage of the team all together in the same space than we wouldn't during a normal year. Next week when the classes get started we'll still do some things in the Tennis Center and will start using the Dow Center more. We just kind of work around the constraints, but it's worked for us and we've been pretty successful.
Alan Babbitt: Your connection with Hope, going back to your days as a student athlete, a very accomplished student athlete yourself. All-MIAA in both cross country and track during your career. MIAA champion in the 800 meter run and captain as a senior as well. Talk about your days as a student athlete, what do you remember and brings a smile to your face?
Kevin Cole: That's a long time ago now. I was very serious about my studies and did well on those. But really, the fun of college to me was track and cross country, and that's where a huge, huge percentage of my friend base came from. I just looked forward every day to go into practice and blow off some steam from a frustrating quiz that day or something. It was just a great experience for me. I think we get quite a few of these people who come to Hope. They had such an awesome experience that they want to find some way to give back. I'm one of the very few lucky people that actually got to do. It took me a while of working my way through my master's and my Ph.D. and coaching at some other places and teaching at some other places. I eventually worked my way back and I still call it my dream job. I'm living the dream.
Alan Babbitt: What is it about track and field that it's your sport? Some people find football. Some people find basketball. Some people find track and field. What is it for you that's track and field has obviously been a lifelong passion for you.
Kevin Cole: I was good at it. That was the big thing. In the seventh grade, I went out and did my first cross country meet and the next day they were talking about the results on the school announcements and I heard my name. I'm like, 'Ooh, I'm somebody so I'm going to stick with this thing.' It's better than sitting at the end of the bench in basketball and going in for the last minute, missing all my free throws. I think part of it was just being good at it. But another part. I just think it's just such a pure sport. You get back what you work. The harder you work at it, the better you're going to get. Whether you're one of the people who are winning the meets or you're just trying to improve yourself and there's so much about setting personal records and improving. There's no coach's decision over whether you know he's going to put you in the game or not. It's if you beat somebody else and nobody's going to dispute that you know, even if you're really ugly getting from point A to point B. If you do it really fast, you're still a good athlete. It's just a little different that way, and it's very individual. I've always really liked that and just the freedom of it.
Alan Babbitt: You talked about your studies and you know your masters from Texas Christian and then your Ph.D from Ball State. Talk about your educational pursuits and what you found and how that shapes what you do today as well.
Kevin Cole: I started out pre-med when I went to Hope. I had the sophomore year epiphany that many of the students do that I was going into it for all the wrong reasons. I just thought about things for a long time and realized 'What do I really like?' I like athletics. I like running and I really like to think about what's happening inside of the body during that exercise. A couple of my profs at that time, one of them was actually my cross country coach, and I found out you can actually major in exercise science, go on and get an advanced degree in it. I'm like 'I can learn about this stuff that already enjoys learning about and make it a profession?' Once I found out that I knew that was going to be my track from then on, and just kept moving on from it right from Hope and had some great experiences. I got to work with testing Olympians when I was in graduate school. We tested. A lot of people like Frank Shorter and Bill Rogers, people who'd meddled in the Olympics and won the Boston Marathon who then brought them back like 20 years after that and we were testing these people and seeing what had happened to them later on. I got to go work with testing astronauts at the Johnson Space Center, just a lot of really cool stuff that was just kind of an extension of my love for sport and for track and field.
Alan Babbitt: That love for track and field and Hope has come full circle. Now, with your daughter, Jacinda on the team, having her be a part of this track and field and this whole Hope College experience. I know your wife, Lynn (Kingma) is an alum as well. A lot of deep connections there. What does that mean, just to have this extra time?
Kevin Cole: It's been great. I should mention that my wife, Lynn, was also an amazing athlete at Hope.
Alan Babbitt: Very good point.
Kevin Cole: (Lynn) had the 800 and 1,500 conference records and I think she deserves a lot of the genetic credit there for Jacinda and my other kids. It's been wonderful to have Jacinda on the team and just being able to see her compete all the time. This last Saturday was an extreme example of that because we weren't allowed to have any spectators in there. I was one of the few parents who actually got to see their kid race. it's been fun seeing her advance as a runner and as an adult and as a student.
Alan Babbitt: Has that changed anything in your eyes as a coach. I mean, just kind of help you relate to at your student athletes are thinking in this moment. Or is there anything that's helped you out, that you've learned from, having your own child as part of the team?
Kevin Cole: Oh, it's, very helpful because sometimes I can be a little out of touch and not knowing exactly what people are thinking. I just tap into her all the time and ask her 'if I did this, What will the team think?' and she's like, 'No, that's stupid; don't do that.' She almost always right. I've learned a lot that way. I've also learned from seeing it from a parent's eyes in addition to a coach's eyes and seeing some improvements that I can make to the program and things like that.
Alan Babbitt: I know when we talked before he how proud of you, or how not only her effort, to o improve and become the outstanding student athlete she's become, but also just her growth as a person. What's that meant to you to see her mature and become a person that's going to you know make an impact you know after she leaves Hope.
Kevin Cole: It's cool to see that. She's always been a she's kind of been a leader, wherever. She's been maybe that's an older child thing or whatnot. I don't know. I am always been proud of her for everything that she's been able to do with that. Seeing how she's matured through the college process and she's ready to go out in the world. She's going to be a teacher and she's gonna be an awesome teacher. I hope that she also gets to be a coach because she can be a great coach. She's just somebody that a lot of the students, student athletes, feel comfortable going to her and asking your questions. She's got a good head on her shoulders.
Alan Babbitt: Awesome to look forward to watching her and you and your teams, hopefully compete this winter. Best of luck with this season. And hopefully, we'll see outdoor season and get that back on as well.
Kevin Cole: Thanks a lot.
