Kelsey Quinn is the new assistant coach of the On Athletics Club. She will be working closely alongside coach Dathan Ritzenhein and team operations manager Andrew Wheating. She brings with her a decade of coaching experience at the NCAA level.

She just spent three years as the assistant coach at Utah. She also has experience from stops in Portland, Washington, Warner Pacific, Grand View University and Iowa State. She was actually a sprinter at the University of Iowa, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400m hurdles.

So how did she end up landing a job with one of the best professional distance teams? It started with a LinkedIn posting and then a series of interviews. In this conversation, you’ll get to know Kelsey better and hear all the ins and outs of the process. She also shares what goals she has for herself and the team in the coming months.

Listen to the episode on the CITIUS MAG Podcast feed. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other major podcast publishers.

NOTABLE QUOTES

The most interesting part that people may be curious about is what types of questions are asked in a job interview like this, when you're sitting through multiple rounds with the coach, the team manager and operator, and then the sports marketing department. They must have all been fairly different?

Kelsey Quinn: “I think the biggest part of this interview process with each person was that it needed to be a good fit all around. What they really cared about was that each person, both from OAC and also on my side, was that we felt like this was going to be the right place for me and for them. I think that when it comes to a team of this caliber, trying to achieve the goals and aspirations that they have, you have to have the right people in place around those athletes in order for them to get where they want to be…It can feel really individual trying to come together and have this be a team atmosphere, sort of like a college team where with cross-country season, the best teams that have the most success are the ones that work together and lean on each other. And so they're trying to cultivate that sense of camaraderie and team in this professional world, which is unique. But clearly it's been working for them. So they were looking for a coach that was going to come in and feel like they could really lend some help on that side of things. And that's been a huge part of my role.”

When I looked at your resume with these stops at Warner Pacific, Grandview, Washington, Utah, and Portland, it was really cool to see the time you put in at smaller schools in order to land eventually at the bigger programs. What are some of the most important takeaways from your time at smaller schools that set you up for success at higher profile jobs?

“I think there are two main things. The first one is taking any opportunity you have to learn and get better at your craft, or at what you're doing. And in this case, it was coaching and the science side of it. So for me, I would ask myself, ‘How am I going to set myself apart to actually find a place in this world?’ Because there are not a lot of spots. And there's not a lot of women in coaching. And so how do you get there? I thought that grad school would be a really good opportunity for me. I also did some USATF courses and I read and continue to read every book I can find on running or anything around coaching because I enjoy that.”

In this whole hiring process, how do you build the case for yourself to coach professionals when there are only a certain number of jobs out there for people to do professional track and field coaching full-time? What do you think helped make you stand out to coach professionals for the first time?

“I have a really strong background in taking a person or team that's really talented and helping them not get in their own way…That's a big part of my personality. My role has been, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Let's check-in. Are you thinking about running too much? Are you in your head?... So honestly, keeping people a little bit loose and lighthearted is a really big thing for me that I told Steve (Dekoker), Dathan and Andy (Wheating) that I feel can be applied at the professional level as well.

What are some of your own coaching aspirations down the road? Where would you want to see yourself among the women in track and field coaching ranks, especially when you look at the success someone like Diljeet Taylor or Laurie Henes is having at the NCAA level?

“I think it's the impact side of it that I really aspire to have. (Diljeet and Laurie) have taken programs and have year after year done such a great job from a performance standpoint, but also have put women's running more on the map…Being one of the women in the few positions that are around and trying to bring more light to not just women's running, but also women's coaching and saying ‘you can be here too’. You can be a partner or a spouse and you can be a mother and you can also still do this coaching at the highest level…As a female coach, there are not many of us. I’m trying to have my position and my success say to younger women…I can do all the things I want to do–coaching and all the other things I can achieve out here.

You're probably caught up in the middle of a move to Boulder. But what does a day look like for you to balance these other roles that you have outside of just coaching?

“When I first had a kid, I was so nervous that people would look and say that this is a negative for me from a coaching standpoint. Like I'm no longer as good of a coach or as good of a hire because of that. It was like something to try to hide. And then I got a little bit older and a little bit wiser and tough…I need to own it and say, ‘This is who I am, I'm a really good coach.’ I'm a little more well-rounded, if anything, than I used to be. And I think my experience as a parent has helped me be a better coach and so I can be okay with that and be upfront about it instead of hiding it. Dathan and I talked about that a lot at length, and I was so appreciative of being able to have those conversations with him and also just felt so comfortable being able to talk about it in an interview process. A gut instinct told me this was the right fit…he's obviously the real deal. But I also think he's like a really great person to work alongside.

What is the thing you're most excited about with this opportunity? You're taking the job and starting right before the U.S. championships. And then after that, there's a trip to Budapest on the horizon. And next year, there's a trip to the Olympics that comes with the job as well.

“This group just has so much talent and potential for these huge upcoming meets…It's incredibly fulfilling to be a coach, just to see people reach and maximize their potential and what they're capable of doing–I haven't found anything more fulfilling or satisfying in my years yet. Getting to be a part of that in whatever way, shape, or form for these athletes individually, I'm excited to do.”

Two years ago, On did a video series following the team at the U.S. Olympic trials–and you can see how invested Dathan is in the performances and how tight of a bond all the teammates have…Are you prepared for the highs and the lows that come with coaching?

“I think the roller coaster ride of coaching is something that you always mentally prep for. Because obviously, you go into every race hoping that it's going to go really well. But then you've got those heartbreaks–the highs are incredibly high and the lows are incredibly low. And so as a coach, just trying to be prepared for those so that I can help the athletes work through it better…you have to be the role model in that situation. Like let’s be really sad and then let's find a way to be better because of it…I've certainly had my share of heartbreak and working through it with the team is always a process, but it comes along with the really high highs of people making teams and getting medals and winning huge races.”