Track & Field Report: Henry & Co. turn attention to outdoor season

Texas A&M Track & Field had a number of standouts at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and last weekend, the Aggies officially opened outdoor season in the Bahamas. On Tuesday, Pat Henry joined TexAgs Radio to discuss the latest regarding his program.

Key notes from Pat Henry interview

• We've been traveling since the first weekend in January. It's tough the older you get. You don’t feel it as much, so I don't feel anything. I’m 72, so my body doesn't feel anything. It's still tough.
   
• When you have home meets, it changes the dynamic of the sport quickly. We had a full staff meeting this morning and had a senior in the room. She talked about our women's group, and Tierra Robinson-Jones doesn’t get to run at home at all her whole last year. This weekend,d we are at Rice, and it will be nice to feel at home-ish. Still, it's not A&M.
   
• We were in the Bahamas this past weekend. It was warm, but the accommodations were not that great. It's not like running a track meet in the USA. It was us, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. In men, we won, and in women, we were second.
   
• Bryce Foster is doing very well. He got 62 feet again this weekend. He's going to hit a big throw one of these days. You know athletics is never-ending. Once you put a goal or barrier or challenge in front of someone, someone is going to beat that challenge.
   
• There was a headwind coming in on the last straight away while we were in the Bahamas. It was tough to get some fast times. The wind was more like West Texas wind, but it's okay. There is a winner and a loser, and that's what counts.
   
• It still comes down to who you beat. The time and the distance are significant but at some point, it's insignificant. In the Olympics, we know who won the gold, silver and bronze, but we may not know their times. We definitely know who won what.
   
• It's a national problem. Track and its inability to be cool or a consistently watched sport. It’s the most participated sport in high school, but we lose that. Anyone who's been to a high school meet, it's the worst. It is so long, and they don't keep score. There are a lot of coaches that don't score meets, and I want to be scoring meets. No one cares what the score is. They just know who won. It has to be dictated, and it has to come from the NCAA level.
   
• There are a lot of things you can do to make track cool. Like in a distance event, when you watch it, you know who is winning and who is second and third, but you forget about the back of the pack. You could take the last of the pack and then after maybe three laps, whoever is in last, they are dropped. And then at the next lap, the same happens, and then it keeps going. Now there is a race in the back and a race in the front to watch.
   
• Colin Padalecki is from San Antonio, and this morning we invited him to come speak at our all-staff meeting. He spoke about his time when he was here and how there was no NIL opportunity. He was writing music back and playing at Northgate back when he was here, and now he is very successful. Padelecki was as one of our pole vaulters during his time at A&M, and now he's produced the beats and writes for the band Surfaces. Padelecki’s theme was there was no opportunity. He couldn't have done this and told people he was making money on the side back when he was here.
   
• We did some great things, but we didn't have the kind of team that can be successful at that level. It's a different beast. Lamara Distin has done well this season and is a three-time championship winner.
   
• The men ran well, and they were doing great until the last leg then they got bumped off, but that's indoor track.