YORKTOWN, Ind.— In sports, few people have the same effect on players as coaches do. The only people who may come close to that, are parents. For Yorktown sophomore Wyatt Turner, both are one in the same.
That’s because his dad, Jared Turner, is the head coach for Yorktown cross country, as he has been for the past 19 seasons, leading to wyatt’s introduction to running.
“He’s been around meets ever since he was little,” said Jared. “We have pictures of him at three and four years old running at meets like the one today. But even though he was always around it, he grew into it on his own.”
But it wasn’t just an overnight thing for Wyatt.
“I’ve been running for a while,” said Wyatt with a pensive look. “Maybe 10 years or so, possibly a little less.”
Yet, even after all these years, Jared wasn’t quite sure he would be able to coach Wyatt.
“I was worried about it at first,” admitted Jared. “I actually reached out to several coaching mentors that I had who had coached their sons and daughters and asked them what to expect. They gave me some great advice.”
However, a balance was found very quickly for Jared.
“Thankfully, we have a lot of great assistant coaches,” claimed Jared with a grin. “On race day, I kind of let them be the coach voice that he hears and I’m there as a dad for him.”
On top of that, Wyatt feels that having his dad as his coach gives him an advantage.
“We’re on the same wavelength a lot,” stated Wyatt. “That really helps to execute different race plans and just getting to talk to him and debrief after races.”
It would certainly seem like it has been an advantage, as Wyatt has been lighting up the timing charts this season with a personal best of 15:35. Although, Jared is quick to put all the praise on Wyatt.
“He never ever just goes through the motions,” said Jared about Wyatt’s training. “That’s what makes him special. Everything he does is done with intention.”
Most importantly, Jared can’t help but be a proud dad above all.
“It’s just joy,” claimed Jared on his feelings while watching Wyatt. “On meet day, I try to disconnect from coaching and try to think about it from a dad’s perspective. So, I just get pure joy because I know it’s something he loves to do. Just pure joy watching him.”
Contact Jake Dickman with comments at jacob.dickman@bsu.edu.
