Athletics America

January 22, 2000

BY Shawn Kemp
FREE LANCE WRITER

Ann Arbor - Sports in America can be summed up into the Big 3: Basketball, Baseball and Football, all of which have various professional opportunities. Professionals of the Big 3 get paid full salary, are provided with medical care, professional coaching, and they are given the chance to compete, improve and represent their state or country.

Runners are deprived of that chance.

Which is why John Goodridge decided to leave his 15 years of coaching at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan and give the elite distance runners of America that chance.

Athletics America is an organization run by John Goodridge and his wife, Francie Goodridge, that provides support to elite distance runners in distances ranging from 800 meters to the marathon.

"We're trying to fill a void that exists in the USA in developing and providing support for elite post-collegiate distance runners," said John Goodridge, founder of Athletics America.

Athletics America is a close-knit unit of 14 athletes attempting to build an Olympic Development program working closely with the Goodridges. The men consist of Nolan Swanson who placed 6th in the 1999 USA Nationals (28:32), Ray Hughes who holds the 10th fastest spot in the steeple chase in the US (8:34) and Mark Andrews, an Olympic Trials marathon qualifier.

Chad Johnson of Minnesota and Richie Brinker of Central Michigan University are also running, as well as Sam Barall, a steepler from Alabama, Jay Brock, a steepler from Northern Iowa, Todd Morgan, a 5ker from North Carolina and Mike Grant, the Ivy League Cross Country Champ from Columbia. The women include Beth Bayser of Lewis University, the two time Drake Relays 800 meter champ and Mari Chandler of Central Michigan University, the Mid-American Conference Champ in the 1500.

All of the Athletics America athletes work while they're not training. They train mostly on the dirt roads surrounding the large Domino's Farms complex in Ann Arbor and have access to the Domino's Farm Fitness Center with the help of former Domino's founder Tom Monaghan. A local dentist provides Athletics America with dental care and they get sports medicine needs taken care of through MedSport at Domino's Farms.

As for coaching, John and Francie Goodridge take complete responsibility for their tasks.

"I coach every member," said John Goodridge. "We just don't put singlets on athletes."

The environment seems ideal. According to John Goodridge, Ann Arbor is one of the great running communities in the country, providing territory to run in such as rolling hills, trails and paths, the University Arboretum, a great park full of matted down trails, the University Golf Course, Ann Arbor Pioneer High School cross country course, the Huron River, Gallup Park, Stinchfield Woods and miles of dirt roads.

Ann Arbor not only houses the areas to run in but the athletes to run in them. Great postcollegiate athletes such as Kevin Sullivan, Paul McMullen, Trinity Townsend, Kathy Rounds, Jill McMullen and Katie McGregor train in the Ann Arbor area, and the University of Michigan and neighboring Eastern Michigan University maintain great college distance running programs.

John Goodridge himself has a list of assets as long as some of the training runs his athletes run. He has made coaching a way of life, doing it for close to 30 years. Between John and Francie, they have coached and developed programs at Ann Arbor Huron High School, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Greenhills Prep School in Ann Arbor and 15 years at Wake Forest University, earning them four ACC Cross Country titles and a 3rd place NCAA National finish.

John was also the coach of the World Championship Women's Cross Country Team in 1989. Before the excitement and accomplishment of the 1999 United States Women's Soccer World Championship, John's Cross Country Team was the last team from the United States to ever win a world title.

He has coached 17 athletes that have represented the US in international competition including his wife, Francie, before the 1972 Olympics where she was a 1500 meter semi-finalist and ran the second fastest all time American 1500 (4:12.8 in 1972). Marianne Dickerson won a Marathon silver medal in the 1986 World Championships running 2:31.05, Dave Hinz ran a 2:12.08 marathon and represented the US in the Pan Am Games and Blake Phillips won the Pan Am Games bronze medal last summer for 5000 meters.

Mike McGuire, now the head women's head distance coach at the University of Michigan, was one athlete John spoke highly of. He coached Mike post-collegiately the year he won the Detroit Free Press Marathon in a near solo debut 2:15.

"I would drive down on Wednesday nights for an interval session and then on Sundays I would pick up Mike, drive him to Detroit for a usual 15 miler on the Free Press Course while tagging along side in my car with water and giving him mile splits," said Goodridge. "Mike was one of my favorite athletes because he had a tremendous passion not only for training but for getting on the starting line and racing."

The passion McGuire felt about training and racing is the passion that John burns about running and coaching.

"(Running) is a very vibrant sport," said Goodridge. "It's extremely healthy."

The United States has exceptional cross country and track and field programs in high school and college. More boys and girls compete in these sports in high school than in any other sports. Every year when the Olympics arrive, crowds flock to see track runners break barriers and records that almost seem superhuman. But other than that special time, the public hardly ever hears about distance runners.

"This is the biggest challenge we face in this country," said Goodridge. "Our school system programs for high school and university athletes are the best in the world, but all of the support of fulltime coaching, facilities, scholarships, equipment and travel stops when these fine athletes graduate and they haven't yet reached their physical and athletic maturity."

Goodridge stressed the need for financial support for this program. Athletics America is a non-profit tax exempt 501C organization. Their office is at Athletics America, 3362 Beaumont Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105. Athletics America can also be reached by phone at (764) 622-9348.

"I'm just hoping we can find support for these athletes and fill the void that exists for their crucial training."

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