🎙️ **From Montana Miles to Oregon Impact: Alan King’s Unexpected Coaching Calling**

In this episode of the *Gill Connections Podcast*, we sit down with Alan King, head coach at Umpqua Community College, whose journey from Billings, Montana, to building a brand-new Gill-equipped track in Roseburg, Oregon, is nothing short of inspiring.

Alan opens up about his early love for distance running, the surprising fork in the road that led him from a history degree to coaching, and how he's leveraging social media to recruit athletes from across the country to a growing program in the Pacific Northwest.

🏃‍♂️ From athlete to coach — a journey that wasn’t in the original plan

🏗️ Behind the scenes of Umpqua’s new Gill Athletics track & field facility

📱 Social media recruiting strategies that actually work

🏔️ Lessons learned from growing up in Montana

👟 Why community college is a powerful launchpad for athletes and coaches alike

"I never planned to be a coach… but here I am, loving every second of it." — Alan King

🎧 Listen in as Coach King shares how passion, persistence, and platforms like Instagram are fueling his program’s momentum — and how Gill Athletics is helping pave the way, literally and figuratively, for the next generation of track and field athletes.

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into 300+ episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.

🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode: Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs every Tuesday through Sunday. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.

📲 Stay Connected: Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍

Recently National Business Development Manager Mike Cunningham attended the Business of Small College Athletics (BoSCA) Convention in Oak Brook, IL. While there, he captured amazing presentations from Athletic Directors around the country that we thought would bring value to our audience here at the Gill Connections Podcast.

We've got five total BONUS episodes in a row every Thursday which started back on July 24. This is BONUS episode #4. We'd love to hear feedback from you to confirm this was a VALUE GIVER to you.

In the meantime, if you are a small college administrator, to check out BoSCA as we were thoroughly impressed with the Convention and the Organization as a whole.

Coach Emeott's East Kentwood HS teams have won 8 State Titles to go with 3 State Runner-up finishes and a National Team Championship. He's a coach, event director, and author with a wealth of experience to share! If you’d like to contribute an episode of Youth & Beginner Series Powered by Coach O, we’d love to hear from you! Email clientrelations@coacho.com to learn more.

🎙️ **From PR Dreams to Coaching Reality: A Track Journey Rooted in Purpose**

In this episode of the Gill Connections podcast, we sit down with a coach whose story starts in Vermillion, South Dakota, winds through the world of public relations, and finds a calling in the multi-events of track and field. Help us welcome the wise the wonderful Anne Cleary!

From her time as a heptathlete at Central Missouri to discovering a deeper passion for mentoring young people, this episode is filled with lessons on adaptability, values, and the power of purpose-driven leadership.

🔑 **In this episode:**

* 🏠 Growing up in Vermillion and the pull of small-town roots

* 🧭 The college decision-making process—why fit matters more than division level

* 📝 Starting in public relations before realizing coaching was the true calling

* 🏃‍♀️ Competing in multi-events and how that shaped her coaching perspective

* 🧑‍🏫 Learning to lead with empathy, mentorship, and servant leadership

* 📈 The role of mentorship in her journey and paying it forward with her athletes

> *"I thought I wanted the glamour of public relations. But once I got a taste of coaching, I realized—this is where I can make an impact." -Anne Cleary

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into 300+ episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.

🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode: Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs every Tuesday through Sunday. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.

📲 Stay Connected: Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍

Hello Coaches, Athletic Directors, Advocates and Allies! We're excited to be bringing the Fall Sports train the trainer event to expand the reach of our evidence-based violence prevention leadership development training to coaches across the state and region.

If you are a coach, know a coach or just interested in using sports as a platform for social change and leadership development, join us on August 13th! Attendees will be trained in the Athletes as Leaders curriculum.

We will eat dinner together, hear a keynote discussion panel from local USL Spokane professional athletes and owners, then be trained in the Athletes as Leaders program.

Please spread the word to other coaches you know who may be interested!

Coaching hours are available for attendees through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Registration link

Team Up WA

Welcome to Gill1918, the track & field coaching podcast powered by Gill Athletics. Since 1918, Gill has been dedicated to empowering coaches with innovative equipment—now, we're bringing elite coaching education straight to your ears.

Our goal is to create the Ted Talks of track/field podcasts bringing the annual track clinic to your ears DAILY! Topics will include but are not limited to covering key strategies, techniques, and training principles to help you improve athlete performance, structure better workouts, enhance team culture, and more!

Whether you're a high school, collegiate, or club coach, Gill1918 is your go-to resource for quick, high-impact coaching education from the best minds in the sport.

📩 Want to contribute an episode? Submit your 10-30 minute coaching talk to mcunningham@gillathletics.com or read ⁠⁠THIS LINKEDIN ARTICLE⁠⁠ for information on how to get started. All coaches are invited to participate!

🎙️ Don’t forget to subscribe and follow Gill Athletics for more expert coaching insights!

#TrackAndField #CoachingEducation #Gill1918 #ByCoachesForCoaches #TrackCoach #TedTalksOfTrackFieldPodcast

Recently National Business Development Manager Mike Cunningham attended the Business of Small College Athletics (BoSCA) Convention in Oak Brook, IL. While there, he captured amazing presentations from Athletic Directors around the country that we thought would bring value to our audience here at the Gill Connections Podcast.

We have five BONUS episodes in a row every Thursday starting back on July 24th. We'd love to hear feedback from you to confirm this was a VALUE GIVER to you.

In the meantime, if you are a small college administrator, to check out BoSCA as we were thoroughly impressed with the Convention and the Organization as a whole.

Welcome to Gill1918, the track & field coaching podcast powered by Gill Athletics. Since 1918, Gill has been dedicated to empowering coaches with innovative equipment—now, we're bringing elite coaching education straight to your ears.

Our goal is to create the Ted Talks of track/field podcasts bringing the annual track clinic to your ears DAILY! Topics will include but are not limited to covering key strategies, techniques, and training principles to help you improve athlete performance, structure better workouts, enhance team culture, and more!

Whether you're a high school, collegiate, or club coach, Gill1918 is your go-to resource for quick, high-impact coaching education from the best minds in the sport.

📩 Want to contribute an episode? Submit your 10-30 minute coaching talk to mcunningham@gillathletics.com or read ⁠⁠THIS LINKEDIN ARTICLE⁠⁠ for information on how to get started. All coaches are invited to participate!

🎙️ Don’t forget to subscribe and follow Gill Athletics for more expert coaching insights!

#TrackAndField #CoachingEducation #Gill1918 #ByCoachesForCoaches #TrackCoach #TedTalksOfTrackFieldPodcast

David is a coach and nationally known T&F announcer who spent 23 of his 39 years in public education serving as a school counselor spanning grades K-12. He is also the coordinator of this Youth and Beginner Series Powered by Coach O. If you’d like to contribute an episode, he’d LOVE to hear from you! Please email clientrelations@coacho.com to learn more about how you can get involved.