The Heberling era officially begins for track and field

As of the morning of July 9, Ryan Heberling, who was formerly both the throwers coach and the interim head coach of the track and field program here at the University, was named the official head coach of the program.

“It feels good,” Heberling said. “The most important thing that I talked to [Senior Associate Athletic Director] Julie [Berg] about, as people were asking me how I was going to go about getting the job and the only thing I was focused on last year was actually doing the job. I wasn’t really worrying about titles or permanent positions and it helped us have success last year. Once the season ended, I had more time to focus on it.”

He replaced Eric Campbell in February following his resignation.

“In my five years of coaching, the summer months usually seem like a long time. There is downtime, athletes aren’t here and it feels like everything is so far away. Practice season starts in August. These past six months though have gone by in the blink of an eye,” Heberling said. “It feels like the last meet of the season was last weekend. In reality, it was two months ago.”

Heberling is an alumnus of the University.

“I have been focusing on getting the job. Not from a greed standpoint, but because I love this program,” Heberling said. “I believe that I can lead it to the area that my other alumni and I want. [With] the years that I have put in on this program, I wouldn’t want to see anybody else here.”

Junior decathlete Chris Sullivan, who joined the team as a walk-on during his freshman year, had a positive reaction to Heberling being named the head man.

“I’m very excited about [Heberling] getting named head coach,” Sullivan said. “He has helped me advance as a thrower and as a member of the program in general. I believe that he will help get this program to the next level.”

Heberling, who is no stranger to the way things are done here at the University for track and field, is ready to lead what he describes as a unique situation.

“I know how to maneuver it and get the most out of it,” Heberling said. “With the recruiting of athletes, with the staff and even though there isn’t a track [on campus], that doesn’t matter because we still have one of the best weight rooms in the country and we have the best weather in the country.”

Recruiting is pretty easy according to Heberling.

“Florida is one of the best recruiting states in the country and in the world. Now it is about utilizing my two assistants and getting the best athletes that we can,” Heberling said.

In response to athletes not wanting to come to the University simply for the lack of a track on campus, Heberling knows exactly what to say.

“The athletes who are like that, and want all of the bells and whistles, are going to have a tough time buying in [to the program],” Heberling said. “The philosophy of this season, the thing we are going to hang our hat on, is that FIU is a home. It is my home, it is the home of every athlete that is here and the saying that we are telling them is that ‘Our house has walls’ we understand that, but there is no ceiling to our house. Anything is possible within the confines of what we deal with and that is the philosophy that I take every day to practice and the reason that we have had success. [It’s] because what I try to do every day at practice is to set up a competitive atmosphere to where you are so concerned about trying to compete against your teammates and get better that you don’t really notice what you do and you don’t have.”

Focus is instead based on each athlete.

‘You focus on your abilities, getting better and knowing that the coach really cares,” Heberling said. “I have wonderful resources: I have the staff, the [Student Athlete Academic Center] advisors, and everybody who really seems to care here. I think the most important thing at FIU is that it is not a by-the-numbers thing, [that] if you don’t perform, then you are gone. It is more of a this-is-our-family-and-I’m-going-to-work-with-you [thing].”

The University may be a bed of talent waiting to rise. Heberling said some of the best athletes that he has ever coached came right out of high school and were not highly recruited.

 

This is the first part of a multi-part interview with Head Coach Ryan Heberling.
-rhys.williams@fiusm.com

About the Author

Rhys Williams
: Sports Director, Class of 2016, Physical Education: Coaching (Major), Communication Arts (Minor), Sports Enthusiast with a Focus on Football and Track & Field.

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