The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

Few coaches in America can tell a story like Lucky Huber — and even fewer can say they’ve spent 40 years at one university, coached an Olympic medalist, transitioned a program from DII to DI, and built a culture anchored in humility, service, and relationships.

In this heartfelt Season 7 conversation, Lucky opens up about his unlikely beginnings, the mentorship that shaped him, the rise of Derek Miles, and the inner workings of leadership that most coaches never get to hear.

🌟 In This Episode:

🏠 Growing up in small-town South Dakota — and how USD became home for four decades

📬 The wild story of how Derek Miles was recruited by Polaroid pictures

🪜 Derek’s rise: from not qualifying for the California state meet to becoming an Olympian

🥇 Coaching at three Olympic Games — and what it’s really like behind the scenes

🧂 How sharing licorice at the Olympics became Lucky’s unofficial “international greeting”

👨‍🏫 The emotional transition from coaching Derek as an athlete to working with him as a colleague

🧠 Leadership lessons: running a 110-athlete DI program, hiring staff, and “coaching the coaches”

💬 The brilliant end-of-season meeting strategy every coaching staff should steal

🏟️ USD’s future: a new indoor facility, major fundraising, and Lucky’s vision for the next generation

❤️ Why Lucky still wakes up each day excited to serve student-athletes

💬 Quote of the Episode

“Track and field isn’t going anywhere. You still line up, shoot the gun, run down a runway, and throw things. It’s the greatest sport ever.” — Lucky Huber

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into nearly 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! 🎧👍

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 is Univ of Southern Cal sprints/hurdles coach Brenton Emanuel and the second part of his presentation on Recruiting. With the landscape evolving on a daily basis, Coach Emanuel shed some light on a few mysteries in the recruiting world. If you didn't listen to yesterday's Part 1, you may want to go 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

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.

First up in a two-parter is Univ of Southern Cal sprints/hurdles coach Brenton Emanuel. He joined the clinic to discus the ever changing world of being recruited in today's NCAA. With things evolving on a daily basis, Coach Emanuel shed some light on a few mysteries in the recruiting world. Today is Part 1, join us tomorrow for Part 2.

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

Originally recorded as a live interactive webinar called "Ask Olympian Shannon Rowbury Anything", this episode is a compilation of a few of the many great highlights as Shannon shared wisdom from her career. You'll note brief pauses between topics.

Shannon discusses her long-delayed 2012 Olympic 1500m bronze medal, the process of moving up the ranks from youth to the Olympics, and her soon-to-be-released book Strong as a Mother. To sign up for Shannon's newsletter and/or to learn more about the book and future live interactive opportunities visit ShannonRowbury.com.

If you'd like to contribute an episode please contact David Mitchell.

What happens when a kid who raced his principal in 5th grade grows into the head coach of the Blazing Trojans? In this episode, Mike sits down with Joseph Tooks, the energetic and intentional girls’ head coach at Bloom Township High School — a coach who blends mass-communication savvy, lived experience, and deep compassion into one powerful leadership style.

From discovering track with the Illinois Flames, to triple jumping his way through college at St. Joseph’s, to finding his true calling in helping young women believe in themselves, Coach Tooks shares a journey filled with growth, humility, and purpose.

🔥 In this episode:

🏃‍♀️ How a 5th-grade “fun day” race changed everything

📸 Why a mass-comm major became a photographer AND a coach

🧠 The moment a college teammate humbled him into becoming a coach

💥 The honest story of a meet-day blow-up — and the powerful lesson it taught

🧒 Why understanding a kid’s life before practice changes everything

🏟️ Bloom Township’s new indoor facility and what it means for the future

🤝 The partnership between coaches, parents, and community that builds champions

💬 Favorite Quote from Coach Tooks:

“Each one teach one. If someone saw something in me before I saw it in myself, then I owe that to the next kid too.”

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into nearly 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! 🎧👍

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 is part 2 of Univ of Illinois throws coach JC Lambert presenting his thoughts on how to coach the throws and how to correlate the weight room with those activities. If you missed Part 1, go back and listen to it 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

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.

First up in a two-parter is Univ of Illinois throws coach JC Lambert. He kicked off the clinic presenting his thoughts on how to coach the throws and how to correlate the weight room with those activities. Today is Part 1, join us tomorrow for Part 2.

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

Katie is a mental skills coach for Elevated Performance following a 13-year career as a pro runner including winning a US Road Mile Championship and being a 3000m World Championships finalist. This is the final episode in her mindset series. She covers things athletes can start to do long before the key end of season competitions to make them better prepared to do their very best when it counts the most.

If you'd like to contribute an episode, contact David Mitchell to learn more.

From Long Island in the early 1980s—where girls weren’t even allowed to run cross country—to becoming the second head women’s coach in University of Rhode Island history, Laurie Feit-Melnick has spent a lifetime breaking barriers, building community, and shaping generations of women.

In this powerful conversation, Laurie takes us through a journey few could imagine:

🏃‍♀️ Starting her high school's first-ever girls cross country team

🎓 Navigating personal tragedy during college and the life-changing mentorship that kept her running

📚 Becoming a coach not through design but through service, curiosity, and courage

🏅 Moving from Miami (OH) to URI—first as an acting head coach, then building a 33-year legacy

🍼 Raising a family inside the sport while coaching with her husband John

💙 Empowering young women, championing community, and serving as a role model for women in coaching

🏟️ And now—ushering in a NEW era at Rhode Island with a state-of-the-art outdoor track & field facility

This is not just a coaching story.

This is a story about resilience, opportunity, mentorship, motherhood, leadership…

…and the ripple effect one coach can have across thousands of lives.

“It’s not always about wins and losses. It’s about connection—helping young people become the best they can be.” — Laurie Feit-Melnick

An uplifting, emotional, and deeply inspiring episode showcasing the power of women in coaching—and the profound legacy Coach Feit-Melnick continues to build at Rhode Island.

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into nearly 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! 🎧👍

Each year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we sit down with coaches for micro 5-10/ish minute interviews. This year we asked them "What are you a nerd about off the track?" in an attempt to learn about these amazing human beings outside of their roles as excellent track/field coaches. Their answers are as diverse as they human they are. We learned we were sitting with Lego enthusiast, history buffs, trail/mountain fans, and so much more.

ENJOY!

🌟 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! 🎧👍