Coaching Athletics Quarterly

CA-NEWSLETTER-DEC13_Layout 1 10/28/13 8:39 AM Page 1

IAAF

Winter 2013, Vol. 8 No. 5

Featuring Fall Shoe Review 8 USATF Aims at New Heights 10

Alberto Salazar

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By Roy Stevenson

Sponsored by Skechers Performance Division skechersperformance.com • Facebook: @SkechersPerformance • Twitter: @skechersGO Instagram: @SkechersPerformance

Whenever the world’s elite marathoners toe the start line alongside popular U.S. runner Meb Keflezighi, they know they’re in for an honest race. In fact, the Skechers Performance sponsored Keflizighi brings new meaning to the word ‘consistent’, with a remarkably homogenous series of marathon times.

Consider Meb’s seasons best times since he took up the 26-miler in 2002: 2:12:35 (2002); 2:10:03 (2003); 2:09:53 (2004); 2:09:56 (2005); 2:09:56 (2006); 2:15:09 (2007); 2:09:29 (2009); 2:09:15 (2010); 2:09:13 (2011); 2:09:08 (2012). There are Kenyans who’d give up their racing flats for this staggering string of times!

Some distance runners are known for their fast times and their inability to win or place in the “big show”, but Meb proves you can do both and do them well. His performances—starting with Athens Olympic Silver and NYC runner-up in 2004—and followed by none-too-shabby 3rd (NYC, 2005); 3rd (Boston, 2006); 1st (NYC & US Champs, 2009); 5th (Boston, 2010) and 6th (NYC, 2010); 6th (NYC, (2011); 1st (Olympic Trials, 2012) and 4th (London Olympic Games, 2012) indicate that Meb is always a force to be reckoned with.

Not bad performances for one of a family of eleven children, who emigrated to the USA from Eritrea to escape war and pursue an education. Now living in San Diego, California, Meb has returned to his hometown but still plans on going back to Mammoth, California for altitude training. Meb continues to cruise through workouts that would cripple most young runners and looks to continue to "Run To Win" to his last race....whenever that may be.

Skechers Performance Division signed another endorsement contract in 2012 with Meb. Relatively new to the running shoe mar-

ket, Skechers Performance is primarily known for their innovative and unusual curved sole that encourages mid-foot strike, versus the standard heel strike.

Meb’s NYC victory in 2009 made him the first American to win in 27 years (he was sworn in as a US Citizen in 1998) and now that he has a taste for winning the NYC marathon, he’s eager to repeat his victory.

With 2012 Olympic Champion and 2013 World Champion, Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich, committed to running this year’s NYC Marathon, plus super-stars like Boston and NYC record holder Geoffrey Mutai, Chicago runner-up Wesley Korir, and American Ryan Hall, Meb’s going to have to work hard to outpace these guys.

But Meb’s solid 4th in last year’s London Olympic marathon indicates he’s still a player. One consistent rule about marathons is that anything can go wrong at any time, even to the favorites.

How many times have we seen the pre-race favorite leading by minutes, only to come unglued in the final 1-2 miles, and pull up lame, or be remorselessly passed by a stream of others? If someone is having a bad day, Meb’ll be there, shadowing, watching, and waiting to pounce, with his usual finesse.

Meb’s unerring consistency is why he’s still a contender for placing at this years NYC event, and if he pulls out that “big one” that lurks deep inside every marathoner—and all of his spark plugs are firing—he has as much chance of winning as any of the top five seeds. In the last two years, Meb has trained for 6 of the worlds most competitive marathons, when most runners of his caliber average 2 per year. If these miles have not set Meb back, we should expect similar results from Meb in this year's NYC Marathon.

et run.n Photo

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quarterly

COACHING AT H L E T I C S Alberto Salazar had a dream. Ten years ago, he saw a need to focus some of the resources of his employer, Nike, on reviving the quality of middle and long distance runners in America.

Salazar was a superb high school athlete who grew into a great college athlete, and eventually became a world marathon record holder.

Today, he’ll tell you that he has learned many things over the course of his career—from both his victories and failures—and is a better coach because of it.

In 2007, when Kara Goucher won the bronze medal at 10,000 meters, many were stunned. Kara said something to me in the Osaka press conference that stuck with me for years: “Alberto prepared me so well that I knew I had done all I could. Now, it was time to race.”

In 2011 and 2012, when Mo Farah went from one of the best in the world to the best 5000/10,000m tactician of his era, I asked several of my friends and observers of the sport what they thought had made the difference.

Mark Bossardet had this to say of his longtime friend: “Alberto Salazar trains his athletes to race. He is one of the few coaches who does that.”

Such a simple and obvious thing, and yet rare.

Alberto Salazar has trained his crew—from Mo Farah to Galen Rupp, Matthew Centrowitz to Cam Levin—to race well. And in 2013, just as they did in 2012, they did.

Larry Eder

Vol. 8, No. 5 Alex Larsen

Publisher’s Note

Group Publisher Larry Eder larry@runningnetwork.com 920.563.5551, ext. 112 Group Editor Christine Johnson christinej.ssm@gmail.com 608.239.3787 Advertising Larry Eder larry@runningnetwork.com 608.239.3785 Writers/Contributors Mark Winitz Photographers IAAF Photorun.NET Alex Larsen Layout/Design, Art Production Alex Larsen

Coaching Athletics Quarterly is produced, published and owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc., PO Box 801, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538-0801.

Publisher assumes no liability for matter printed, and assumes no liability or responsibility for content of paid advertising and reserves the right to reject paid advertising. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher.

Proofreader Marg Sumner, Red Ink Editorial Services

Copyright ©2013 by Shooting Star Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form without written permission of the Publisher. Coaching Athletics Quarterly is not related to or endorsed by any other entity or corporation with a similar name and is solely owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc.

Pre-Press/Printer W. D. Hoard & Sons Company Fort Atkinson, WI

Editor Larry Eder

Phone 608.239.3785 Publisher recommends, as with all fitness and health issues, you consult with your physician before instituting any changes in your fitness program.

Fax 920.563.7298

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t the recent Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, I came face to face with how much our world of running has changed. The show is a celebration of year-round outdoor activities, from adventure to trail, from camping to environmental concerns, to running. You’ll see investment bankers walking the show on the hunt for the next “cool” thing, and then there are the aging hippies who helm their own small running apparel brands.

Cregg Weinmann, your footwear guru, and I spent a day checking out footwear and apparel brands. We visited a Brooks launch party for the Transcend, a new concept shoe coming in Spring 2014, and an ASICS media event where I was reminded of the intense competition in running footwear.

Right behind the ASICS booth was the Saucony booth, where the Saucony lightweight running products continue to astound. In front of ASICS was the Brooks traveling trade show that takes a humorous look at advertising and communications and displays its fine performance running gear.

I also enjoyed spending time with Jim Van Dine, president of HOKA ONE ONE, a young shoe company gaining cache in the ultra running community and among age 40+ runners who find that these shoes are helping them return to running.

The Running Network team puts this review together twice a year to provide a synopsis of the best you’ll find on the retail shoe walls. Give it a read and then you’ll be ready to visit your favorite local running specialty store to select the running shoes that will serve you best.

Larry Eder President, Running Network LLC

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s you can imagine, I spend a lot of time around runners and attending running events.

Lots of people know about my work with the Running Network’s shoe reviews, so I frequently field questions about the state of the running shoe industry and trends in product development. Here, as a Q&A, are how those exchanges usually go.

Where is Minimalism going? In a nutshell, Minimal shoes help runners develop stronger feet. Minimalist shoes will continue to have a place in the market; Some estimates place it at about 5% of the overall running shoe market, which seems about right to me. The findings of researchers, developers, and runners working and running in this category—everything from shoe geometries to spare designs and lighter-weight materials—have penetrated the other categories.

Minimalism has reignited the quest for innovation in what had become a stagnant industry.

How has the Lightweight trend changed the running industry? Let’s face it: Light shoes are fun to run in. The technologies and engineered solutions we’ve surveyed over the last 20 years saw shoes that were heavy. We’re at a crossroads where new, lighter-weight materials and a paradigm shift in what runners need and want are making way for lighter shoes in all categories.

What’s happening with traditional running shoe categories? A funny thing happened in all this tumult: The industry achieved some equilibrium. Minimalism was everywhere and growing, but now Neutral and Stability (especially lightweight, stable shoes) have come back with a vengeance. Every shoe in this review has some motion-stabilizing features, and the shoes are more evenly distributed between categories than we’ve seen in the past 5 years or more.

Categories may blur some as full-contact bottoms and geometries (midsole shapes) that enhance the gait play a larger role in shoe design and as runners adapt to these simpler design solutions. There will be a little bit of the hydrid in most shoes (that blurring of the categories that I mentioned), so we’ll see more similarity among running shoes. The only real exception is the higher-end shoes where plushness reigns supreme: They are better cushioned and have a more luxurious feel.

This rebalancing and innovation reinforce what we in the Running Network have been saying in our reviews since 1998: Know your feet and what they need. Educate yourself about how shoe companies are addressing your needs. Then head to a running specialty store to get its assistance in selecting a quality running shoe.

—Cregg Weinmann, Running Network Footwear Reviewer

; American Track & Field www.american-trackandfield.com Athletes Only www.atf-athlete.com Athletics (Canada) www.athleticsontario.ca Austin Fit www.austinfitmagazine.com California Track & Running News www.caltrack.com Club Running www.rrca.org/publications/club-running Coaching Athletics Quarterly www.coachingathleticsq.com Colorado Runner www.coloradorunnermag.com Get Active! www.healthclubs.com Greater Long Island Running Club’s Footnotes www.glirc.org Latinos Corriendo www.latinoscorriendo.com MarathonGuide www.marathonguide.com Michigan Runner www.michiganrunner.net Missouri Runner & Triathlete www.morunandtri.com Running Journal & Racing South www.running.net RunMinnesota www.runmdra.org RUNOHIO www.runohio.com Track & Field News www.trackandfieldnews.com USATF’s Fast Forward www.usatf.org USATF–New England’s Exchange Zone www.usatfne.org The Winged Foot www.nyac.org The Winged M www.themac.com Youth Runner www.youthrunner.com 8CA

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BEST SHOE MOTION STABILIZING

BEST SHOE

BEST SHOE

FALL 2013

FALL 2013

PERFORMANCE

NEUTRAL

FALL 2013

Nike LunarGlide+ 5

Mizuno Wave Sayonara

ASICS Gel-Nimbus 15

BEST NEW SHOE

BEST RENOVATION

FALL 2013

FALL 2013

adidas adiStar Boost

Saucony Cortana 3

Reviewer: Cregg Weinmann Project Coordinator/Editor: Christine Johnson Designer: Kristen Cerer Proofreader: Marg Sumner, Red Ink Editorial Services Shoe Photography: Daniel Saldaña, Cregg Weinmann Advertising Sales: Running Network LLC, Larry Eder, President, 608.239.3785, larry@runningnetwork.com Publisher: Larry Eder, 608.239.3785 Website: www.runningnetwork.com For a Media Kit, please visit our website.

This 2013 Fall Shoe Review is produced independently by Running Network LLC for its partner publications. All shoes reviewed were tested by experienced, competitive runners who were matched to the biomechanical purpose of each shoe model.

Copyright © 2013 by Running Network LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be stored, copied, or reprinted without prior written permission of Running Network LLC. Running Network LLC and its partner publications suggest that, as with all fitness activities, you meet with a healthcare professional before beginning or changing your fitness regimen.

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US A T F Aims at

New Heigh s

By Mark Winitz

t

Max Siegel, USATF Chief Executive Officer & Jill Geer, USATF Chief Public Affairs Officer Max Siegel became the fourth CEO of USA Track & Field on May 1, 2012—just three months before the Olympic Games in London—after serving on the organization’s board from 2009 to 2011 and as a marketing consultant for the federation. e board voted unanimously to hire Siegel after two CEO searches that took place over a period of 16 months.

Siegel has worked in various executive capacities in the sports and entertainment fields for more than 20 years, with a record of innovation, consistent financial growth, and competitive success.

His additional Olympic-family experience includes sitting on the board of the USA Swimming Foundation, and work with USA Gymnastics, USA Skiing, and the Goodwill Games while he was an attorney with Indianapolis-based Baker & Daniels in the 1990s. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame School of Law. Last November, at USATF’s Annual Meeting, Siegel announced nine “Smart Goals” on which the federation will direct its focus (see sidebar). In May, we discussed several of these goals, among other topics, in an interview with the CEO. Jill Geer, USATF’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, sat in on the discussion and provided background information and further insights. Geer, who joined USATF’s national office in 2000, oversees USATF’s integrated marketing and communications department, with responsibility over communications, marketing, broadcasting, and membership marketing. She serves as the organization’s spokesperson and adviser to the CEO and Board of Directors. Here’s the interview.

Q: Max, can we begin by discussing some of the details of your “Smart Goals” for USATF that you rolled out at the organization’s 2012 annual meeting? Your first goal?

Max Siegel: To increase USATF’s membership in 2013 by 20%.

Q: From your perspective, what benefits can USATF can offer—now or in the future—to attract new members? Participation in high school track & field and in road racing has steadily been on the rise. How can you encourage these participants to want to become members?

Siegel: We found in our research that the majority of members we have now are members because they have to be. ere’s a big segment of the population that are general participants in our sport that don’t make a connection between the sport and USATF as its national governing body. We also know that the vast majority of our members are youth.

So the first thing we did was look at the value proposition of membership. You have to create value so people really want to be members. In addition to things that add value from a commercial standpoint—such as lifestyle discounts for the different age demographics—we 10CA

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will be offering things like training and nutrition tips, and content that is exclusive to members to enhance their active lifestyle.

Jill Geer: Also, we hired [in March 2013] an Associate Director of Constituent Services. Her name is Desiree Friedman. She previously worked for the CIF [California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in the state] and has an impressive marketing background. Right now, she and her team are essentially tearing down and rebuilding our member benefits: who they’re for, what would attract people who don’t need to have membership, and how we encourage people to want a membership. We’re in the process of building these benefits based on the data that USATF gathered in a grassroots study that went to ten cities around the country where we polled people who know the sport and who don’t know the sport. Also, we’re looking at where our biggest areas for membership growth are.

Obviously, we’ve been talking about the LDR community for years. First, we have to put the right membership package together, and then we have to market it to people, which we’ve never really done.

Q: Your second ‘Smart Goal’ is?

Siegel: To generate $1 million in new revenue each year over the next five years.

Q: What do you think about Hy-Vee’s sponsorship of the Drake Relays—nearly $1 million—that was rolled out this year? What can USATF do to help facilitate sponsorships on this level for other events?

Siegel: Hy-Vee is the perfect example. I won’t say that USATF was instrumental in selling the sponsorship, but definitely we were involved on the [sponsor] fulfillment side. Drake became a part of our USATF championship series. We provided TV, which added value to the sponsorship.

Irrespective of the type of event and where it is, all event organizers and promoters look to put people in seats, get as much exposure as possible, have budget relief, and underwrite it. Often when you go to a national sponsor, they’re looking for ways to stitch together major events across the country. So as the federation and national governing body—who, as a partner, collaborates in both the promotion and competitive opportunities for events—we look at attracting high level sponsors across [a series of ] events.

Also, we’re becoming extremely active in creating commercial opportunities for our athletes and working with them to build their brand while reinforcing the partnerships that USA Track & Field has with events, and frankly, with everyone in the industry.

Geer: Hy-Vee is a great example of how sponsors work, especially with individual meets. e local meet works with, and for, their local corporate partner to get them on board [as a sponsor]. Hy-Vee is a Des Moines, IA-based company. (e Drake Relays are held at Drake University in Des Moines.—Editor) en USATF can help deliver a national platform.

In Drake’s case, it’s via television and branding, and being part of the USATF national championship series. We were talking to Drake going back to the late fall [2012].

Q: How do you propose to do this? rough new sponsors? How do you create new commercial opportunities and sell the sport to new sponsors?

Siegel: No, it’s not primarily through new sponsorship, although that’s an important component.

USATF’s Bylaws state five purposes of the federation: development, management, performance, marketing, and diversity. Using these purposes as a foundation from a grassroots level, if we market, promote, and develop interest in the sport, drive new participation and membership, then that incremental revenue is significant. It can help our Associations and our [national] federation.

We are doing the same thing with our sanctioned events. Event sanctions are another revenue stream and a huge opportunity. What benefits can we offer sanctioned events and what value can

Q: Tying athlete visibility into these partnerships and branding makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure that USATF has ever done this before in a consistently meaningful way.

Siegel: In fact, Adam Schmenk [USATF’s Associate Director of Broadcasting] and I just got back from Los Angeles, meeting with a lot of cable networks and other production companies and partners. We’re about to start producing a television series called “USATF 36” which follows athletes 36 hours before, during, and after they compete. We’re going to do a number of these television shows and use them as half-hour specials to really educate people about the sport, the athletes, and personalities. We’ll take some of this content and use it before and after track & field broadcasts, on our web site, etc. We’ll be building a brand to the athletes, creating an emotional

USATF

Q: With the diverse constituents in our sport, putting together a membership benefits package that has appeal to all seems like quite a challenge.

Siegel: We’re looking at different categories of membership to address that challenge. ings like a fan membership for people who want to support our national teams, age-group memberships, affinity group/corporate memberships. Even in the area of diversity and inclusion, there are groups like Black Girls Run, which has [a membership of ] 100,000 African-American females. So rather than put together an arbitrary set of benefits, we’re listening to our current members and potential members about the things of interest to them.

Actually, we have a 50% attrition rate every year. It’s pretty amazing that we sustain 115,000 members when there’s that much turnover. So we’re also looking at the things we can do to retain our existing members.

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USATF offer them, from the standpoint of the presentation of the event, being part of a national marketing pool, and budget relief for race promoters? e Neustar, Inc. sponsorship that we sold for the U.S. National Road Racing Championships—a high six-figure, multi-year sponsorship—is an example of how we are creating and selling sponsorships to event properties. It’s the most significant sponsorship that we’ve sold in the last 10 years in a brand new sponsor category.

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connection between the fans and the profiled athletes, and then driving viewers to our events. So we’ve begun to be very active in the media space beyond our live events. is allows us to put the sport’s various assets on different marketing platforms.

(USATF launched its first “USATF 36” episode, featuring Sanya Richards-Ross, on NBC Sports Network last June during the 2013 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, leading into the ESPN2 broadcast of the meet.—Editor) Q: is ties directly into another one of your Smart Goals: To identify partners to engage in efforts for direct event promotion. In these partnerships, we share risk, control commercial rights and share efforts. Can you tell me more?

Siegel: Yes, three examples are the Millrose Games, adidas Grand Prix [New York], and Drake. Since I’ve been here, we’ve changed the business model from underwriting the entire event and taking no upside to jointly selling sponsorships together. We may cover television and event promotion costs. We help enhance the fan experience and try to drive ticket revenue. is past year has been a really great one for moving into this new model. We not only share risk, but everybody is excited and is committed to make sure the event is successful.

Another reason for partnering with our different major events across the country is to coordinate calendars to ensure that the best athletes—both competitively and commercially—show up. We’re committed to a win-win for everybody. So, in my opinion, we have some unprecedented communication with stakeholders in all these individual events.

Geer: Also, by restructuring the way we partner with events, and by reducing broadcasting costs through our negotiations with the network and our broadcasting company, this year we will reduce our annual costs related to the USATF championship series by $1 million.

Q: e next Smart Goal is: To develop a comprehensive event strategy that includes, rather than segDavid Hunter ments off, youth, long distance running,Bymasters, and administrative events. What’s your rationale behind this goal? Do you feel that some of these sport groups are currently being under-served?

Siegel: No. But the way we’ve been structured as an organization is that youth oversaw youth events, LDR oversaw LDR events, etc. Jim Estes (formerly USATF’s Associate Director of Marketing and Long Distance Running Programs) has been promoted to Director of Events. We want to have some continuity and uniformity [across all events] with respect to the fan experience—all the elements of how they’re presented—maximizing the commercial value of the event for the LOC and USATF as a partner. So we want everything—such as the merchandise experience, the fan experience, the competition—to have as much continuity as we can [across events], and accountability with one person. Frankly, sometimes we get efficiencies by combining things. We’ve had some positive dialogues with gymnastics, for example, about doing some combined events in the Junior area.

We really want to reach out to develop relations with markets across the country. When people want to support our events, they look for economic impact studies and demographic data. When I tell people that 8,000 athletes and their families come to the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships for ten days, it raises their eyebrows.

It’s economic impact for the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the media space, whether it’s broadcast or webcast, perhaps it’s packaging the broadcast rights and getting a partner on board that will start to expose the sport on a wider basis.

Geer: It’s really providing more administrative support across the board for events, which we haven’t done consistently in the past. Now, all USATF’s oversight [of championships and USATF-owned properties] is within our Events Department instead of [individual USATF sport committees]. Our Events staff people then bring in other people on our staff to work with the committees, the local organizing committees, and everything else. So it’s all more centralized than in the past, and we’re more consistent across events. is also helps us to better market the events to potential sponsors.

Q: A couple of more questions: What additional things can the federation be doing to support our elite and emerging elite athletes whose basic needs are to pay the bills and have a good coach? Also, what can USATF do to get coaches more involved in USATF affairs?

Siegel: Let me give you the top view answer. It’s crystal clear that we’ve gotten better, more efficient, and effective with taking our resources and investing them in the development of our elite athletes, result-

USATF

Q: Max, your next Smart Goal reads, in part, To enhance popular engagement through a 15% gate increase for events over comparable events from 2011.... e popular view is that the general public’s interest in track & field comes primarily in Olympic years. How can we change this perception? What can we do in the presentation of the events that will attract larger attendance?

Siegel: For the last five years I’ve listened to a number of people talk about changing the way we present events, and upgrading their production value. While maintaining the integrity of the competition you need to present it in a way that’s fan friendly, and not necessarily athlete or purist friendly—such as doing some entertaining things related to event broadcasts. Again, I can’t stress enough that shoulder programming (such as the “USATF 36” episodes I’ve already mentioned) is a great way to attract fans. We talk all the time about how to produce a live event in a way that keeps it efficient from the competition standpoint, and shooting and presenting it in a way that’s easy to follow, engaging, and attracts core fans as well as casual fans.

Geer: ere are no easy answers. We’ve been involved

in trying to do this for the last few years. I think this question really applies to invitational events because in our championship events you can’t mess with the number of rounds and that kind of thing. Max comes from an entertainment background, so [building the fan base and viewership] is very important to him.

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Siegel’s Smart Goals for USATF 1

To increase membership in 2013 by 20% with no decrease from 2011 in net income.

2

To generate $1 million in new revenue each year for the next five years.

3

To identify ways to make existing opportunities more efficient, resulting in financial savings between 1–3%.

4

To identify partners to engage in efforts for direct event promotion.

In these partnerships, we share risk, control commercial rights, and share profits.

5

To enhance popular engagement through a 15% gate increase for events over comparable events from 2011. Then increasing TV ratings by 20% and social media by 50%.

6

To develop a comprehensive event strategy that includes, rather than segments off, youth, long distance running, masters and administrative events.

7

To establish goals for operating reserves with a five-year goal to have nine months of operating reserves.

8&9 Working in tandem to raise $20 million over the next five years to create an endowment with proceeds going to support USATF operations.

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ing in better performance. We’ll continue to go down the path in terms of economic support, sport science, and investments in high performance training centers. We’re also launching efforts to create commercial opportunities for our athletes. ese things should benefit not only our top tier, high visibility, elite athletes, but also our emerging elite athletes where a few thousand dollars really matters in their lives. In fact, I’ve just signed off on some high performance grants to some of our most visible coaches. I don’t know that the world knows that the Bobby Kersees, John Smiths, and Dennis Mitchells of the world get the kind of support [they need] to train their athletes.

Q: Can you comment on USATF’s current relationship with the USOC and how USATF might be able to facilitate better relationships with them?

Siegel: I’ve been around the Olympic movement since 1989. I’ve served on the USA Swimming foundation board and had a great relationship with the USOC. I’ve also served on the board for USATF. I don’t know how it’s been in the past, but we have a fantastic relationship with the USOC. Without giving you any hype, I think they’ve been a extremely collaborative and supportive partner of ours. ey’ve certainly supported me and my administration. We don’t have any issues.

Geer: Last March, Scott Blackmun [USOC CEO], Lisa Beard [USOC Chief Marketing Officer], and Kelly Skinner [USOC Sport Performance Team Leader] met with us and several key athlete team leaders about athlete commercial marketing opportunities. ey were thrilled with our performance in London.

Q: I understand from conversations with other USATF administrators that the USOC bases its funding to sports federations for their elite athlete programs based on medal earnings in Olympic Games. Do you think there’s room for USATF to expand upon support from the USOC so it’s not tied so closely to medals?

Siegel: We’re already having these discussions. I don’t know that it’s completely based on medal earnings. eir philosophy is to invest in ways so they see a return on their investment. And, a big part of it is medals. e USOC has increased their support of USATF’s high performance programs. e purpose of the USOC’s meeting when they came to meet with us in Indianapolis was to talk about ways that we can collaborate to expand the resource pool— whether we were selling sponsors together, or going after new sponsors. I feel that there are creative things that USATF can do in this arena—as one of the most diverse sports in the Olympic movement with some of the most celebrated and diverse athletes.

Q: What can USATF do to facilitate more coordination and cooperation with the NCAA and colle-

giate athletic departments and programs to help transition collegiate athletes to the post-collegiate ranks?

Siegel: At the time the USOC was in town there was a lot of discussion about how the Olympic family and the NCAA can more closely align with one another to make each other’s jobs easier and be more integrated. Jill and our staff have had a number of meetings with different leaders at the NCAA about things. We’ve taken a proactive approach to figure out how to make this happen. On the coaches’ side of things, I’ve talked to our staff as recently as two weeks ago about constantly refining what we’re doing in coaches’ education.

Philosophically, we’re trying to be the organization that adds value to our relationships, not what we get out of it. I talk regularly to college coaches about their interest in having access to information, elite coaches, resources, and tools that they need to help them with their athletes. In the last three or four years, I’ve seen improvement.

Geer: Last year, at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines we conducted a grassroots study in the athlete area and specifically gathered data from collegiate athletes to see what USATF can do to help them. For instance, would a post-collegiate scholarship program make USATF membership useful and appealing for them? We’ve also had meetings with the NCAA and athletes this year about us helping to promote them.

Q: Last question, Max. Your predecessor set a goal of 30 U.S. medals in track & field for the 2012 Olympic Games, and you stuck to that goal. (e U.S. took home 29 medals.—Editor) Are you set on exceeding that count in 2016?

Siegel: I’m certainly not going to lower the expectation of how we perform in the 2016 Games. I think this has given us a good baseline. We’re looking at the programs that we think make us effective. We have a great [administrative] team in place in the high performance area. My expectation as the CEO of the federation is that we do that well or better in the next Olympic Games.

Geer: Also, we had nine 4th-place finishes in London. I point this out because there are two things that are coupled: One is the medal goal. e other is: What defines success and failure? We won 29 medals and not 30. No one viewed that as a failure.

Instead, it was viewed as a success. t

A longtime writer for American Track & Field, Mark Winitz sits on USATF’s national men’s Long Distance Running Executive Committee and the Law & Legislation Committee. He also sits on Pacific Association/USATF’s Board of Athletics and is a certified USATF master level official and referee.

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