Flotrack's Best of 2011Dec 29, 2011 by Kevin Selby
2011 Coach of the Year - Pat Henry
2011 Coach of the Year - Pat Henry
Frequently, on the surface, it looks like track coaches are not doing much. Runners run and coaches watch and cheer. In the case of Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry, this was not the case at the 2011 NCAA T&F Championships. As the competition unfolded and his Aggie men and women’s squad brought home team titles, it was clear the Henry and his staff were doing plenty of work.
Pat Henry led his team to incredible performances on the meet’s final day, but this is only the end of the story. What happened previously is as remarkable what happened in Des Moines in 2011. The Aggies pulled the “triple-double”, winning the men’s and women’s title for the thrid straight year. Combined with his time leading LSU, coach Henry has won 33 national team titles.
The men and women Aggies of 2011 won championships on a foundation of team commitment and strong relays. Henry stated after the meet (courtesy of Aggies Athletics):
"It's a tremendous group of young people who did some things I don't think they could do at times this weekend. But they are big believers. During our meeting this morning they all looked at each other and left the room knowing what needed to be done. They lined up today and did some things that put us in a position to win."
The men and women won both 4x400 relays. The women were led by Jessica Beard’s 49.1 split as they eet a school record of 3:26.31. After Tabarie Henry failed to make the 400 individual final, he anchored the relay in 44.86 as the Aggies ran 3:00.62. The Aggie men extended their 4x400 winning streak to 19 races. Both Aggies squads took second in their respective 4x100 finals.
After the awards ceremony, Henry remarked “"I'm kind of speechless. This is an unbelievable victory by both of our groups. Everybody thinks it comes down to Jessica Beard and on that leg it came down to Jessica. But there were a lot of people contributing today with both relays.”
"Our men stayed calm and did what they needed to do. They picked up points through out the day and then won the final relay. It's a team effort, which doesn't start with just first place points, but includes everybody from each of the four days here.”
The target will once again be on the backs of Pat Henry and his Texas A&M squads in 2012. This will probably not be an obstacle as the Aggies have shown the ability to perform better then most in the role of the favorite.
Pat Henry led his team to incredible performances on the meet’s final day, but this is only the end of the story. What happened previously is as remarkable what happened in Des Moines in 2011. The Aggies pulled the “triple-double”, winning the men’s and women’s title for the thrid straight year. Combined with his time leading LSU, coach Henry has won 33 national team titles.
The men and women Aggies of 2011 won championships on a foundation of team commitment and strong relays. Henry stated after the meet (courtesy of Aggies Athletics):
"It's a tremendous group of young people who did some things I don't think they could do at times this weekend. But they are big believers. During our meeting this morning they all looked at each other and left the room knowing what needed to be done. They lined up today and did some things that put us in a position to win."
The men and women won both 4x400 relays. The women were led by Jessica Beard’s 49.1 split as they eet a school record of 3:26.31. After Tabarie Henry failed to make the 400 individual final, he anchored the relay in 44.86 as the Aggies ran 3:00.62. The Aggie men extended their 4x400 winning streak to 19 races. Both Aggies squads took second in their respective 4x100 finals.
After the awards ceremony, Henry remarked “"I'm kind of speechless. This is an unbelievable victory by both of our groups. Everybody thinks it comes down to Jessica Beard and on that leg it came down to Jessica. But there were a lot of people contributing today with both relays.”
"Our men stayed calm and did what they needed to do. They picked up points through out the day and then won the final relay. It's a team effort, which doesn't start with just first place points, but includes everybody from each of the four days here.”
The target will once again be on the backs of Pat Henry and his Texas A&M squads in 2012. This will probably not be an obstacle as the Aggies have shown the ability to perform better then most in the role of the favorite.