The RECORD OnlineSummer 2000Under the leadership of Head Coach Brian Patton, Greenville's running programs are... On the Fast TrackThe view from where Coach Brian Patton sits is impressive, any way you look at it. The large picture window in his second-floor office overlooks the Recreation Center below, but that’s not what catches your eye. It’s the eight Coach of the Year trophies that line the window sill. Yes, eight. That’s in six years of coaching two sports, cross-country and track and field. Actually four sports if you count men’s and women’s versions of each.
The metaphorical view is just as impressive, as Coach Patton has
led his athletes to heights unattained before by any other sports
program in the history of Greenville College: What’s going on here? Although he’d never take credit for the accomplishments of the athletes he coaches, Brian Patton is the one constant in these dramatic turnarounds.
For him the key to building these programs has been building relationships with the athletes. “On a scale of one to ten, tell me how bad it hurts,” is a common question Coach Patton will ask. He’s just as likely to apply the same scale to the quality of the workout just completed or the athlete’s relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend. He is constantly building bridges. Coach Patton’s athletes describe him as energetic, humble, caring, a leader, helpful, easy-going, and dedicated to the team, his family and Jesus Christ. Graduating from Greenville College in 1988 with a degree in Accounting, Patton started out working with his father as a Certified Public Accountant in Hillsboro. Knowing Brian had a desire to coach, his father allowed him flexible hours. For five years he coached high school cross-country and junior high track in Hillsboro, as well as high school basketball for four years in nearby Litchfield. In the fall of 1994 he returned to his alma mater to coach track and cross-country on a part-time basis. His plans were to remain at Greenville for two years while Renae, his future wife, finished school here; he would then return to coaching in Hillsboro. After a year, his impressions of the running programs at Greenville were disappointing. Hillsboro was looking more and more inviting. The next year, however, transformed his disappointment into satisfaction.
According to Coach Patton, the team went from famine to feast. His enthusiastic coaching and recruiting styles brought in a number of new athletes to the small program, creating a strong team. Seeing the influence he could have on his athletes, and the friendships he had built, he realized that two years were not enough, so he renewed his contract at Greenville. In 1998 he transitioned to full-time head coach. There’s been a lot of bridge building along the way. “Coach is involved in our lives, and I think his desire to be involved in my life has led me to look to the lives and persons of my teammates,” says Jenny Svoboda, a junior cross-country and track athlete this past year. Coach Patton stresses that athletics is not only about All-American athletes, or being the best, but being a team and developing dedication and perseverance though sport. “Coach Patton strives to accommodate everybody on the team, whether you are injured or in the top five,” states 1999-2000 senior athlete Laurie Brice. With athletes who are dedicated to the team and love the sport, Greenville College track and cross-country represent groups of people all striving toward common goals. “The beauty of the sport,” according to Bob Johnson, who preceeded Patton as track and cross-country coach, “is that there is a niche for everyone no matter what their ability.”
With that in mind, Coach Patton encourages his student athletes on the playing field and off. He stresses academic success, as well as strong character development, and the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “Coach is a good witness,” says sophomore runner Antwan Garnet. “He has helped me see there is more to life than running.” Senior athlete Joe Niemuth agrees. “Coach Patton has shown me what being a Christian athlete is all about, and has helped me to look for my gifts in all other areas of life besides running.” “Our sport is one of the biggest and best classrooms we have,” says Patton. “This is where the rubber meets the road. What better place than this to teach kids how to deal with people, build relationships, develop discipline, learn about life, team dynamics, and even dating and family life?”
As the team grows and develops, the challenges increase for Coach Patton. For one, the rising numbers are bringing more non-Christian athletes to the team. “The numbers matter,” he says, “but the people matter the most.” His goal for the cross-country and track teams is to be national caliber programs, but more than winning, Coach Patton believes witnessing to his athletes and modeling the Christian life are primary goals. “It is more important that lives are changed for Christ,” he says, “so we can go out, affect others, and multiply.” Coach Patton admits he is an imperfect man who desires not to be perfect, but to be used. He loves what he does and he loves his extended family of more than 75 athletes of many races, ages, and backgrounds. He says, “I pray daily that this does not become bigger than Him.” “I can definitely see the face of Jesus in Coach Patton,” says distance runner Amy Ferrell. “I know that in everything he does, Coach always strives to be a servant leader.”
Former runner Shawn Andrews, a 1999 graduate, adds, “I have been blessed with great coaches, but Coach Patton is by far the best I have ever had, because he cares for me more than as a coach or runner on the team, but as a person.” It is easy to measure the development of these programs by the number of athletes recruited, or by the number of event records (51) that have been shattered, or by the individual and team honors earned since Coach Patton came in 1994. Beyond the numbers, however, true success is more difficult to calculate. The hard work and dedication of Coach Patton and his athletes are perhaps best measured in terms of personal growth and consideration for each other. Team assistant coach Shawn Andrews believes the program is still on its way up. “This is just the beginning of what the team could be. Thanks to Coach Patton the teams have been, are, and will be successful because we want to be together, win together, and have fun along the way.” On a scale of one to ten, Coach Brian Patton would rate a ten.
Last updated: September
22, 2000 |
