I started out as a basketball player in high school for the Mighty Meridian Warriors. Soon after beginning to run, I was hooked and realized my potential wasn’t in basketball as a 5’9″ skinny kid, but rather in the sport of distance running. I was anxious to get out everyday to run and see how much I improved from the last time. I never reached my potential in the short time period I ran in high school and was motivated to find a college that would let me run. After filling out a questionnaire to Idaho State University, Coach Brian Janssen thought I was an above average girl. Brian let me walk on the team and through my hard work and dedication to running, I quickly improved my times and where I stood on the team. By the time I graduated from Idaho State as a grown up Bengal, I had accumulated numerous all-conference academic awards, varsity letters, and a point scorer for the cross country team and as a 10,000 meter runner on the track team. My coaching career began much like my running career did. I wanted to continue my love for the sport and pass it on to other people. I was at the University of Redlands first as a volunteer coach, next as a Graduate Assistant, and finally as Head XC Coach. By the time I was finished with coaching at Redlands, I coached 2 athletes to the NCAA Championship meet twice each in XC and coached an 800 meter runner to the NCAA Championships in track and field. Besides the NCAA qualifiers, I coached 2 conference champions and 36 all-conference performers. Coaching at Idaho State University for an indoor and outdoor track and field season was great experience. I was fortunate enough to work with my college coach, Brian Janssen. All of these experiences have prepared me to take on my next coaching challenge and I look forward to continue the growth with the Meridian distance program. Love the sport, put in the hard work, and have confidence in your abilities.
My 3 coaching beliefs: Motivate, Inspire, and Educate.
“Pain is only temporary, no matter how long it lasts”
aolswanger@gmail.com
(909) 528-2904