Owen McCall
\nIn Motion Staff Writer<\/p>\n
Judy Wilson is the first cross country coach in the history of Daytona State College. She comes to DSC with plenty of coaching experience, including at the University of South Florida, University of Connecticut and Indiana University at Bloomington.<\/p>\n
Wilson began her college running career as a walk-on at the Indiana University, working her way up to team captain her senior year and participated in the Olympic trials. Coach Wilson brings her years of experience to DSC, where she is getting the Falcons cross county program off the ground. She sat down with In Motion for an exclusive one-on-one.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How much does being the first cross country coach in the history of Daytona State College mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s a very unique experience because there\u2019s nothing really to base the results on. It\u2019s exciting because everything\u2019s a first. Every time someone runs faster during a meet, it\u2019s a school record.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Already this program has gotten national exposure with the article in the Washington Post. How big of a deal is it for this program, in its inaugural season, to get exposure in a national publication?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s a little surreal because I did not know if it would get that kind of attention having three women over the age of 40. But, I mean, it\u2019s been great, they\u2019ve had people come up to them at meets and say \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve seen you on Runner\u2019s World!\u2019 It\u2019s served a very good purpose to get the name out there and get the word out we have cross country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On the women\u2019s team, there are three runners over the age of 40. Could you tell us about the impact they have had on this team?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: \u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThey kind of set the tone. They have lots of running experience and lots of life experience. For a college aged person, this is a challenge. For a married woman, they\u2019ve had other life experiences. The younger people, they\u2019re just team members. I was blessed with the group we got because they work hard, accept that things might not go right because we are a first-year program\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So far, how would you say the season is going?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cMy priorities were number one, field a team; number two, do some training; \u00a0number three, run some races. I wanted to get people out and finish the season healthy. It actually looks like we might get into the top 25, top 30 at the national meet. I\u2019d say it\u2019s going very well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How do you think recruiting is going to go moving forward?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cWhat I\u2019m finding is at this level, it\u2019s always going to be a bit of a struggle to field a strong women\u2019s team. Our publicity has served us well that we have all local runners. I want to invite local runners to be a part of the Daytona State community\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Could you tell us about some of your past coaching experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cI was at USF for a year. Then I went back to Indiana, and coached at DePauw University. I was there for four years, men\u2019s and women\u2019s track and cross country. Then I went on to Connecticut for two years. Then I went to Indiana, where I ran, and I was there for nine years\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What coached would you say influenced your coaching style the most? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cMy high school and college coaches. I had a very good high school coach and very good college coaches. Very successful and very good people. I lucked out. That\u2019s probably why I coach is because I lucked out with that\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In other college sports, mainly football, we\u2019ve heard stories of walk-ons and the rise of walk-ons. You were a walk-on on the track team at the Indiana University. What was the experience like to work up through the ranks?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cI stayed healthy. I think it\u2019s three or four things. I stayed healthy, I was very coachable, I never really questioned what they told me to do, I learned how to push myself and I was surrounded by great people who helped me. I was very blessed to have that experience, and that\u2019s probably the reason I\u2019m still running.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What would you say is in store for the future of this program? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson: <\/strong>\u201cIn three to five years, I\u2019d like to maintain high academic standards and be in the top 10 in the nationals. That would be my goal. We have everything we need. This is a small Division 1 school. We have the resources to get people to the next step on both sides, men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Owen McCall In Motion Staff Writer Judy Wilson is the first cross country coach in the history of Daytona State College. She comes to DSC with plenty of coaching experience, including at the University of South Florida, University of Connecticut and Indiana University at Bloomington. Wilson began her college running Continue reading Falcons Cross Country Takes Flight in Inaugural Season<\/span>