New track director leaves a lasting impression
It started as a simple interview about being the new leader of a track and field/cross country program.
Clearly, it became much more. Willie Randolph had a story. But more importantly, he had a personality.
From the second I walked into his office, there was a certain level of comfort that was present. That was created by the way he handles people and the way he treats his relationships. Willie did not insinuate that his collegiate coaching resume put him at a different level than myself. I am just a college journalist. He has an established career. But that is not the approach he takes.
From my conversations with him to the talks I have had with the people around him — his mother, Athletics Director Dave Heeke, previous track and field coach Jim Knapp and others who knew him from his previous coaching stops — it became blatantly obvious Willie Randolph is sincere. He really does care about the people around him. He is personable, approachable and, most of all, he is normal.
Throughout my time working on his story, I talked to Willie on a regular basis. I met him for two lengthy interviews and two photo sessions, among other things.
And like I was a colleague, he joked with me about college, work and life in general. He is quick to make fun of himself just as much as he pokes at everyone else. He has a sense of humor, and he knows how to use it.
Willie Randolph is a class act.
The flip side
On the other hand, it would be inaccurate to say he is too nice to handle athletes. Talking with one of his athletes on the women’s cross country and track and field team, she described him with one word: intense.
He also told me he is a different type of person when he gets on the track. Watching him coach during a photo session, he was calm and instructive. But it was only warm-ups. He has a look about him that suggests he will not take any nonsense.
When I left the practice with two colleagues, it was agreed that Willie Randolph was a straight-shooter. He handles the transition from coach to person with ease.
I have learned as I get older that you can learn something from everyone. You can take away something, both positive and negative, from anyone, regardless of their profession or how they live.
Willie Randolph can separate person from profession, and that is admirable. He was not talking to a reporter. He was talking to ‘Andrew.’ The respect he gives is refreshing. He could tell I was putting my work in, and he rewarded me with genuine respect to go along with a mind-boggling story.
And when he told me about the Hurricane Katrina situation, the only thing on my mind was how real this was. How real he was — the emotion he was showing and the affection he had for his athletes in New Orleans.
He kept telling me throughout the process of writing the story how difficult a time it was for his athletes. He was taking attention away from himself and place it elsewhere.
However, that attention is much deserved.
