Sept. 2, 2005

By Elliot Olshansky

CSTV.com

When Roger Kingdom discusses the path that brought him to California University (Pennsylvania), he talks about how his heart is in coaching. He doesn't need to, though: that message comes through in almost every word. 

"To get here now, at this university to work with this group of young athletes, both men and women, to see them, to nurture them, and to teach them how to tap into their God-given talent and the potential that they have right in the palms of their hands, that's just overwhelming for me," Kingdom said. "It's just a great feeling."

Of course, Kingdom knows a thing or two about tapping into potential and great feelings. The native of Vienna, Ga., won two Olympic gold medals in the 110 meter hurdles, one in 1984 and one in 1988. In 1989, he broke the legendary Renaldo Nehemiah's nearly eight year old world record by posting a 12.92 time. Kingdom's world mark lasted four years and five days. His competitive career also includes five U.S. championships, two gold medals at the Pan Am Games (1989, 1995), a World Cup gold medal (1989), and a gold at the World University Games (1989). Now, he's passing his knowledge on to CUP's Vulcans, who are flourishing under his tutelage.

"Last year," Kingdom said, "just for an example, I had a group of young kids that believed in me, and they did everything that I asked them to do, and in doing what I asked them to do, every last one of them ran their personal best, and I had two kids that qualified provisionally - indoors - for the NCAA championship, and that hasn't happened at this university in God knows how long."

CUP, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, does seem an odd choice for a coach with Kingdom's impressive resumè. However, Kingdom, a Pitt alum and former member of the Panthers' football and track teams, has strong ties to the area. "I ended up at Cal by wanting to get back in the Pittsburgh area. I left here and went to Cleveland, worked with the Cleveland Browns as an intern for a year, and then after being there for a year, I left and went back home to Georgia for a while. I wanted back in the Pittsburgh area, so I called around to the schools I knew in the area, asking if they would need the assistance of a sprint and speed coach, or a hurdles coach. Here at Cal, they did, and I came in and worked with coach Ray Coolidge for a year, and I ended up taking over the program after my second year."

Pittsburgh has been a central location in Kingdom's life since his college days. Even as Kingdom's competitive career continued past the Olympics, he never lost sight of his goal of earning a degree.  "I left school with a year to go to pursue track and field as a career for about 17 years," Kingdom recalled, "and at that time, I took a class here and there and got down to my last semester."

When Kingdom retired from active competition in 1999, he went to work for Anchor Hocking Specialty Glass, in Monaca, Pa., less than 40 miles from Pittsburgh. While the work agreed with Kingdom, he had a different line of work in mind.  "It was great being there," Kingdom said, "but I knew my heart was in coaching, and in order to get into coaching, you have to have your degree. I left that job, and went to school full-time, without working, just so I could get that degree to move into the career field that I wanted to."

After completing his coursework and earning his degree in 2002, Kingdom left for Cleveland, where he worked as a speed and conditioning coach, starting him on the path that would eventually lead him to the Vulcans. It has been at Cal where Kingdom has found the joy he expected to find in coaching.

"With these kids," Kingdom said, "they listen to me, and on top of listening to me, they start believing in themselves, they start wanting it, and when you're a coach, and you start seeing that fire and desire in a kid's eye, and you've done everything you could to nurture them and lead them in the right path, and they listened to you, and you see the results...man! You get emotional about something like that. Now, not only are they growing as athletes, they're growing as individuals, because they're learning, `The sky's the limit, as to how far as I can go or how good I can be,' and they're learning to be motivated, determined, and work toward achieving those goals. That's why, for me, it's such an honor to be able to work as a coach, because you're an educator, you're a mentor, you're a friend."

With Kingdom's track record, it's easy to assume that he would be an effective coach, but to hear Kingdom tell it, his strength as a coach doesn't lie in his past success. "My success as a coach lies in me because of the adversity that I faced as an athlete," he said. "I look at all the things I did wrong, all the things that happened to me, all the things that I could have done better.

"Anyone can think about the good things, but can you learn from those things that could have killed it for you? So, when I approach these athletes to train, I think about all of those negative downfalls, and try to make sure that [the athletes] do not have to suffer."

Indeed, there's been very little suffering in the Vulcan track and cross country programs since Kingdom took over, largely because Kingdom's runners are so willing to listen to him, not to mention assistant coach Candy Young Sanders, a 1980 Olympic team member and former world record holder in her own right.  "I'm not just talking the game," Kingdom said. "I've lived the game. Coach Sanders has lived it as well. That demands respect from the athlete before we even open our mouths, because they've read it. We've been there. Just like a Jimmy Johnson or a Bill Parcells. When those guys walk into a meeting room to address their football teams, instantly, everybody will shut up, because these guys have won the Super Bowl. They've been there."

Also, Kingdom added, "I love to have a good time. I keep a relaxed environment that's conducive to learning. I think more so than just my accolades and who I am, that garners their respect."

That respect extends to the recruiting trail, where California is enjoying unprecedented success, thanks in large part to the well-decorated coaching staff. "Everything has completely turned around," Kingdom said. "I think that we've had one of our best recruiting years ever, we have a couple of top WPIAL [Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League] runners, and I had to battle against a couple of D-I schools in order to get these kids, schools like Cincinnati and Clemson. It was a battle, and I got these kids just because of the coaching staff here. When we go in to speak with these young recruits, automatically we get their attention, and they look at us in the same breath with the D-I schools.

"What we have here at Cal, in this little town, is a goldmine," Kingdom said. "The level of competition each and every year is getting better and better. Now, we want Cal to be able to compete against the top schools like St. Augustine, Morgan State, who finished up top three in the Division II national championship. We want to be up there in the next few years."

With Kingdom's record of success, and the difference he's made for the Vulcans already, it's probably not very wise to bet against him.