Coaches Corner
Dan Chelstrom Dickinson State University (N.D.)
By: Mark Rowe (Boys C.C. Coach, Owensboro High School)
Coach Dan Chelstromhas coached in the small college ranks for past decade and has connections to Kentucky. Last year he assisted the Owensboro Catholic running programs and previously served as the head coach at Brescia University.
A published researcher (running economy) with a graduate background in human performance and applied exercise physiology, Chelstrom is meticulous in crafting training protocols and known for developing athletes and preparing them for State and National level meets.
Last spring, one of Chelstrom’s athletes was Olivia Cason from Owensboro Catholic who placed third in the Class A 3200m.
1. What is your present position? How long have you been at your school? Where else have you coached at?
I am the sports information director and distance coach of the track and field team at Dickinson State University in the gateway to the west, just outside of the Northern Badlands of North Dakota. I also work with the Blue Hawk vertical and horizontal jumpers. I have been at DSU since August 2011. I previously coached at Southern Oregon University, the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Brescia University, Bethel University (Minn.), and at Owensboro Catholic High School.
2. What’s your background in the sport? Were you ever involved in track and field either as a prep or collegian?
I have been blessed to be a part of the fine sports of track & field and cross country since my days as a middle schooler. During my prep years, I competed at Minneapolis Edison High School. I was coached by Art Maillet, a consummate teacher and true “athletes coach”.
I served as captain of the cross country and track and field teams at EHS. We had some group success in the middle distance relays; I was also a Minnesota State Champion in the 15k on the roads for Juniors.
After Edison, I was recruited by Jim Timp to race at Bethel University. I pretty much a true blue distance runner, but competed in events ranging from 400-10,000 meters in my years as a Royal. As a senior, I was a co-captain and registered the fastest BU times in the 3k-10k and in cross country. I competed post collegiately for Marathon Sports Race Team.
3. What are some of the achievements (both individual and team) that your teams have achieved while you have been at your present coaching position and previous stops?
COLLEGIATE OVERALL (8 seasons)
Ø 3 Track & Field National Team Championships
Ø 1 Track & Field Team Runner-Up
Ø 1 Cross Country Team 4thPlace
Ø 7 Track & Field and Cross Country Team Conference Championships
Ø 1 Cross Country Team Regional Title
Ø 29 All-Americans
Ø 3 National Championship Relay Teams
Ø In 2008, guided SOU men to a 10 point victory over Oregon. It was the Ducks only loss in their season which culminated with an NCAA DI cross country national championship.
HS OVERALL (1 season)
Ø 1 Cross Country State Team Runner-Up
Ø 2 Regional Team Titles (1 T&F, 1CC)
Ø 7 All-State Athletes
Ø 4 Regional Champions
Ø 7 Regional Runner-Ups
Ø In 2009, wrote the training program that guided OC’s boys to a 126-10 record and 92.6% winning percentage. Our only losses were to AAA teams ranked in the top 10 and St. Henry. We were never beaten by an AA school that season. We individually perfect pointed the regional team meet. From what I have been told, that had never been done by a high school cross country team in Daviess County.
DSU HIGHLIGHTS
Ø 5 School Records in 2010-11
Ø 9 Individual National Qualifiers (up from 2 in 2009-10)
Ø Coached 1,000m runner to 2:25.67 lifetime best, the 3rdfastest in NAIA (he only ran 2:47.45 in 2010)
4. Balancing a full-time Sports Information position on top of your coaching duties must be tough, how do you balance the two?
The fast pace of the juggle allows for the balancing act to work. My days move along as I switch my attention back and forth between sports information and coaching responsibilities, therefore I am never bored. The energy required to do both keeps things exciting! Coupling that tempo with the reality that coaching and writing are genuine loves of mine allows me to overlook the workload and have fun with it. Instead of only working with six teams, I view my SID position as contributing to all seventeen of our athletic programs in some way.
5. What challenges do smaller universities at the NAIA level face?
Ultimately, the limitations of most small colleges and their athletic programs hinge on money, staffing, and facilities. That being said, I think these problems are not necessarily centric to NAIA institutions. Small NCAA and NAIA private schools face the reality of being tuition driven in a rough economy where it is hard to justify escalating costs of attendance to prospective and current students. On the other hand, state institutions are strapped by budget constraints and are offering less funding to programs while increasing tuition and fees. In my mind, the ultimate goal of coaching collegiate track & field and cross country is to facilitate young adult learning through the vehicle of running. Unfortunately, money is becoming a greater burden for college athletic programs and coaches, thus making it more difficult to impact young people.
I argue that the greatest hurdle for small college athletic programs, especially in cross country and track & field, is with staffing. It takes dedication and creativity to give individualized attention to student-athletes while growing the numbers and pedigree of your program. This can be difficult when coaches are directing and recruiting for multiple or all events.
6. In your opinion, what’s the most critical aspect for “team-building” in track and field? When recruiting track and field athletes, what event area do you focus on first?
It starts with being able to direct athletes to the notion that track and field is a “co-acting” sport, not an individual sport as is commonly believed. When track and field athletes recognize that co-acting teamwork is very similar to most of life, they tend to better understand their contribution and buy in more towards group advancement.
When examining group effectiveness, think of employees in a school, office, etc. These people work independently or in small groups at different tasks to obtain departmental and institutional goals. Doesn’t this sound familiar to track and field? It is! Getting athletes to understand that both self reliance and group contribution are achieved in track and must be exhibited in their future life is a bit fourth dimensional, but very important.
I am a big fan of the semi independence we foster in track and field, while instilling commitment to others.
Track and field is a twenty-one event sport in which every competition is important. It is necessary to be mindful that versatility is key when looking for athletes. Athletes that can run multiple races, throw more implements, and jump in different events are very valuable. Unless a one-eventer is a national or state champion, a versatile contributor can yield greater outcomes for the team.
In that light, I really believe in not limiting athletes with respect to event range. Too many kids coming out of high school claim to only throw the shot or only be able to run the 100 and 200, for example. Coaches need to vary training to facilitate development across disciplines. Athletes need to be willing to challenge themselves by competing in a greater range within their event areas (all throws, 100-400, etc.)
7. What do you feel is the most difficult part of coaching track and field?
Track and field is highly technical with a wide variety of bi-motor demands, which makes it challenging for coaches to pick up and athletes to learn. I focus on educating athletes on why we do things. Knowledge of our training allows them to buy into what we do. I am also a big believer of a shared language, especially in technical events. If athletes are confused by event language, how can they learn the movements associated with it?
8. You have had a vast amount of experiences at various levels, working under several difference head coaches. Who do you consider to be a mentor in your career?
My perspective as an athlete and coach has always been to align myself with people that can help me grow, develop, and better myself. That was my reason for attending Bethel and rationale behind pursuing my graduate studies at Wisconsin-La Crosse. I learned a lot from Coach Timp at Bethel as an athlete and young coach and was able to gather helpful insights from Don Fritsch and Mark Guthrie at La Crosse as well. Brad Smith, my athletic director at Brescia, was a great source of knowledge regarding the world of small college athletics.
With respect to Kentucky and high school running, I was blessed to work with Jim Ivey and Scott Lowe at Owensboro Catholic. They are a great pair of Christian men that demonstrate effective methods for technical teaching progressions and team management, respectively.
If I were to give the title of “mentor” to anyone, it would be Brent Ericksen of Southern Oregon University. From a technical standpoint, he has knowledge of all twenty-one events in track and field. He has the mindset of a lifelong learner and is concerned with both the science and practical applications behind training. Having literally competed or coached at all levels collegiately, Brent is knowledgeable about college track and field in all of its manifestations. His Olympic coaching background is impressive as well. All said, Brent has been valuable as a mentor by providing direction and always taking the time to explain why he acted or thought in various situations.
9. Who is the best athlete you have ever coached? Why?
Cameron Kreuz at Southern Oregon. Cam was the manifestation of everything I look for, admire, and recruit in a distance runner. A pure competitor, diligent worker, gifted athlete, and level headed person are all appropriate descriptors of Cameron.
When we began working together he had qualified for 6 NAIA national meets and was never an All-American. Through a willingness to execute a training protocol that was speed driven, but aerobically committed, Kreuz ran 3:47 in the 1500 (NAIA Nats.) and 24:30 (Ore. St.) in the 8k that school year and earned cross country and track and field All-American honors in the process.
Ultimately, Cameron was a fierce competitor and hard worker. While many would remember his marks, records, and wins, his teammates would attest to the fact that he made workouts happen. His ability to work hard and execute in practice allowed him to be a great racer. Even though he was talented, Cam showed others that effort is the X factor.
10. What are the goals for this season for the Dickinson State University Blue Hawks?
“To be good people, students, teammates, and competitors.” That’s what our head coach emphasizes with our student-athletes regularly. On the track, we seek to grow as workers and competitors. We want to get faster and compete at the highest level when it counts the most. As a team, we want to continue to exhibit strong performances in the NAIA and DAC. We won the DAC Indoor Track and Field Championship and are gunning for the opportunity to be outdoor conference champions as well. As a distance event group we strive to contribute to team point totals at championship meets and want to continue to break school records and qualify people for nationals.