🎙️ **From Montana Miles to Oregon Impact: Alan King’s Unexpected Coaching Calling**

In this episode of the *Gill Connections Podcast*, we sit down with Alan King, head coach at Umpqua Community College, whose journey from Billings, Montana, to building a brand-new Gill-equipped track in Roseburg, Oregon, is nothing short of inspiring.

Alan opens up about his early love for distance running, the surprising fork in the road that led him from a history degree to coaching, and how he's leveraging social media to recruit athletes from across the country to a growing program in the Pacific Northwest.

🏃‍♂️ From athlete to coach — a journey that wasn’t in the original plan

🏗️ Behind the scenes of Umpqua’s new Gill Athletics track & field facility

📱 Social media recruiting strategies that actually work

🏔️ Lessons learned from growing up in Montana

👟 Why community college is a powerful launchpad for athletes and coaches alike

"I never planned to be a coach… but here I am, loving every second of it." — Alan King

🎧 Listen in as Coach King shares how passion, persistence, and platforms like Instagram are fueling his program’s momentum — and how Gill Athletics is helping pave the way, literally and figuratively, for the next generation of track and field athletes.

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into 300+ episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.

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📲 Stay Connected: Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at [email protected], or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍