Coaches Spotlight- Robert Wilson
1- Congrats on having a great regular season. When did you first become interested in Track and Field?
I became interested in track and field while I was in middle school
2- Did you compete in HS or College as an athlete? or another Sport?
I ran track and played basketball in high school. I received a track and field scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. Upon leaving Southern University I was blessed to be able to run professional for 5 years
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3- Describe your journey from novice Coach to your Head Coaching position now
I started coaching track at Tri-Cities high school in East Point, Ga where I was only volunteering. Coach Venson Elder who is presently at Rockdale High allowed me to come help and him with his sprinters. After I finished volunteering at Tri-Cities, I accepted the head coaching position at Westlake High School
4- How important is it to have the full support of the AD and resources available to succeed?
It is very important to have full support of the AD. As a result of track and field not being as popular as football or basketball in some school it means the world to have your AD support your vision of the track program. It is also important to have resources so you can provide your team with adequate equipment to be successful
5- What are some of the challenges in building a successful program?
My biggest challenge I encountered building a successful program at Westlake was getting the parents to buy into what my vision was for the track team. Once I got my parents sold on what I wanted to do, they allowed me to coach how I needed to and the program went to a different level
6- Do you have a supportive Track Booster Club?
Yes, Westlake Track and Field has a very supportive booster club
7- Has Middle Track the past few years in your feeder schools helped contribute to the HS program's success?
Yes, middle school track has contributed to our track program
8- What are your program's Goals every season? County/Region title, State Championship?
Our goals every season are to do better than we did the year before. We do not just focus on winning championships; we focus on putting out the best product and focusing on the small things. We understand that if we do a lot of small things right, the championships/titles will come. As a coaching staff, our number one goal is to get all of our seniors into school so they can further their education
9- Assess your team's Region meet and the challenges faced at Sectionals to advance.
Our region meet went well. We had a number of kids really step up in their individual events which can potentially score at the state meets. We have a hard sectional meet because we are facing some very well coached teams
10- What advancements should the GHSA make to bring our Sport on par with the 'other' 47 states ?
I think that GHSA should start track later in the year because of the cold weather. We should have our state meets pushed back so we can take advantage of some better weather. I also think that kids should be allowed to have qualifying marks to hit in order to make it to the state meets
Bonus- What has been among your favorite accomplishments for the school you now coach at?
The first thing that comes to mind is winning three state championships but my favorite accomplish is getting student-athletes into college.