The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

🏆 From small-town Alabama to the USTFCCCA Boys National Coach of the Year, Richard Anderson’s journey is anything but ordinary.

In this episode, Coach Anderson shares:

🏃 His unlikely path into track & field after years as a football and baseball coach

🏗️ Starting a program from scratch with no facilities—just painted lines, dug holes, and pure determination

🤝 Building culture at a 265-athlete program where distance runners, throwers, jumpers, and sprinters learn to support each other

🥈 The sting of four straight runner-up finishes—and the joy of finally breaking through to a state championship in 2025

📚 How coaching education and mentorship shaped his evolution from “football coach who did track” to “track coach, period”

💬 “If you don’t have joy in what you’re doing, don’t do it. That’s what I tell my staff, that’s what I tell my kids, and that’s what I remind myself every single season.” – Richard Anderson

🌟 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.

🎙️ 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! 🎧👍

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!

Gill is partnering with Glazier clinics for a FREE track and field clinic on December 12th and 13th. To help you understand what value this clinic will provide you, we will have clinicians give introductions to themselves and their topics for the clinic. Today we have Tommy Badon, head coach of Louisiana University, giving us an intro into his topic "High Jump."

Sign up for FREE here: https://production.glazierdrive.com/online/schedule/1090

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!

Originally recorded as two separate short episodes, we combined them to get your December started with a Double Shot of Emeott!! Dave is a highly successful high school coach with 8 state titles, 13 consecutive regional wins, and a 100% graduation rate. He is also the author of the Amazon #1 new release in T&F/Sports entitled Beyond the Finish Line: The Art of Transformational Coaching.

If you've got a topic you'd like to share, email David Mitchell [email protected] to get more information.

Alisa Seymour didn’t step into an established powerhouse — she *built* one. As the head coach of Collierville High School’s girls track and field program, she has spent over two decades cultivating not just champions, but confident young women ready for life’s next stage.

In this episode, we talk with Coach Seymour about:

* The early days of starting a program from scratch

* Creating a culture where athletes believe in themselves

* How it felt to be named USTFCCCA Girls High School National Coach of the Year

* The emotional side of coaching elite performers

* And why sometimes the small wins mean the most

🌟 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.

🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode: Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs every Tuesday through Sunday. 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! 🎧👍

Every year at the USTFCCCA Convention, we do a LIVE taping of the Gill Connections podcast. Leading up to this year's LIVE taping on December 15th, we'll be showcasing last year's interviews.

Look for information on where we'll be hosting this year's event, as we typically host on YouTube LIVE but are also looking at potentially adding Twitch to the mix.

Check out the new Twitch.tv Gill Athletics channel in the meantime and we'll see you on December 15th!