When Oregon head strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe agreed to a handshake agreement with Oregon Track Club Elite coach Frank Gagliano last year to train some of his athletes, Gagliano asked what he charged.
Radcliffe’s terms were simple: If they make the Olympics, I want to go.
Last week, he got that chance, spending a few days at the high performance training center in Dalian, an hour outside Beijing. A year after he began teaching OTC Elite athletes Nicole Teter, Lauren Fleshman, Nick Symmonds, Cack Ferrell and Tom Brooks warm-up routines, core strength workouts and event-specific strength regimens, Radcliffe made the trip with Symmonds. Because of food poisoning and illness, Teter was forced to spend most of her time before her 800 meter competition at the Olympic Village in Beijing.
It was the culmination of a learning experience for both the athletes and the coach.
“It was pretty neat,” Radcliffe said. “I haven’t been a real distance running aficionado I’ve always been with sprinters and jumpers so I’ve learned a whole lot this whole year.”
Smith and Wheating did not advance past the first round, while Symmonds failed to make the 800 final yesterday.
The relationship began when Oregon director of track and field Vin Lananna approached Radcliffe last summer about working with post-collegiate athletes. He began working with Teter and Fleshman first, which paved the way for Gagliano – nicknamed “Gags” – to ask about working with Symmonds, the 2008 U.S. 800 meter champion.
“Of course, being post collegians and having to pay for most things they get they asked me what I charged,” Radcliffe said. “I said well, you make it to the Olympics, I want to be a part of that to.”
Security reasons kept Radcliffe from being able to train the runners in Beijing, so he returned earlier this week when Symmonds, OTC Elite 800 meter runner Christian Smith and Oregon sophomore Andrew Wheating – who all qualified in the 800 for the U.S. – went to Beijing and the Olympic Village. By Monday, he was back in Eugene in time for 10:30 a.m. football practice.
He was disappointed to not watch them run in person, but understood it was unavoidable.
“It’s like I was telling the football coaches, it’s like coaching Monday through Friday but not going into the stadium on Saturday for the game,” Radcliffe said. “But I still enjoy the Monday through Friday part.”
An Oregon strength coach for 23 years, Radcliffe was courted by OTC Elite to show the athletes how to warm up more efficiently before races, as well as emphasizing core strength routines and flexibility and mobility. He would typically meet with Symmonds two to three times a week around nine in the morning for their sessions together.
He realized quickly how much it meant to the athletes, many of whom had never been through such training.
“I found out is that it was a lot more meaningful to them because it wasn’t something they had to do, it was actually a privilege,” he said. “I never had to worry about them being on time or not showing up or not being accountable.”
It was the first time Radcliffe had been to China after traveling to Korea twice and Japan four times.
Although Gagliano will not return as OTC Elite coach next season because of family health problems, Symmonds told Radcliffe he wants him as a coach for as long as he runs, which Radcliffe said he’s agreed to on another handshake deal.