Caleb and the Pents....sounds like a band name. Actually, it’s Coach Caleb and the pentathletes, a special subset within our Athletics (track and field ) team. Five events make up the pentathlon, shot, high jump, 100 meter dash, long jump and 400 meter dash. Tough events. I’m fortunate enough to have five of those special,athletes, pretty unusual for a world games! It's exciting, as they usually are higher level athletes who look to really challenge themselves by competing in so many different disciplines.
Caleb is my roommate, friend and fellow coach who was selected for the LA games four years ago. He was recommended to me and as it turns out, for good reason, he’s a great coach. Although I had some small part in helping to coach these pents, it’s really Caleb who gelled them into something very special. What follows is His post on the evening after all five won medals, including golds. For so many reasons, I just had to share his thoughts.
6 hrs ·
A good team can take years to create, a great team even longer and a dynasty is something most only dream of becoming. That’s what this group of five amazing pentathlon athletes is, a dynasty. And it didn’t take years for them to get there, only months.
It has nothing to do with their medal count or their scores (which are amazing by the way) and everything to do with how they have come together as a team. It’s about how they have been there to pick one another up after a fall, hold one another up in times of weakness and raise one another up in times of celebration. It’s about how each of them brings a different strength to the team that they all feed off of and how each one of them is a leader to the others.
It’s about how they have so much passion for their sport and fellow athletes that they praise, encourage and coach one another even if they are competing against each other in the same division. It’s watching them take that camaraderie they have amongst the five of them and inviting athletes from other countries into the fold, knowing that they may actually get beaten by them and still being there to support them when they need it.
I was asked about a favorite moment and the first thing that popped in my head is the picture with them walking in the stands. Most of the track team was in the stands that day. Everyone was laughing and carrying on through the day. I yelled “Pentathlon, time to warm-up”. Right after that I turned to talk to another coach for a few minutes. I turned back around and they were gone, on their way to warmup without me. Look at the determination in that picture. They were told it’s time to warmup and they rolled out, coach or no coach!! They took that determination and delivered what was expected of them, their best.
I am beyond honored and proud to have been their coach and will cherish the memories made with them forever! They have without a doubt set the bar very high for future Special Olympics USA pentathletes.
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