
2 minute read
ON THE FAST TRACK
athletes drawn from other sports. Dallan Hayden — a two-time winner of Tennessee’s Mr. Football award — has been a stellar sprinter for the Purple Wave. “The coaches do a good job of identifying athletes,” explains Dwyer, “but when the kids begin to recruit in the hallways, that’s when you start to see a change in the culture, a change in the talent level from top to bottom.”
In reflecting on the culture he’s trying to instill at CBHS, Dwyer has a special place in his heart for the 2020 team, one unable to achieve its goals — team and individual — when the pandemic shut down high school sports. “That group worked their cans off,” says Dwyer. “We didn’t know when we left for spring break that we wouldn’t be back on campus. That group continued to practice until the very end. We didn’t give up hope until we learned the state meet was cancelled. They were tenacious. It was a different type of senior leadership. They weren’t scared of anything, and they held everyone accountable. They deserved to win a state title. We were favorites. They left a legacy.”
Gather 100 people and challenge them across 20 different specialties, with the stipulation they share — and prioritize — a single, unifying goal. Such is life for the head coach of a track and field team, in the case of CBHS, for Nick Dwyer (Class of 2000). Last year, Dwyer’s third season at the helm of the program, the Purple Wave finished just shy of that collective goal, runnerup to McCallie for Tennessee’s Division II-AA state championship. As for those specialties, Christian Brothers came home with no fewer than five state crowns: 100 meters (Jaxon Hammond), shot put (D.J. Harden), discus (B.J. Robinson), 800 relay, and 3,200 relay.
“The sum of the parts are greater than any individual,” says Dwyer, who competed in cross country and distance races during his days at CBHS. “Everyone has their own goals, but they understand if they’re called outside their specialty, it’s for the betterment of the team, the success of everyone. We do a great job of supporting each other. The groups — throws, sprints, jumps, everyone — do what they can to put the team in the best position possible.”
At last year’s state final, distance specialist Jake Ryan was all but guaranteed a championship if he ran a leg for the 3,200 relay team, but he could deliver valuable team points if he instead competed in three individual races (800, 1,600, and 3,200 . . . all on the same day). The relay team did, in fact, win that championship, but Ryan finished second in all three of his races, tightening the gap between the Purple Wave and McCallie. “It’s difficult asking an athlete to do that,” notes Dwyer, “for what we were trying to accomplish. [Jake] will win a state title this season, but there are instances where an athlete doesn’t like the decision, but they know what’s being asked of them.”
A track team is built with athletes who focus solely on the spring season, and also
Dwyer has four full-time assistant coaches, each charged with overseeing a group (i.e. sprinters or distance runners). He describes his own role as that of a unifier, a communicator who makes sure the larger mission remains in sight. “I have pretty good vision, when it comes to putting people in the right places,” he says. “I’m playing the chess game, bringing the pieces together by the end of the season. Along with all the fun paperwork. Keeping an eye on the state. Athletes will mirror your outlook, so how’s our [collective] energy today?”
Growth remains for Dwyer’s program, with that big prize — a state championship — within reach. “Our goal,” stresses Dwyer, “is to get these athletes to invest so deeply that at the end of their careers, they’re touched by it. There are always tears at the end. It means you were all in, that you dedicated yourself to something bigger. It should be the goal of every high school coach. It’s not the titles or awards. You know that when you get to the end.”