37-time national champ Pat Henry at peace with retirement decision

Key notes from Pat Henry interview

• Anytime you've been in this profession for this long, if something is easy, then something is wrong. This is a very difficult decision. I am very fortunate to have a wife, Gail, who followed me around for years and let me coach, and now, I’d like to do the things with her that she wants to do. That makes the decision a little easier.
   
• The most important thing to me is sustained success. We've won 10 championships at Texas A&M, but in the back of the team room, we have 22 trophies that represent top-four finishes. Many of those are runner-up trophies.
   
• Consistency and having a staff that understood what I wanted to do were key for me. We have to work hard all the time. If you aren't able to do that, you're in the wrong place. Don't let the day get away from you, whether it's in your life, your job or your sport. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. You have to take advantage of today so that we can make tomorrow a little better.
   
• My wife has made many moves. I moved from a high school to a junior college, and I took a pay cut to do that. Sometimes you have to move down to jump up. The move from junior college to LSU was difficult as well. My daughter had gotten married the day before A&M called. We had just won the national championship at LSU. I had a chance to see what College Station was all about.
   
• The move to A&M was tough on my wife at first, but eventually, she cracked. When we came over, it didn't take long for her to see what I was talking about.
   
• My time at LSU was great. I have a great love for Baton Rouge, but A&M is different. From my perspective, it’s better.
   
• People love their schools, but not like here. Everything about A&M place — the people, the community — makes this place different. We love this place, and it's our home.
   
• There is never an understanding of track. It is massive around the world. It is just like soccer coming to the US. Part of the lack of understand about track is on the NCAA, but I am working hard to have a change in our sport. We cannot be looked at as an individual sport. We have to be looked at as a team sport. We want to win as a team. Winning the 100m dash is important, but it just adds to the team total.
   
• If you love to watch athletics, you will be amazed by it.
   
• A&M is so fortunate to have hired Trev Alberts as the Director of Athletics. He is a coach's coach, firstly, but he is intelligent, down-to-earth and a great athlete himself. He listens well, and he doesn't try to direct traffic.
   
• I will still be here, somehow. We’ll find the right replacement.
   
• Thank you to the community. I appreciate how you have embraced track. I hope we continue to do more.