Airey Bros Radio Episode 399. We sit down with Coach Chris Beene, Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Odessa College. Beene is one of the most decorated coaches in NJCAA history, leading South Plains College to 32 national team championships, earning 14 National Coach of the Year and 25 Coach of the Meet honors, and coaching more than 20 Olympians and World Championship athletes, 50-plus national champions, and 150-plus All-Americans. He was inducted into the NJCAA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2021 and the Texas Track & Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2024–25 he received four NJCAA Legacy Awards, the only JUCO coach to do so.We cover his coaching philosophy, recruiting approach, academic standards, rebuilding Odessa into a national contender, international athlete development, double-threshold training and distance strategy, and how West Texas culture shapes tough, successful programs.Follow

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Show Notes and Timestamps
0:00 Intro and show open
1:15 Coach Beene joins; Hall of Fame legacy and Odessa vision
3:00 The JUCO mission and why community college athletics matter
4:45 From South Plains to Odessa; rebuilding a winner
8:00 Why JUCO is his favorite level to coach
10:00 Myths about junior college coaching
12:00 Odessa early rise; top women and men preseason rankings
14:00 Global recruiting pipeline; Jamaica, Africa, and Texas roots
17:00 What makes a great recruiter and how parents factor in
19:00 Academics first; discipline, study halls, and accountability
23:00 Why Odessa College support systems are elite
25:00 International athletes adapting to climate, food, and culture
28:00 West Texas hospitality and community
33:00 Recruiting in 2025; relationships over hype
35:00 Family balance, time management, and staff roles
37:00 Mentoring moments; the hurdles story and athlete buy-in
40:00 Evolving as a coach; standards, discipline, and growth
43:00 Distance training; double-threshold, mileage, and VDOT
46:00 Olympians and world championship athletes developed under Beene
49:00 Academic excellence and GPA standards at Odessa
52:00 Key meets; OSU Jamboree, Regionals, Nationals in Iowa
55:00 Half marathon strategy and the quest to win all eight titles
57:00 Building a full track program at Odessa; next steps
62:00 Mentors, rivals, and respect across JUCO track and field
64:00 Texas roots, Von Erichs, and wrestling ties
66:00 Coaching mantras; love the process and habit over desire
70:00 The person behind the coach; family, movies, and Dr Pepper
77:00 Closing thoughts; Odessa’s next chapter