WITH A SPLASH
Every coach dreams of having a new track and field facility. To make that dream a reality, you need to understand how to research the options, fundraise, negotiate, and work with contractors.
By Nate Dougherty
Nate Dougherty is a former Assistant Editor at Coaching Management.
In the fall of 2006, Brad Fairchild had an ongoing wish list of things to change about Eastern Michigan University’s indoor track and field facility. But with no immediate funding in sight, the EMU Head Men’s Coach didn’t expect his wishes would become reality any time soon.
Then, one morning last year, he stepped out of his office and into a huge puddle. Pipes that ran beneath the track had burst, turning the surface into a soggy, unusable mess. With less than two months to go until his team came indoors to practice, Fairchild needed a quick solution. The process of tearing out the old track began immediately, and Fairchild went to work bringing his wish list to life.
While few people will have to face the same watery nightmare, there comes a point in most coaches’ careers when facility upgrades become a reality. Understanding how to navigate the terrain of everything from sales pitches to construction schedules can help ensure the final product will benefit the program for years to come.
Always Be Prepared
Looking back, Fairchild thinks the burst pipes were a blessing in disguise. The team had needed a new surface, and with an insurance check to pay for the damages, he finally had the funding he needed. But, had Fairchild not been thinking all along about the team’s needs, the situation could have become desperate. This leads to his first piece of advice: Plan ahead, even if you don’t see a project immediately on the horizon.
“It was a great help that our coaching staff knew what we would do to upgrade our facility if the opportunity arose,” says Fairchild. “You never know when a pipe will burst or a donor will walk in with $1 million for you to upgrade your track, so you should regularly take stock of your facilities and think about what you would want to change.
“When the architects showed us the blueprints on their computer, we were able to sit down then and there and make alterations,” Fairchild says. “When you know what you want, it’s amazing how architects can help you achieve your vision.”
At the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Head Men’s and Women’s Coach Jim Nickasch learned a similar lesson when working on an upgrade of the school’s outdoor track last year. As his team traveled from meet to meet, he took notes on what facilities seemed to work and which didn’t, and also called on assistant coaches and athletes for their opinions.
“As soon as I realized this project was going to take place, I really paid attention to all the places we traveled to,” Nickasch says. “I also talked to some of our opposing coaches as well, and even asked my athletes which surfaces they thought were really fast. When you’re researching a project, don’t try to be the lone ranger—realize that you’ve got a lot of people who can help you along.”
Fairchild also advises to take time in the research phase. He knew cutting corners when evaluating surface options would ultimately hurt the athletes more than the chilly evening runs they would have to endure while waiting for the facility to re-open. So while he negotiated to temporarily use the indoor track at the University of Michigan, he reviewed the surfaces he’d seen at other schools and thought about what he liked and disliked about each. Before a company came to give its pitch, he had already taken a detailed look at the benefits and drawbacks of its product.
“When they come, each one will tell you their product is the best,” Fairchild says. “It will help if you are already familiar with their product. Start looking closely at surfaces at other colleges and high schools. Take into account what your main use will be and go from there. For example, our track is used for a lot of competitions, so it gets a lot of spike use. We asked each company how long its surface would last and how easy it is to repair, because we knew it would be seeing a lot of wear and tear.
“Also, don’t forget to ask what it takes for regular maintenance and cleaning,” Fairchild continues. “The surface we picked requires a different machine to clean it than the one we had, so that was an additional cost.”
In the end, Fairchild chose a surface that could endure the rigors of competition. Even though it took longer to install, he believes the time and money saved by not repainting and restriping every two years will be well worth it.
“Even though we were under the gun to get this done right away, we took our time,” Fairchild says. “We wanted a facility that would last a long time, because it will be a long time before we get another one.”
Taking the Lead
Dave Neubauer, Head Boys’ and Girls’ Coach at Ogden (Iowa) High School, also found his program in need of a facility upgrade. But for him, there was no surprise check in the mail. After five years of discussion about replacing Ogden’s dilapidated track, Neubauer realized getting the upgrades his team needed would mean learning a new skill: fundraising.
“We had one of the original cinder tracks in our area, but as the years went by it passed its prime,” Neubauer says. “We found ourselves in a situation where we had nothing—hurdles that wouldn’t stand up on their own, a high jump pit with a gash across it, a track that couldn’t be used for three or four days after a rain. We had talked about a facilities project, but the money just wasn’t there. The athletic director asked for a coach to take on the fundraising project and run with it, and I told him I would do it.”
The first step was to outline the project’s goals and come up with a strategy. “For the first three months, I mulled over what we wanted to do,” Neubauer says. “At the time, we had one of the worst facilities in our area, so it was easy to convince our school board there was a need and they allotted more than $200,000 to get us started. But they couldn’t come up with the rest of the money, and there was no other single source we could turn to. My challenge was finding multiple sources of money.”
As a newcomer to the nuances of fundraising, Neubauer put together a group to help him. “The first thing I did was form a committee that included our athletic director, a retired superintendent, a retired principal, and an elementary school secretary,” Neubauer says. “We chose them because they each brought specific strengths to the table.
“The principal and superintendent were very involved with the Iowa track scene, and the superintendent understood finance very well,” Neubauer continues. “The secretary got involved because she knows the community and could help get our message out through various means. We kept the group small because with a project like this, everyone has a ton of ideas on how it should be done, but we can’t implement them all.”
Together, the group came up with a list of 50 potential givers in the community and developed a scripted outline of points to emphasize about the project when approaching potential donors. “Our pitch included explaining that we were going to build this the right way, not just construct something that would need to be replaced five years down the line,” Neubauer says. “Everyone we talked to really bought into the concept of a high quality, long-lasting product.”
Instead of setting monetary goals from each donor, the committee members focused on the big picture. They wanted to generate a buzz that would echo throughout the entire community.
“In everything we did, it was important to deliver a positive message about the project,” Neubauer says. “We always emphasized that this would be good both for the student-athletes and the community. We pointed out that better facilities would mean more prospective homeowners in Ogden. Even if someone didn’t want to contribute, we asked them to help spread the word. That way they still became a part of creating a buzz.”
Those 50 leads helped open many more avenues to the group, as others came forward to help. Not only did many businesses end up volunteering funds, but some local contractors donated in-kind services toward the track construction.
To gain further community support, Neubauer focused on keeping the money raised in the community instead of going with an out-of-town builder. “We asked local people to donate, so we knew we needed to go with someone from our community to build it,” Neubauer says. “We went with a local track builder we were very familiar with. We knew he would build it the correct way, and it helped that our backers knew we were supporting the community through our work.”
In the end, Ogden was able to purchase an eight-lane track for $338,000, which is set to open for the 2008 season. Neubauer says although he started the process as a fundraising neophyte, the low-pressure approach and positive buzz around the project has turned him into a pro.
“I understand that most coaches are like me—not too experienced going around asking for money,” Neubauer says. “But getting over that initial reluctance was the biggest step. Once we started to see the first few checks come in, it was almost intoxicating.”
Getting Involved
When Clemson University built a 77,000 square-foot indoor track facility in 2003, fundraising wasn’t Head Men’s Coach Bob Pollock’s challenge. Pollock’s goal was to ensure his voice was heard and his program’s needs were met.
The first thing he did was find out how much money was available for the project and what that money could buy. He wanted the school’s track to attract student-athletes from a wide area, so he asked for a 200-meter track with a roomy 73-foot radius to encourage fast performances, even though it meant sacrificing some seating space.
Once the project was greenlighted, Pollock went to work showing the administration he was serious about staying involved. “Communication was the most important component,” Pollock says. “If you want the administration to listen to your input, you need to show them you plan to be involved every step of the way. I communicated with everyone from the president of the university on down through the athletic department administration.
“Project consultants are great, but a coach needs to be involved personally,” Pollock continues. “Don’t attend just one meeting—attend them all. Go to everything you possibly can, take an active role, be part of the planning process, and even volunteer your services if you have to. If there is something you want, let it be known. If you’re not willing to put in the effort, chances are you won’t get what you want.”
As the project’s blueprints came in, Pollock pored over every detail, even finding a few flaws. When he pointed out that a balcony meant to house the race timing systems, announcers, and sports information staff would have an obscured view of the track, contractors changed the plans.
Even after designs were approved and construction began, Pollock’s work was far from over. “You might be tempted to sit back and assume things will be done right based on the blueprints, but you can’t assume anything,” he says. “A coach’s input can be critical with the details.
For example, when we saw where our sand pits for the long and triple jumps were, we realized there was no hose nearby to wet them down when they get dry. That may seem like a small thing, but we needed to have water to wet the pits, and we didn’t want to run a pipe underneath the track. We talked with the contractors, and they installed a faucet so we could run a hose from beneath the bleachers over to the pits.”
Every day during the building process, Pollock spent time with the contractors, trying to make them feel welcome in the athletic department. Because of those relationships, communication with the crew came much easier and any alterations were made immediately.
“We met regularly for updates, but I still spent every morning outside with the contractors, getting to know them as the building came up,” he says. “Contractors are human, and they’ll work harder once they get to know you and understand what you expect from the project. They were in the community for a number of weeks working on the project, so I asked them to be my guests at an athletic event one Saturday afternoon.
“Getting to know those contractors was the best move I made,” continues Pollock. “If you go out of your way to help them, they appreciate it. And when you need to ask for a change to be made, they’ll be much more receptive.”
Pollock offers one more piece of advice: Sometimes it’s best to be patient. “Had the money not been there, I would have had no problem telling the administration I wanted to wait,” he says. “It’s important to educate administrators on the value of having a top-notch facility. Instead of going into a half-hearted project, sometimes it’s best to wait a year or two until you have the funds to do the project right.”
Learning to Negotiate
It’s no secret that track and field isn’t always at the front of the line when it comes time to dole out money. When the Fallbrook Union (Calif.) High School District approved a $2.4 million facility renovation this year, a number of track and field features were first on the chopping block when budget constraints emerged.
For the most part, it was a situation that brothers Marty and Tim Hauck, Head Boys’ and Girls’ coaches respectively, had to accept. But that didn’t stop them from picking their battles and fighting for what they could. They figured out exactly what they needed and what they could live without.
“There had to be some give and take because the money was limited, and there were no other funds we could pull from,” Marty Hauck says. “We had to eliminate some items at the last minute, and we changed from a pour-on track surface to a spray-on surface that doesn’t have as long a life.
“That’s something we weren’t tremendously pleased with, but it was a matter of working out our priorities when it came time to make cuts,” he continues. “We agreed to eliminate a timing system, but we were able to convince administrators to put in conduits that will allow the system to be installed some day.”
Because the project had been in the works for a number of years, the Haucks were able to conduct ongoing research into what equipment and track surfaces they liked best. “A couple of years ago, when this project was first getting started, we toured other facilities in the area and took notes on what we wanted to see in our own facility,” Marty Hauck says. “We talked to coaches about the strengths and weaknesses of their surfaces.”
When it came time to fight for funding, their research paid off as the coaches were able to educate administrators on what they had learned. “The original plan was to put in the new field but keep a dirt track, and we let them know that would not only look horrible, but it would ruin the field quickly by dragging dirt across it,” Marty Hauck says. “We had them call other schools to see that no one was upgrading fields without upgrading the track. We also told them that if they were going to do all the prep work for the project anyway, it would be cheaper to do the track and field at the same time rather than later, when there would be a lot of redundancy in the prep work.”
The coaches were able to convince administrators to scrap plans for the dirt track, but knew if they were going to win any future battles, they would need bigger allies. Negotiating effectively meant understanding the personalities involved in the decision-making process and finding those who would be sympathetic to their sport.
“One of our school board members coached track for 20 years,” Tim Hauck says. “With the decisions the board had to make regarding the project, he was invaluable to us at meetings.
“Before going into the negotiation process, you should know where the decision-making lies and foster relationships with those people,” he continues. “The bottom line is that you have to strike a balance between holding out for your must-have items and being flexible enough so the project can move forward to completion.”
