The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

Coach Dr. Dillon Martinez talks to us about ways to effectively give our athletes feedback as well as the six mistakes when giving feedback. This episode is perfect for coaches of all events of all ages. A link to his book can be found here: https://a.co/d/0aCWfu9i

Welcome to Gill1918, the track & field coachingpodcast powered by Gill Athletics. Since 1918, Gill has been dedicatedto empowering coaches with innovative equipment—now, we're bringing elitecoaching education straight to your ears.

Our goal is to create the Ted Talks of track/field podcastsbringing the annual track clinic to your ears DAILY! Topics will include butare not limited to covering key strategies, techniques, and training principlesto help you improve athlete performance, structure better workouts, enhanceteam culture, and more!

Whether you're a high school, collegiate, or club coach,Gill1918 is your go-to resource for quick, high-impact coaching educationfrom the best minds in the sport.

📩 Want to contribute anepisode? Submit your 10-30 minute coaching talk to [email protected]or read ⁠⁠THISLINKEDIN ARTICLE⁠⁠ for information on how toget started. All coaches are invited to participate!

🎙️ Don’t forget tosubscribe and follow Gill Athletics for more expert coaching insights!

#TrackAndField #CoachingEducation #Gill1918 #ByCoachesForCoaches#TrackCoach #TedTalksOfTrackFieldPodcast

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phillips.

Today we share part 2 of Erik Jenkins' talk on the relays. Enjoy!

Don't forget to join us over on YouTube for the video version of Monday's Gill Connections Podcast as well as Twitch.TV for 24/7 track/field Gill Connections Podcast interviews.

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phillips.

Today we share part 1 of Erik Jenkins' talk on the relays. Enjoy!

Don't forget to join us over on YouTube for the video version of Monday's Gill Connections Podcast as well as Twitch.TV for 24/7 track/field Gill Connections Podcast interviews.

Kamara Sitton is instrumental in bringing The Pink Spike Festival Girls/Women Only T&F Meet and scholarship to life each spring. Kamara is a coach for the Titans Track Club (AAU) in Upstate SC. She earned her Master's in Sports Administration from Arkansas State University and uses it in a variety of sports-related contexts. She enthusiastically provides reasons why female-only sporting events benefit not only the participants but society overall.

If you have a topic to share, contact David Mitchell to learn how.

What happens when a program built over five decades gets handed—quite literally—from father to son?

In this special father–son edition of the Gill Connections Podcast, longtime UW–Stevens Point legend Rick Whitt and current head coach Brett Whitt sit down together to share one of the most unique coaching journeys you’ll ever hear.

From handwritten recruiting letters sent to his own son, to navigating health scares, career pivots, Division I vs. Division III realities, and ultimately a seamless leadership transition—this episode is about far more than track & field.

It’s about family, trust, patience, and doing things the right way.

🟣 Episode highlights include:

🏃‍♂️ How Rick went from wrestling against Dan Gable to a 50-year coaching career

📬 The handwritten recruiting letter Rick mailed to Brett—like any other recruit

🎥 Why Brett abandoned dreams of ESPN to pursue coaching instead

🧠 Coaching education: then vs. now, formal vs. informal

❤️ A health scare that reshaped leadership, legacy, and perspective

🔄 The rare and healthy transition from coach → colleague → father working alongside son

🟡 Why Division III—and the WIAC in particular—keeps producing national contenders

🏟️ What excites them most about the future of UW–Stevens Point Track & Field

This conversation is honest, funny, emotional, and deeply human—exactly what coaching really looks like behind the results sheet.

“Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” — Rick Whitt

If you care about coaching longevity, mentorship, leadership transitions, or simply doing right by people—this episode is for you.

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into over 350 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 Twitch.tv, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.

🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode: Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs Tuesdays through Sundays. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.

📲 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! 🎧👍

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phillips.

Today we share part 2 of Sammy Dabbs' talk on the high hurdles. Enjoy!

Don't forget to join us over on YouTube for the video version of Monday's Gill Connections Podcast as well as Twitch.TV for 24/7 track/field Gill Connections Podcast interviews.

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phillips.

Today we share part 1 of Sammy Dabbs' talk on the high hurdles. Enjoy!

Don't forget to join us over on YouTube for the video version of Monday's Gill Connections Podcast as well as Twitch.TV for 24/7 track/field Gill Connections Podcast interviews.

Dave has coached hundreds, maybe thousands of athletes over his career at East Kentwood HS in MI. Coaching his own 3 kids came with many joys and also lessons learned for him and every member of the family. He shares what he now knows so that others can navigate the challenges and form great memories together. Dave's book Beyond the Finish Line: The Art of Transformational Coaching remains among the best-selling T&F books since its release in late 2025.

Got something to share with youth coaches/athletes? Contact David Mitchell to find out how.

Part 2 of our fireside chat with Randy Huntington goes deeper than technique and medals. This is a conversation about legacy, empathy, curiosity, and what it really means to coach—especially when the next phase of life begins.

Randy reflects on his time in China, the isolation and growth that came with it, and how those experiences reshaped how he thinks about athletes, coaches, and the profession itself. We talk about the danger of losing the big rocks while chasing details, why simplicity is often the highest form of mastery, and why great coaches learn to say less, not more.

This episode is also about transition—moving from coaching athletes to coaching coaches, from chasing outcomes to shaping people. Randy shares powerful stories about independence in athletes, emotional control in competition, and why fundamentals are still missing at the highest levels of the sport.

Along the way, we dive into:

* The loneliness and cultural stimulation of coaching abroad 🌏

* Why curiosity across sports (dance, volleyball, medicine) matters 🧠

* The “big rocks” philosophy—and why basics still win 🪨

* Coaching cues, communication, and becoming a chameleon 🎯

* Retirement not as an ending, but a redirection 🔄

* Honoring the giants of the sport—and preserving their stories 📖

This isn’t an episode about how to jump farther or run faster.

It’s an episode about why coaching matters, how influence lasts far beyond PRs, and why the next generation of coaches needs voices like Randy’s—now more than ever.

“The big rocks are still the big rocks. The only thing that’s changed is we can measure them better.”

— Randy Huntington

🌟 Explore Our Library:Dive into over 350 episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, DiljeetTaylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan,as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou(Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) andmany more! Find us on Twitch.tv, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more foryour listening pleasure.

🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode:Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode,which airs Tuesdays through Sundays. Find YOUR voice on the Gill ConnectionsPodcast Network.

📲 Stay Connected: Wantto 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! 🎧👍

Back in the fall of 2025, Coach Marques Lowe (Gill podcast alum!) and the Vipers Track Club hosted a Central Illinois Pre-Season Coaches Clinic. To increase the value to other coaches, he has allowed those presentations to be published on the Gill1918 Project Podcast.

Today we feature Part 2 of Olivet Nazarene University's Zontavious Johnson's (Gill podcast alum!) deep dive into coaching both the Short and Long hurdles. He's had great success in these events, so you're sure to get value from his talk. If you missed Part 1 from yesterday, go back and listen to that one first.

Welcome to Gill1918, the track & field coaching podcast powered by Gill Athletics. Since 1918, Gill has been dedicated to empowering coaches with innovative equipment—now, we're bringing elite coaching education straight to your ears.

Our goal is to create the Ted Talks of track/field podcasts bringing the annual track clinic to your ears DAILY! Topics will include but are not limited to covering key strategies, techniques, and training principles to help you improve athlete performance, structure better workouts, enhance team culture, and more!

Whether you're a high school, collegiate, or club coach, Gill1918 is your go-to resource for quick, high-impact coaching education from the best minds in the sport.

📩 Want to contribute an episode? Submit your 10-30 minute coaching talk to [email protected] or read ⁠⁠THIS LINKEDIN ARTICLE⁠⁠ for information on how to get started. All coaches are invited to participate!

🎙️ Don’t forget to subscribe and follow Gill Athletics for more expert coaching insights!

#TrackAndField #CoachingEducation #Gill1918 #ByCoachesForCoaches #TrackCoach #TedTalksOfTrackFieldPodcast