THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

     TRAGEDY – Extremely mournful, melancholy

     TRILOGY – A series or group of three……,although individually complete, are closely related in theme and the like

They buried Boston T. Grant today. He died over the weekend and his daughter-in-law, seeing my call back number on his phone , rightfully assumed I was a friend and called to break the sad news to me. I had left a message for him not too long ago after we had missed connections a couple of times. His last call to me was from the hospital where he complained that he had lost a lot of weight and was down to less and 130 pounds. Boston joins Jimmy Carnes and Dr Bert Lyle as individual track and field icons to/for me each of whom died within months of each other. Somewhere there is a saying that such news comes in threes ( 3s ) and being somewhat superstitious, after the passing of Jimmy in April, and Dr Lyle in May,  I was waiting with great dread for the the third shoe to drop.

Boston was a legend in high school coaching . His last high school job was at South Oak Cliff  High School in Dallas, Texas.  But he would have been a legend on any level of coaching because he was just that good !  But I personally respected the coach, but loved the man because he was a throwback and “old school”. In our last phone conversation this spring while he was in the hospital, the exchange went something like this:

     Boston, how you doing man ?

     Brooks, I ain’t doing all that good. I don’t feel like eating and have trouble keeping what I do eat down.

     Boston, must be they don’t have no “soul” food up in that hospital.

     Brooks, don’t know what it is. Don’t know man.

     Boston, do you remember your own competition days right after World War II ?

     Yeah I do. I already told you ’bout all that stuff .

     I want you to tell me again because I want you to get your mind on something good that you and I can share.

     Well you know I was in the service back in 1948. We was all stationed in Italy.

     Who was with you ? Bunch of boys you probably don’t know, but Roscoe Lee Brown, the actor was one of them.  Him   and some other Negro boys. We also had some good white boys too with us too. That was back when white boys could really run.  

     Boston, white boys can still run.

     Not like they used to !

     Boston, that is a racist statement.

     Racist my ass ! Them white boys would wear your butt out if you let ‘em.

     You don’t think they are as good today as then ?

     Hell no ! Back then, everyone was hongry . There was no BMWs and there was no excuses. Them white boys were “bad” and nothing made them feel better than kicking some nigger ass.

     Boston, that still sounds racist to me.

He could here the chuckle and humor in my voice and said:

     Man, you need to go on ! You know I ain’t got nothing against no white man. Let me take that back, Bubba hasn’t call me back. He always gives me tickets to the Texas Relays and passes to the fish fry they have before the meet. I sure could use some of that fried fish right now. Maybe I could put on some weight if I had some of Bubba’s fried fish.

     You know Bubba will get back to you pretty soon now. You and him go back a long ways.

     You right about that. Brooks, I am getting a little tired right now. Can’t talk like I used to.

     I understand. This is Brooks Tee. Johnson signing off to Boston Tee. Grant. Get some rest, you hear, because the next time we talk there ain’t going to be no time limits.

I was right. The next time Boston Tee. Grant and I talk there will be no limits.

Brooks T. Johnson

Bert Lyle,….. Dr Bert Lyle,…. died last week. For too many, his passing will be the same as his living, unnoticed and unappreciated except  for a very few who were fortunate and blessed enough to have enteracted with him and have him enter our lives. I referenced Bert in a previous blog in connection with a piece about Usain Bolt. Bert was as advanced in what he did as Bolt was in what he did. The biggest difference was Bert labored off stage and generally in the background. Just exactly what did Bert do ? First of all, as Director of Athletics and Track Coach at Texas Women’s University, he was a pioneer in women’s athletics well before Title IV ever become the law of the land. He hosted the first national track and field championships for collegiate  women in the late ’60s at Texas Women’s University,… before Title IV was even enacted in 1972 .

The fact that he was out ahead of the curve is the singular most revealing thing about him. He was athletically ahead of his time, and the rest of us so-called coaches were left scrambling trying to catch up. He was one of the very first coaches to look at women’s track and field from a scientific perspective. He was into biomechanics before it became the buzz word for coaches wanting to sound and appear knowledgeable.  He was a liberal racially,…. when being  ”liberal” was not used and abused by racists and conservatives in the manner  it is today. He was a gentle man of the South, at a time when most gentlemen of the South ( and North ), were neither, and would disavow and deny the ideals and ethics he embraced with such quiet dignity and distinction. His tolerance was educating and enlighteninging,….not because he preached it, but simply because he lived it without fanfare, fervor or furor . He was what he was,.. because he simply was what he was. He never saw fit to embellish or even explain who and what he was. He simply lived honestly and  happily in the knowledge that he knew his stuff and enjoyed sharing it with others.

With Bert’s passing another fountain and reservoir of passion for the sport has left us. There will be no closing of the waters behind his passing because he occupied such a large area and took up such a big place for those of us who knew him and benefitted from our association with him.   

I can not say “ good bye “ to him because I see no good in his passing. So perhaps “…so long Bert..” is better because of the long time he has influenced some of us,…………. and the the long time he will continue to do so.

 Brooks T. Johnson

Jimmy Carnes died a few weeks back. He was a generous man. He thought big and usually ahead of his time. He gave me my first track and field coaching job on the collegiate level when he brought on to his staff at the University of Florida in 1975. He was as unselfish and void of ego as any successful person I have ever known. I never quite understood how someone who was as ambitious as he was, who had such grand ideas and objectives in life, could be so non-self-absorbed and giving.

Jimmy had been ill with prostate cancer for several years and it had come to my attention recently that he was really quite sick . I was at my son’s  track meet when the phone call came telling me that he had just passed. I immediately went into a state of deep denial and damage control. How could a man as good and generous as Jimmy be taken away ? Where was the logic ? Where was the validation and justification for such a tragic thing ? For God’s sake,….why ?

Finding no satisfactory answer(s), I simply refused to accept his death. This refusal stayed with me for some time. I did not attend his funeral for fear of having to formally and  finally acknowledge what I did not want to face and/or accept.   Tonight as I was listening to Miles Davis playing “Round About Midnight”, the tears came for Jimmy. As is often the case with me, a lot of what I am moved and motivateded to do has its roots in jazz, blues, or art. What Miles was saying/playing,  and Coletrane was echoing, was so pertinent and poignant to Jimmy, that the flood gates of denial burst open and  I cried. It was  my time to let my feelings surface and spring forth. I felt some small comfort and solace  in knowing that despite the fact that I could not alter or postpone when he died, I could hold off and delay when I had to fully accept it.

Jimmy was that strange contradiction that occured once in a while with white southern gentlemen. He was born and raised in Georgia during some of Jim Crow’s(segregation) most turbulent times ( 40s-50s-60s ). Yet he somehow found a way to elevate himself above the racial hatred and bigotry of his culture and times, and emerge as a caring human being, who as Dr King preached, ” judged a man by his character and not the color of his skin “.  I have always marvelled at white people who could be as free prejudice as Jimmy. When such people came from the south, I must admit I was stunned, and sometimes shamed, by own prejudgement of them.    

It is now 11:24pm.  It is approaching “Round Midnight”. Jimmy is gone, Miles is gone, and soon this day will be gone too. I have had my long repressed weeping for Jimmy and another and new day is just a few minutes away. But in the time I have left in this night, I ask myself over and over, where is the logic ? Why do such good people have to die ?

Brooks T. Johnson

It is amazing how quickly a coach like me can go from a complete “ know nothing” to being a near genius. The very same people who were seriously questioning my competence and coaching ability in 2008, now are  asking me for answers  and advice as a result of the success of one athlete with whom I work,…. David Oliver. Undefeated in all of his 15, 110 hurdle races this summer, and coming within two hundreths of a second of the world record, while tying and breaking the American record, David was a top candidate for ” IAAF Athlete Of The Year” until the 800 meter world record was broken  twice. For me, the 110 hurdles are the most technically demanding event in track and field . There are no other events in the sport where you have to be on your best technical game ten times at velocity. There may be events where you have to be highly technical for three or four revolutions ( hammer ), or two turns ( discus ) or three bounds ( triple jump ) at higher velocities than the hurdles, but the accumulative demands made over ten hurdles tops the other events. Bottom line, because of the qualitative and quantitative technical demands  required by the event, I take a great deal of pride in working with the #1 men’s hurdler, and arguably the #3 men’s hurdler ( Dwight Thomas ) for 2010. Despite this pride, I must admit that the credit for most of what was imparted to these athletes by me came from a people that only knowledgeable “old timers” are aware of. Below is my response to the many requests I have gotten as a result of my newly “elevated”  intellectual and technical competence as a coach, especially as it relates to the hurdles.

First of all there needs to exist a firm and well grounded idea and concept of just exactly what the the event in question happens to be, and what and how is the best way to address getting good results from it.  Simply and profoundly, the hurdles are merely a sprint interupted. Like all events in track and field, the basic challenge is to devise a methodology and approach that will allow the center of gravity of a person or object, to get from one point in time and space, to another point in time and space, in the Least Elapsed Time ( LET ).  The challenge is the very same for a competitive marathon,  javelin throw, triple jump, or sprints. LET being the ultimate objective in all track and field events, then we can apply certain LET centered rules and approach concepts to all events in track and field. The approach and methodology I employ is as follows:

The first thing that has to take place is the ATHLETIC component and positioning of the movement(s) under consideration. This is where biomechanics and physics are most critical. Sir Isaac Newton , and his basic laws of motion, are  a coach’s best friend at this point.

The second phase of teaching/coaching the event is the BALLETTIC aspect of the event. How can the athlete take the ATHLETIC demands and movements of the event  and turn them into creative and artistic activity based upon the gifts of that individual athlete. If the athlete is successful at combining both the ATHLETIC ( science ) and BALLETIC ( creative ) aspect of the event with her/his own individual gifts, then there will emerge a “style” that is based upon sound and productive principals. Too often we see athletes with “styles” that are shallow and cosmetic and offer no real contribution to ultimate success within the event,……but often go a long way to establish that person as “different” in a cheap way they find somewhat satisfying to an over-riding need for attention at all costs.

Once the ATHLETIC ( science ) and BALLETIC ( creative ) aspects of the event are in some acceptable and consistent order, then we need to consider how we can best bring about the BALLISTIC ( velocity/speed ) phase into productive play. Since we have already established that LET is the #1 prioirity in the sport, this is the final but most crucial element in the triad and trilogy of ATHLETIC – BALLETIC – BALLISTIC .

I hear the term “genius” thrown around much too loosely. When a wide receiver in football or a baseball player makes a tough catch, or some other impressive feat or  performance, announcers limited by vocabulary and command of the language, will call this effort “genius”. I prefer to limit the term to what THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE offers: ” GENIUS – 1. an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and  original work in art, music, etc.” 

It is obvious I have gone to considerable lengths to set up the fact that “genius” is not a word to be used lightly or flippantly. So when I describe Wilbur Ross as a genius, then it should mean something. For those people who really want to learn something about how and what to teach hurdlers, you will hasten on-line and get his book, HURDLERS’ BIBLE.  I have very little else to offer on this level than what is in that book. What I have been successful in doing , however, is taking Wilbur’s ideas and concepts, marry them with basic Newtonian laws of motion, and teach them to the people with whom I work.

Israel “Cachao” Lopez was a musical icon and genius,  at first for Cuban danzones and later for all carribean based, and later again, other latin music as well. Being a bass player who was well schooled as a classical musician, he had a technical command of his intrument and understood arcane and esoteric harmonies. But over and above that he felt and understood rhythmns and beats that originally came from Africa. As he wove these harmonies and beats together he was able to move from danzones to father Mambo, and later Cha-Cha-Cha.  He was a a seminal force as a performer, influence and innovator right up until his death at age  89 in 2007. ( listen to Carlos Santana’s “Oye Como Vai ” one of Cachao’s originals “contemporized”). In a story he relates how he and other Cuban musicians and percussionists would go up into the hills around Havana and just play non-stop for a weekend. He marveled at how some time each percussionist was playing a different rhythmn and accenting a different beat, yet they musicians were creative enough to make it all “come out right”.   One of the aspects of his genius was the ability to synthesize and integrate these various and myriad rhythmns and harmonies in such a fashion so it all ” came out right”. He relates that he could hear something similar when he stood on the flatform between cars of a speeding train. Every time the wheel rolled over the crack in the rails, there was an accent to the beat and rhythmn . At the very same time there were other rhythmns and sounds emantating from the train’s movement and they all came together and “came out right”. It is this phenomenon(a) that a good coach of the hurdles must master. That is to hear and feel different rhythmns with different accents and get the athlete to feel and employ these rhythmns as well. Often times I turn my back on the hurdles and listen to the rhythmn and time between each step to the hurdle and the pause and musical “rest” over the hurdle. I can “hear” what is good or bad, because I know what rhythmns  and accents to listen for .     

In something of an aside, I do not think it is totally a coincidence that some of the very best hurdlers and sprinters in the world come from the Carribbean, or have Carriribbean roots,  where the purest African rhythmn forms, outside of Africa, are synthesized with other creative forces brought about by the creative needs there to succeed. Before the pootbutts and “haters” get off on calling me racist or Carribbean-centric, let me hasten to say that the rhythmns are critical, but even more critical is the unique cultural and survival demands that require extra creative skills and  synthesizing. Any culture is capable of producing the above.  If you watch Stephan Holm in the high jump he had it.   The question and issue revolves around what cultures demand and expand it most  as a way of life and has it carried over into sport. Again, as in hurdling itself, the emphasis for success has to be made on what is accented and what is under-valued and omitted. Any culture  that produces the proper accent can produce the superior product.

I do not have time to proofread this ( have to pick up my son from school ). Even if I did have time, I still can not get the damned “spellcheck” to work.

Thanks.

Brooks T. Johnson

 Right after the Olympics of 2008, in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, the meet headquarters for the very highly regarded WELTKLASSE/Zurich Meet, Mark Block, a prominent agent for track and field athletes, asked me about some very scathing comments and criticisms Doug Logan, the newly minted CEO of USA Track and Field , had made about the U.S. track and field team’s medal performance at the Olympics. He was particularly scathing of the coaching staff and particularly its handling of the relays. He was calling for an “audit panel” to review the  whole high performance aspect of USATF. As chair of the High Performance Division of USATF, a lot of the criticism was directed at me and my performance in that position, …….not all of it undeserved. 

That guy Logan is really getting after you pretty good.

Mark, he came into the sport almost proudly declaring in his interview with the board that he was totally ignorant of the sport, other than he tried to jog a few miles each day. 

Doesn’t that bother you ?

Yeah. It bothers the hell out of me. He is the product of a “scorched earth ” plan pushed through by Bill Roe ( former USATF president ) with the help and encouragement of the USOC.

Wait a minute you just zipped right past me.

The USOC is very much trying to get the various National Governing Bodies ( NGBs) to reorganize and restructure themselves along the lines that the USOC thinks is best for them. In many ways they want USATF to restructure more along the lines of the USOC itself and pursue performance plans similar to swimmming. If they get swimming and track and field in line, they anticipate less hassle getting the other NGBs to yield and comply.

The USOC has had its own issues right ?

Yeah, they have had at least four CEOs in the last eight years. Plus when we talked with the president of the USOC, he personally declared that their board was not sure that their current structure was best for THEM, let alone NGBs.

Then how could they dictate changes within USATF ?

They threatened to decertify USATF as an NGB ?

Can they do that ?

Not as we are constituted and operating. We never met the threshold of malfeasance or non-feasance , or unethical behavior as required by law. 

Then how did this whole thing come about ?

Bill Roe used the “decertify” threat from the USOC as Bush did the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” ploy and threat.  Despite the fact that Roe was in the room with the rest of us when the USOC president declared that USATF did NOT meet the threshold level for decertification , Roe still used decertification as a threat and pressure tactic to move along his own agenda as regards restructuring USATF and selection of a new CEO. His scorched earth agenda for the new board composition basically left out the volunteer sector of USATF, where the service component and expertise resides, out of the equation and whole volunteer sectors were left without direct representation on the board.  The new board would go from twenty nine memebers down to fifteen, of which at least three would not even be from within the sport itself. He presided over a CEO screening and selection process that was ethically flawed, which was bound to produce fatally flawed results.

How was that ?

The board was generally under the impression that we were going to be presented with upwards of three new CEO candidtaes. One of the other candidates was a former Olympic medalist, who had had a very successful run in helping to put Gatorade on the map. He had a Fortune 500 Roledex which we were essentially seeking in a new CEO.  The night of the conference call to select the new CEO, Roe presented just one name, Doug Logan. When challenged on the fact that we, the board, felt there was going to be more than one candidate for us to review, he retorted that if we wanted to delay the process longer and face decertification and displeasure from the USOC, we could vote the one candidate down and start the process all over again. Too many people were simply tired of the drawn out process. Some legitimately thought there was a chance of decertification. Since the athletes on the screening committee supported Logan, some felt it best to go along with the athletes’ choice. At the end of the night, nine people abstained, one voted no, and the rest voted to support what they thought was the athletes’ choice.

I know the one “no” vote was yours. 

No, I abstained, a mistake I regret, but will make up for it later. The “no” vote was Lionel Leach, chair of Youth Athletics.

Make up for it later ? How are you going to do that ?

Mark, right here and now I am telling you he will NOT last the term.

How can you be so sure ?

It is just like Clyde Hart said, ” He has already declared he doesn’t know anything about the sport,…. and every time he opens his mouth he proves it.”

So he has a big mouth and knows nothing about the sport. How is that going to cost him his job ?

Mark, arrogance leads to ignorance and ignorance leads to mistakes. This guy has a massive ego and  he is going to make mistakes that equal the magnitude of that ego. When he does, I am going to nail his ass because there is a mandate in federal  legislation that demands accountability and transparency of organizations like USATF. I am going to make sure he is held accountable to the people that essentailly control the destiny of his job every time he screws up,….. as he inevitably will. Believe me, he will NOT last the quadrennium.  

From the very beginning, Logan’s game plan was clear and clumsy in addition to being  coupled with some serious ego needs. He never saw a reporter or a microphone that he didn’t fall madly in love with. He used public statements to demean and diminish everything that had taken place in USATF before his arrival. More critically he used the media to bash athletes themselves and show his disrespect for them. This despite the fact that USATF describes itself accurately as the #1 track and field power int he world. Based upon medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships we easily beat the second place Russians and the the third place Kenyans. At the Olympics of 2008 the U.S. the tally was a total of 23 medals. The year before at the World Championships we had won 25 medals. The rest of the world was in awe and throroughly impressed with our medal count,….just as they should be based upon what other countries were getting done at the same competitions. His political objective was to diminish and destroy all that had come before him so he would have a clean slate to implement his meglomaniacal agenda.     

One of the very first mistakes Logan made was in the composition of his “audit panel” to review and assess the High Performance Division’s effectiveness. Of the seven original members of the panel, four were present or former employees of the USOC. This indicated that the USOC was very much involved in the internal affairs of USATF, despite the fact our by-laws clearly and essentially stated that USATF and all other NGBs were to avoid “outside” influence and interference in their internal affairs. But even more critical and revealing was the fact that he totally ignored the USOC by-laws, Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act, and USATF by-laws which mandate that 20% of any entity making decisions regarding USATF be made up of athletes. The two “athletes” ( Carl Lewis and Benita Fitzgerald-Mosley ) did not constitute athletes under the USATF and USOC by-laws because they were too remote from the sport, so the 20% rule was violated. This was belatedly addressed by adding athletes that in fact met the by-law requirements , but by then the dye was already cast and the “audit panel” essentially reported out what Logan wanted it to.

However, in and under this was the one single thing that most caused his downfall , and this was demonstrated from the very beginning. That is the fact that he never really respected athletes. By not knowing that athletes were a requirement and prerequisite, and a welcomed addition to any decision-making process, he chose to ignore and disrepect them. He demonstrated this by re-allocating funds ( upwards of a million dollars ) intended for athletes to control and distribute and placed them into the general fund over which he had control. When challeneged about this fraudulent transfer, he perfunctorily stated, “That is how I do business.”  I advised the athletes about the contract that outlined the funds allocated to them and they enlisted the help of a board member who got a copy of the contract and shared it with the board.

Logan’s total disregard for his most critical constituent group,…athletes, was to some degree manifested in many of the changes and proposed changes made by his new hires. The athletes were in a constant hassle with the new Chief of Performance over whether or not they should be consulted in advance when decisions were made that impacted them. The USATF by-laws essentially make that a mandatory process as it states that decisions made in behalf of athletes should be made consistent with their basic wishes. Not knowing what their basic wishes happen to be, how can you make decisions without consulting and conferring with them in advance ? On many occasions this happened and much friction grew up between the people responsible for and generating and administering programs and those for whom the programs were supposed to benefit.

By the time the Athletes Advisory Council had ramped up a full head of anti-Logan steam, there was already a majority of the board members who were aware that Logan simply was not the man for the job. His basic attitude was consistent with the “Enron Syndrome”,….with the same fatal results. The Enron mantra was that at any meeting the Enron personnel attended, they were the “smartest people in the room”. Logans holier and smarter than thou attitude did not sit very well with a group of very bright people who were volunteering their time and good faith efforts, and at the same time were respected and accomplished people in their own fields of endeavor.

The leadership of the AAC was very stringent and diligent in its efforts in making sure they were not turned into pawns and toys for Logan’s enjoyment and pleasure. As he crossed the line in his personal conduct regarding athletes, it was duly noted and reported to the board and its officers. As he went further and further afield in this area, it was reported and investigated and it became obvious that he had to go.

In today’s NEW YORK TIMES, Logan is still up to his old and lame tactics. Everyone is a fool but him. He is still ” the smartest guy in the room”. He characterizes the USATF board as, “This is 15 people who want to be taken seriously who for all practical purposes, are 15 bodies in funny suits stumbling out of a little car.”. Now for a minute I want you to image the CEO of USATF, the #1 track and field power in the world, over 60 years old and sauntering and preening through the lobby of the athletes’ hotel at the World Championships with tight, black leather pants on ( Elvis is in the house ), wearing red rimmed sun glasses. Further, picture the same CEO during the Olympic Torch procession for the 2007 Winter Olympics dressed in an all-white costume with a pointed cone hat on, for all the world looking like a refugee from a klu klux klan meeting and having this USA TODAY image repeated in the USATF publication. What kind of gaul and total lack of self-awareness does it take and manifest to accuse someone else of dressing ” in funny suits “.

In the same NEW YORK TIMES article he states about the board, ” It’s people who have earned their credentials to sit on a board because they’ve had a whistle around their neck at regional youth meets.” Please keep in mind the person who saw so clearly through him at the very outset and voted “no” against his candidacy, was the chair of the Youth  Athletics Committee who has attended many “youth meets” and obviously brought to the table some clarity of vision and insight about him that escaped the rest of us at that time. But we quickly caught up. Also keep in mind that on that board were two Olympic track and field athletes, one of whom attended law school and was a world record holder. Another board memeber was a very successful track and field coach, who later was a vice president at NIKE and now heads up Andre Aggazzi’s foundation. There are another three active athletes on the board, all of whom have been Olympians and one of whom has an Olympic medal in the marathon. You see he really can not help himself. He is too arrogant and self-absorbed to really see the  innate and inherent gross contradictions in what he says and what he professes to be. This is what I intuitively knew back in 2008 and was the underlying reason I was confident Logan could/would not last the term. 

This man was selected for USATF by the same headhunter who served that capacity for the USOC. It is assumed that his selection met with tacit USOC approval because at the time they were so deeply involved in USATF internal affairs. They wanted USATF to model itself after swimming and regrettably they got their wish if you follow my drift and and read between the lines.

Thanks.

Brooks T. Johnson

In a previous piece I pointed out that track and field athletes, and people in general, usually posess an Instant Gratification/Reward Syndrome or a Delayed Reward Gratification/Reward Syndrome. Usually there is a problem if we attempt to have an instant reward personality perform a delayed reward task. The converse is also true. One of the real drawbacks for me in teaching was the fact that it sometimes took decades before I would get feedback from students about what my efforts on their behalf REALLY meant to them. One of the very special places I taught for the better part of a decade was St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.. In many ways this was a pedagogue’s dream job. The students on average were very bright, motivated, and generally well behaved. The fact that politics and political science was a very high interest of mine, made the fact that I had students ( Al Gore, Billy Mondale, Teddy Kennedy, Elliott Richardson, Neil and Marvin Bush, Kim Agnew, Bill Graham   etc. ) whose parents were very highly placed in government and business should have made the experience there permanently and terminally attractive. The adminsitration of the school was very tolerant and patient with my unorthodox style and form of teaching. The pay was good and the amount of recognition and respect was ego-sating. But despite this I always had the itch to move on. And did,… in 1975. 

Recently, Jon Sade, one of the students at St. Albans that I introduced to jazz in the cultural anthropology class I taught there ,  sent me  an music review from the WASHINGTON POST. He enclosed a brief statement, ” I read this today and had flashbacks to your Anthropology class and our Jazz/Blues Club at St. Albans. Some of what the subject says seems intuitive and almost obvious, but intersting still. I’m curious how he demonstrated it scientifically.”  Jon’s title on the note paper read, Merrill Lynch – A bank of America Corporation, Jonathan Sade, Managing Director- Investements . So he’s a pretty sophisticated and accomplished guy. And, thirty five years later and he stills ponders questions and issues we discussed when he was a teenager. Made my damned day ! Thirty five years too late for me to really grasp what I was really teaching and communicating because the instant reward itch had already prevailed.

The “HE” Jon refers to is Vijay Iyer, a trained physicist, who is currently respected as one of the most prominent voices on jazz piano( 2010 Jazz Journalists Association award winner as Jazz Musician of the Year ). He was an undergraduate at Yale and got his PhD in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley. His PhD thesis was Technology and the Arts. It has always been a goal of mine to explore, explain and expand in my own mind and fashion how art/creativity/intuition interacted,… and in fact ultimately become and enhance science and technology. In describing Mr Iyer’s approach the reviewer states, “….at the University of Cailifornia at Berkely, where he produced a doctoral thesis that focused on the ’role of the body in music perception and cognition’ - that is, the part played by bodily experience in the comprehension of music. The two spheres may seem worlds apart. Yet speaking of his two lives, the pianist reveals that in some ways, each was made posiible by the other.” 

Years ago Jeff Atkinson was a 1500 meter runner I coached at Stanford University. He won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988, beating Steve Scott who was virtually unbeatable at that time by an American. Jeff went on to make the finals in the 1500 in 1988 at the Olympics. At one time he was the American record holder at the 1500 meters indoors. He once attempted to criticize and diminish me by stating, “You coach like a jazz musician !”. The broad smile that immediately spread across my face gave him a moment’s pause.  ”Did you hear what I said ?” “ Yes —hole I heard what you said !” And my smile became even broader. He shook his head and wandered off and finished the workout. I was very happy in the fact that I was doing exactly what I wanted to do,… my best emulation of Mile Davis and John Coltrane. However and conversely, I was saddened because he did not understand or appreciate the inherent benefit he was geting from the approach I was taking in my coaching “style”. that so greatly benefitted him.

The 100 meter hurdles for women, and the 110 metter hurdles for men, are in fact the most technical events in track and field. These hurdlers have to be technically and scientifically very sound for at least the ten hurdles between the start line  and the finish line. A serious mistake at any one of the ten can spell instant and complete disaster ( Gail Devers in 1992, Alan Johnson and Perdita Felicien in 2004, Lolo Jones in 2008 ). In no other event in the sport is the athlete challenged and held accountable at that level of efficiency, at that velocity, that number of times ! David Oliver was the reigning king of the men’s 110 hurdles for 2010. In the process he tied the old American record for the event and then within weeks set a new American record, just 2 one-hundreths off the world record. He did this despite the fact that he was having dental issues that required three root canels after he set the American record. This process can to some degree be traced back to a meet he was invited to in Paris several years ago. I advised him to visit the Picasso musem there and see if he could see just how this creative genius was able to express himself at the end of his career with just a few strokes and minimal material. He visited the musem and reported back to me that he could see the progression from the complex and convoluted to the simple and plain, yet still communicating the same complex physical images and deep emotions. I told him that the task that faced us in his event was the same process he witnessed at the museum. We had to take complex ideas and very technical stuff and break it down into the fewest creative and scientific strokes . In order to do that we had to emulate what I heard and felt from seeing Picasso,…. and hearing Miles Davis and John Coltrane.  At the same time we had to make sure we never lost sight of Sir Isaac Newton and his physical laws of motion and movement. When I observe him hurdling I am reminded of John Coltrane, by way of Gene Ammons , with Newton very much in attendance. Vijay Iyer states, ” Physical ( physics, < my insertion > ) logic can be used to generate musical ideas.” It is also true that the reverse if also true, namely,  musical and intuition ideas can be used to enhance and better implement physical ( physics ) concepts. It is from this perspective that I proceed in coaching all events. Iyer states, ” The body is in the musical space, interacting with the instrument.”. In my coaching approach, the body is in  a/the musical space interacting with science and technology, but when done properly it is difficult to identify one to the exclsuion of the other. 

In Zurich after the Diamond League Meet Bobby Kersee and I were sitting down going over some schemes and traning value for the 400 meter hurdles and the 400. We were discussing the percentages of training loads ( volume versus velocity ) and types of energy sources ( aerobic vs anaerobic , lactic acid vs alactic ). As we got deeper and deeper into the discussion it became clearer and clearer that where we may have started out with science and technology, we were going to end up with intuition and creativity carrying the day in order to put the science and technology to the very best use. This recalls a discussion I had with John Smith about sharing coaching and training ideas with other coachs and clinics and seminars.

Look, man I ain’t afraid to share ALL my stuff with these other coaches.

Why John ?

Because they can not take my s–t and beat me with it.

Really ?

Hell no ! First of all, they do not know how to mix it because there is no rescipe out there to tell them. And even if there was, you still have to understand how to tamper with it to make it just right. All of it can not come off a page.

So ?

So ? So, I got the s–t right here in my head, but I also got it in my gut. They both tell me what to do. You have too many coaches out here who do not know how to use their gut and guts. So they will never be able to beat me because they are not multi-dimensional enough.

Oooooh.

Oh.  By the way I think it was/is fitting and proper that David Oliver ran his best time( 12.89 ) in Paris, the birthplace of his Picasso phenomenon and awakening. 

Thanks.

Brooks T. Johnson

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, July 19, 2010

There we sat, John Smith, Bobby Kersee, and I. We were in the “Call Room” watching the “crowning of champions” at the Weltklasse/Zurich Meet, the Diamond League finals for the women’s 100, women’s 400, and men’s 110 meter hurdles. After a series of races in which points for placing were being tallied, the #1 athletes from these meets were being recognized and awarded a big trophy in the infield of the track in Zurich. Earlier this year John, Bobby and I had sat at the warm up track at the conclusion of the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Qatar in a very quiet and reflective mood. None of us had athletes that produced the results we were hoping for.  There was enough success that we felt the future looked good, but there is no substitute for having it all right NOW. So we left Qatar with our minds swirling and twirling around how we were going to deliver on the pregnant promise of the summer.

So there we were sitting in the “Call Room” watching the proceedings on the track on the monitor that was available there. Outwardly we were were modestly and quietly smiling, but inside we were bursting and exploding with unabashed pride and  pleasure. Carmelita Jeter ( John ) was crowned #1 for the women’s 100. Allyson Felix ( Bobby ) was crowned #1 for 400. David Oliver was crowned #1 for 110 hurdles.  Three track-worldly coaches who had seen cautiously reserved promise and potential for the summer back in March, now were enjoying the reality and richness that culminated in that moment of recognized achievement. What an unadulterated experience !  The purity and pristine quality of success honestly won in a hard, and often frustrating, fight is absolutely unmatched and unequalled. The specialness and uniqueness of this kind of victory makes me wonder what kind of second class and greatly diminished  joy and truncated pleasure do cheaters enjoy.

It is this kind of moment of uncontaminated joy and pride  that propels me to want to repeat the experience over and over again. So now it is September and within a month we will start the training cycle over again. David Oliver will be joined by some of his old training partners and a few very gifted new ones. He needs the cross-fertilization that comes from having new people and new human dynamics as part of the training group. As they seek ever higher and higher accomplishments, he is inspired and invigorated within himself to do better himself.  As he rejoins his old team mates, he gets a sense of stability and continuity necessary to use as a launching pad to bigger and better things. But it is not all about him. He knows this. He was injured the summer of 2009 and the track and field world did not wait for him. It, to no one’s surprise, but perhaps his disappointment, never missed a beat. It just kept on spinning in its own orbit around and about competition from which he was forcibly  absent. In an effort to catch up, after being left in 2009, in 2010 he was able to establish a new American record( 12.89) in his event and flirt with the world record of 12.87. But his training mates are just like the rest of the sport. They are going to continue to go about their business no matter what he does. It is not just about him.

I am sure that John and Bobby share a lot of the same things I have just shared with you. At the end of the day we are just three track-worldly coaches constantly testing our worthiness and worth against each other.

Good luck John !

Good luck Bobby !

See you in 2011.

I still do not know how to access “spellcheck” on this damned system. If misspelling troubles you, hit the delete button and I’ll understood.

Thanks.

Brooks T. Johnson