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Beach Reading | an insider lends insight

Curtis Beach
of Albuquerque Academy, New Mexico, the just-named Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, has been one of the most exciting athletes in the nation this year. After setting the #2 all-time mark in the indoor pentathlon at NSIC, Beach has torn through an outdoor season that includes three decathlon USRs (HS implements at Arcadia, int'l implements at Great Southwest, jr implements at USATF Jrs), five individual victories at the New Mexico state champs to lead his team to the 5A title, a tour de force performance at Great Southwest (winning two decathlons simultaneously and running two great relay splits), a 3rd in the NON 800, and, finally, the win and final record in Eugene.


CEO For a Day
After the USATF Jr. deca, Beach is invited to hang with USATF's Doug Logan

by Curtis Beach, Albuquerque Academy NM senior
 
Instead of sticking with the topic of my other blogs and writing about what I’ve done on the track, I’ve got a little twist for this article.  This time, I’m not going to talk about the decathlon I competed in during the first two days of the Junior Nationals, but the third day, when I spent time with the CEO of USA Track and Field – Doug Logan.  He has been on the job for nearly a year, but he was also the first commissioner of Major League Soccer, promoted the first commercial Arena Football League, and was named Sports Industrialist of the Year for 1996.

You are probably wondering how I ended up with this opportunity.  It all started when I broke the high school record in the decathlon at the Arcadia Invitational—it was that record that really put me on the map in the sports world.  I got calls from Sports Illustrated (to be in Faces in the Crowd), USA Today, some internet sites, and even Reelz TV, which isn’t even a sports television show. 

 
With USATF CEO Doug Logan.  Photo by Errol Anderson, thesportingimage.net
When I talked with Dick Patrick of USA Today, he asked me what I would like to do with my life.  I remember telling him that I’d love to make it big time as a professional athlete and that my dream job was to be CEO of USATF.  Shortly after, the interview over the phone turned into an in-depth discussion about the business of sports.  We discussed why track is not a major sport in the United States and what needs to be done in order for USATF to really thrive as a business (he has determined that nothing will do this better than having a star similar to Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, or Michael Jordan). 

He knew from that discussion that I was passionate about helping the sport, and fortunately, he put the quote “My dream job is to be CEO of USA Track and Field” into the article (I owe him a big thank you).  I was just hoping that the current CEO, Doug Logan, would just see that quote and smile.  Well he saw it, and he immediately called up his assistant to “get this kid over here for a day.”  After a few emails with his assistant, Jill Geer, we determined that the most convenient time to spend a day with him would be during the Junior Nationals after I was done competing.  We made room for it to fit in our schedules and it was a done deal.  I was stoked!!

I had been reading Doug Logan’s Shin Splints blog for a while, and every now and then he’d put a picture up with him and a great athlete.  I remember being so jealous of German Fernandez and Jordan Hasay when they got into a picture with him.  Well, on Wednesday when everyone was doing their pre-race workouts, I got the chance to meet this guy myself.  He was wearing these shiny black rock star pants and a cool shirt to go with it (he actually used to promote concerts for the Rolling Stones and a lot of other famous bands).  After I introduced myself and talked with him for a little bit, he struck me as not the typical 66-year-old, but more like one of my 18-year-old buddies.  This guy was awesome.

Beyond the athletic life

My big day kicked of with a 9:00 a.m. meeting on job opportunities for athletes.  During this, we discussed exactly how USATF could help its athletes after they are done with their careers.  Too many times, in many sports, an athlete’s life goes way downhill after their athletic career, because the person has not learned the necessary skills to live in the “real world.” 

In order to fix this problem, the executive board suggested that we create mentorships, internships, and job opportunities for elite USATF athletes both during and after their athletic careers.  USATF will work with certain companies to make this happen.  These companies can use these athletes to benefit the company in ways that a normal employee cannot; as Jack Wickens of the USATF Foundation Board wrote in the program outline, the business can showcase the athletes to launch new business services, add credibility to an existing business service, and take advantage of their role model status.  Our athletes will gain the essential on-the-job skills that will provide a good paycheck, both during and after their athletic careers, and will be able to be involved with a business that understands the athletes’ training schedules.

Here’s an example of how this process might work: Say thrower Erin Pendleton (Woodmere OH), who is entering University of Michigan, wins an NCAA title there and graduates with a kinesiology degree.  When she becomes a pro, she’ll have the opportunity to work at a place like Lifetime Fitness and help them start up something new: training athletes to not just stay fit, but to be in shape for specific sports.  Because she would be an NCAA champ, Lifetime would have much more leverage in advertising this brand new program; her credentials and sheer prestige will attract customers to join Lifetime and this new program. 

Erin would be able to learn from current personal trainers (expanding her knowledge in the subject), speak to large groups about how she accomplished what she did (improving her public speaking skills), and possibly instruct track and field classes (improving her teaching skills and promoting the sport).  Erin will definitely be ready for life after athletics.

I feel that this is a model that many sports should adopt because it is very sad to see great athletes live poor lives after athletics.  Not only will USATF and other business be able to thrive off each other, but they will be able to contribute to something much more important: helping others live good lives.

After that profound meeting, we had a nice 5-minute break.  During that time I asked Mr. Logan what necessary skills needed to be developed in order to be successful in his job.  The number one thing he gave as advice was this: learn how to process a lot of information and be able to make a firm, well-prioritized decision.  His recommendation for how to learn this skill: law school.

Next we posed for pictures.  The whole executive staff was cracking jokes like crazy and we had multiple requests to keep it down.  Then I ended up wearing Mr. Logan’s classy red glasses for the pics (that definitely didn’t help the noise level go down).  It felt like we were old buds during this time, even if we only spoke for a few moments beforehand.

 
Hanging with friends Erin Pendleton and Mike Barbas at the 2007 World Youth
 
After that, Mr. Logan and Stephanie Hightower had an interview together for the 2008 Annual Report.  I don’t know why they are coming out with it now, but it is pretty cool that they are at least doing it.  One important aspect of the interview was hearing how passionate they were for helping USATF athletes.  Every action they do in the sport is in some way, whether directly or indirectly, related to helping the athletes “strut their best stuff,” as Mr. Logan put it.

Hanging at the meet

Then we were off to the track.  Doug had to attend a special confidential meeting that he had to go to alone, so I ended up getting a pass to the hospitality tent – where I could relax, eat some free food, and watch the meet from a nice view.  It was a pretty funny story when a fellow decathlete, Trent Perez, wound up going to the track at the same time.  Since he was with us, my chaperone Shayla gave him a pass to the tent, too.  I hung out with him in the tent during the short time we were together, but I saw him there hours later by himself, gettin’ some free food and drinks.  I don’t blame him; it was like a freaking luxury box.

Since it would be a few hours before I could hang out with Mr. Logan again, I spent some time with old USA teammates from the World Youth Team.  Conor McCullough, Erin Pendleton, Mike Barbas, and Cam Tabor were the guys and gals I hung out with there two years ago.  One great part of being on the World Youth team was that I got to meet some great athletes that I would normally never have the chance to meet during a regular track meet.  And the coolest part is that I get to see them a few times each year as we make it through the ranks.

The remaining hours of the afternoon were pretty laid back.  I got to speak with the COO, Mike McNees, about the new USA uniform deal Mr. Logan made with Nike.  I mentioned how guys like Jeremy Wariner could sign an Adidas contract for a million (I don’t know the actual amount), but when the whole world watches him go for the win at the Olympic Games, more people will see the swoosh on his chest than they will ever see him with the stripes of Adidas.  Also, elite athletes that are too young to sign a professional contract will promote Nike when wearing the USA uniform after making a world team.  The USA uniform deal before Mr. Logan was $1.7 million (doesn’t sound like very much to me).  Now it’s slightly more than $10 million—the second largest team deal in history (to Brazil’s soccer team).  The $10 million deal still doesn’t sound like much to me for what I think it is worth, but I don’t know how to accurately derive the worth of the swoosh on the USA uniform and I’m sure the executives know much more about it than I do.  I’m just happy we are making progress and gaining more money.

Changing the PED culture

When I had the chance to hang with Mr. Logan again, I got to do something pretty cool: helping him award Tyree Washington the gold medal he lost to a doper at the 2003 World Championships.  All I really did was hold the medal case while he put the medal over his neck, but it was awesome to just be there.  He received a standing ovation from the entire crowd on both grandstands, as he deserved.  It was a pretty emotional moment.  I talked to Mr. Logan about the doping issue afterwards and he said that the most effective solution to stop cheaters is to change the culture from one that is mostly quiet about the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to one that vehemently despises them.  He told me that he will fervently speak of cheaters as ones “that choke the life out of our sport” and he will strive to get enough media attention on that message to turn things around, just as one mother changed the general perception of drunk driving when she created M.A.D.D.

Our day ended back in the hospitality tent, talking nothing but track.  It was very special to just sit there with a guy that spends nearly every waking hour pondering on how to help the athletes of this sport.  From one day with the executives, I confirmed my notion that USATF is making leaps in the right direction; it is increasing its membership, promoting the importance of competing clean like never before, and governing the sport so that more athletes will be able to fulfill their athletic ability.  When I was about to depart, Mr. Logan gave me some advice on my next 4 years at Duke.  He told me to avoid a tunnel vision on track and field, to try new things, and to expand my comfort zone.  It was a real pleasure being apart of Doug Logan’s day and hanging out with all of the people on the executive staff.

Extra Stuff on Sunday

Beyond what I learned from USATF executives, I gained other important insight from ESPN commentator Larry Rawson, Baylor Head Coach Todd Harbour, and a distance friend from Alabama, Pat McGregor.  With Mr. Rawson, I talked about the dynamics of broadcasting a track and field event – speaking in a way that is informative to the educated listener, but also in a way that does not alienate a new viewer.  Coach Harbour shared his opinion about how USATF should work with certain NCAA colleges.  He feels it is hard for colleges to support the professional athletes that use their facilities, and he feels that it would be right for USATF to help those colleges out a little, in any way they can.  Pat would like to see track and field broadcasts and commercials be more exciting; he feels that the USATF commercials that have been on for the last few years are the kind that “make people want to change the channel” and it should instead be a modern commercial with sweet music that gets people pumped up… I could not agree more with him.



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