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It is a Tuesday night in January and I am sitting at a table at a Portillo’s. Across the table sits Brian Evans the track & cross country coach of Thornwood High School in south suburban South Holland. If you look closely at this man, he could pass as a college student. But in fact, he has coached at this school close to 10 years. Could it be that the kids that he has coached have rubbed off on him. I know being around York’s legendary coach Joe Newton and that is one of the reasons he is still around the sport. The kids keep him young.

Evans is one of the new breed of coaches in the state of Illinois that are keeping track & field going and raising it to another level. The thing that I wanted to find out was what fueled this man in how he coached.

What defines Brian is the desire to become better and never quit. He learned that in his high school career at Joliet Township High School and then at North Central College in Naperville.

“I ran for Joliet West for Coach John Harr. I ran the sprints and did the jumps. My senior year the goal was to get down state to run the 4x1, 4x2.” Harr had one state championship while he was at the school. That was an amazing team that won in 1990 behind the exploits of Terry Collins, who won the 110 High Hurdles, the 400 Meter Dash, and was the anchor of the 4x4 relay team that was victorious.

“There would be pictures up n the wall and the one picture that we would always look at is that championship team,” Evans explained. “Coach Harr would always be talking about that 1990’s team . As a young high school kid, we never knew what we were looking at. We did not understand the world of track & field. It was crazy in the early 90’s in Joliet, we had classmates that were getting killed. I did not really learn as much as I thought in track then.”

When it got to his senior year, he was challenged every day that he walked on the track. “My senior year, I was the lone white guy that was challenging for the relay spot on the team,” he said. “Every week I would be involved in a runoff. Sometimes, I did not think I would make it but I always held my spot.”

This was the case all the way to the sectional meet when Joliet qualified both relays for the state meet. Evans had achieved a goal that he wanted to get all of that final year in high school. But there was something else tugging at him that would define him as a person and later on as a coach.

“I made a different decision with my life at the time. I was actively involved with the boy scouts at the time. I was an Eagle Scout. They have a national honor society…the order of the arrow. It has a few kinds of levels in its memberships. You come into a member of its national honor society and after a couple of years of service, if you accomplish some certain things, There is a final honor that they can bestow on you. Generally, most of the people do not see this in their lifetime.”

So…what to do? He had been working for this achievement in the Boys Scouts most of his life. At the same time, he wanted to run at the state meet. He could only do one.

“The week of state I got a call that they were going to give me this honor. The thing is if you do not go at that time, your name gets put back in the cap and won’t get pulled out again. I did not know what to do and I was really torn. You have to prove yourself. You have to show up Friday night and they put you out in the middle of the woods. To have to build a fire and have to keep it going all night. No sleep, no food, no person to help you. There is a bunch of symbolism with strength and inner strength. The biggest thing as a young man this was a once in a lifetime opportunity vs. in what I spent the whole season trying to go to state. We had a great season. We had won the 4x1 and 4x2 at sectionals. I was feeling really good about this. I did not know what to do.”

It was a choice that has molded him as a coach. It was a choice that has helped him with decisions that he has made as a coach.

“I chose to go on the boy scout thing and I never went to state. I have some major regrets about that. I found out later if there was an extenuating circumstance that maybe they could have worked something else. I did not know that. I never looked into that. It is a really big regret. Going back in time I might have done it differently.”

Evans has the same challenges now as a coach at Thornwood. Prom falls on the week of the Girls state meet. The following week is the state Boys state meet and graduation. There are athletes that will come to their coach with the same dilemma that Evans went through. Well, sort of.

“Two of the biggest events that happen as a senior are prom and graduation.. It is interesting because I have to draw from my experience. The conclusion I have is that there is nothing better than state meet. I have been in the situation like that and I try not to force a decision like that. My answer to the kids is that you can do everything. We just have to find a way. I’ve arranged with administration is that we have a private graduation ceremony for our track team. It’s in our auditorium…it's an intimate ceremony. Our kids are limited with tickets. It works out better because at the track graduation you can bring as many people as you want. When I share with the parents, it is a better deal. We talk to the kids early on, but it does not come up until May. It’s a big conversation with the parents. Their child may be the first one in their family to graduate from high school so it is a big thing. Why would you go to some stupid track meet?”

The conclusion to this: “There is always a way…we just have to figure out what it is. It is a matter of providing life lessons to the kids.”

Track can open up doors that you cannot even imagine about

Evans spent his college years at North Central College where he was able to learn more about track from two hall of fame coaches: Al Carius & Frank Grammarosso.

“Al was great with the life changes. Grammy was great with the discipline and the work ethic and he is very honest on what it will take and do you part. The lessons that Al bestows laid the foundations of who I am. I was not the fastest one on the team but I found other ways to help the team. I learned how to long jump and triple jump.”

Evans cut his teeth at Plainfield Central High School as an assistant coach in charge of the sprints. He developed a top notch group of young men that challenged the best they ears that he was there at state. “We had two kids that were great – Charles Howell and Brenton Manuel. Howell (won the 100 Meter Dash in 2003) was the typical sprinter. He did not feel like he had to work as hard as necessary. Manuel did everything and then some.”

That work ethic rubbed off on the rest of the athletes at that school. When Evans started at Plainfield Central, there were only a handful of all-state athletes. By the time he left the school that number grew.

There were some great things happening at Plainfield at the time. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

An opportunity came up that Evans took a chance on. Gary Haupert of Thornwood contacted the then Plainfield Central Coach and asked him to interview for an assistant coach position. In reality and what Evans did not know at the time, Haupert was getting ready to retire and was looking for a replacement. In Haupert’s eyes, that person was Evans.

It was something that this young coach could not figure out. He was entering a program that had already won three state championships and won a fourth in Evans’ first year at the school. Two years later, Evans was in charge of the track & field program but not cross country.

“For a couple of years, the cross country program was combined with Thornridge High School. A few years later, they decided to go their separate ways.”

It meant that Evans had to coach a sport that he was not familiar with. He would ask his mentor Gary Haupert about the sport.. He also reached out to a former co-worker Jim Hedman who is now an assistant coach at York. Hedman and Evans coached together at Plainfield Central High School. Evans started reading books by Joe Newton so that he could pick up ideas about the sport.

“There was one time Brian called me and told me about one of the workouts that he got from one of Mr. Newton’s books ‘Long Green Line: Championship Cross Country running’,” Hedman said. “He told me that they had done 36 x 400 just like they did in the book. I laughed and told him that we did not do that workout anymore.”

Evans has grasped any opportunity to grow his cross country squad. He’s had Newton, Hedman, and Charlie Kern come to South Holland to talk to the cross country team at the end of the year. The efforts that Evans has put into cross country program are bringing results. Last year at their sectional meet, Thornwood just missed qualifying for the state meet getting sixth as a team. Still, there were three individual qualifiers that made it to Detweiller Park for the following week. Things are looking better and better for Thornwood every fall under the tutelage of Evans.

Some critics look at Evans and the choices that he has made with a couple of athletes that he coached. London Hawk was a state champion in the 400 Meter Dash in 2011. That was after he ran eighth in the 800 Meter Run 35 minutes earlier. Some questioned why would Evans do such a thing with an athlete like that.

“My relationship with London was interesting. I was very disappointed with the race management that London displayed in the 800. He stayed on the inside. With 300 Meters to go, he was boxed in. He finally broke out with 150 meters to go but it was too little, too late. I think things like that can negatively impact the next race. I did not want him to get down. The tough part of my coaching style is that I am able to reach into the kids so hard to the core that they do not want to disappoint me. I do not know how I feel about that. It saddens me a little bit because it is not about me. It is very respectful in that is how you hold me in your heart or your mind. It is not about disappointing me. It is about me getting you to do the best that you can do.”

Still, Hawk had to come back for a 400 after disappointment. Evans was thinking about the decision to have him run that.

“There was no doubt in my mind that London was the fastest guy in the state of Illinois. I am not oblivious to what others have said about me. I had coaches at the sectional meet right in front of me speaking openly saying that I was the dumbest coach in the state of Illinois about abusing my athlete and using them. At that sectional, there were people that were very loud and making sure that I heard. He ran 1:56 and 47.88…mouths dropped. Coaches later came up to shake my hand. The one thing is, I would never over extend a kid. That particular double: I had made fun of every coach who tried to do that. But, my kids through their workouts, were able to recover and run races at short rest.”

Hawk came back and won the 400 in 47.91.

Evans faces the same situation this year with star athlete Kenneth Allen. The Thornwood senior is the leading returning 400 Meter runner in Class 3A. Last year he achieved that by finishing second in the 400 Meter Dash running out of Lane 1. This was after he anchored the Thunderbirds 4 x 200 Meter Relay to a fifth place finish.

“We ran the 4 x 2 in the prelims and we ran amazing. I thought we had a chance to be a top 3 team. I had forgotten that Ken has to run. He had just run the 4 x 2 and he had to come back in the first heat on the 400 Meter dash. He took fourth in his heat. I stood up at the time and said there it goes. I said to my assistant Coach Roy White- you can tell everyone that I am the dumbest coach in Illinois. I was beside myself. Over the next few heats, no one ran faster than him. At that point, my emotions were all over the place.”

He was the last qualifier. It also meant that he had to run the finals the next day from Lane 1.

“A minute ago, I had thought that I was the dumbest person ever. The next moment, you live to fight another day.”

The move almost blew up again in Evans’ face when in the finals, Thornwood was fighting for the lead. The final exchange between Freshman Dwight Johnson and Allen was not the best.

“After the race, the biggest thing was that we heard an announcement asking for a Thornwood coach to the check in tent. Everyone thought we were disqualified. There was confusion that Allen had not checked in for the 400. I told him he was sitting right there outside of the tent. They told me to get him on the track. I asked him if he could do this. Kenneth has the belief that if he has PowerAde, he can do anything. It is the nectar of the Gods. The problem was during the prelims, he did not have that. Since an IHSA official let me on the track, I gave him the PowerAde and told him to go win the race.”

Allen made it close but finished second.

The question for the senior this year is if he could do the double that Hawk did. He has the strength to do it after qualifying for the state meet in cross country and running close to 15:30 at Detweiller. No other quarter miler in the state has that strength. No half mile in the state right now has the speed that Allen has in his tank. The thing is, Evans will not throw him in there without doing the same things that he did with Hawk. If he passes the workout tests or the meet tests, we may see him do that. The most important thing is what the athlete wants to do and is the best for him, not Evans.

Opportunities

So why does Evans stay at Thornwood High School? He has been approached by other high schools and colleges throughout the state and country. Why not take that chance now?

“The coaches in the Illinois coaching community are so good to me. They treat me well,” said Evans. “That is not how I am treated at my home school on a daily basis. It is funny that you can be treated like royalty at an ITCCCA meeting one night and then be the doormat that people spit on and wipe their feet on the next day. People wonder why I am still there. “ Evans has not had the success (so to speak) that Thornwood had when he entered. “Coach Haupert keeps me in seeing the big picture. Brian, he tells me, I coached for thirty five years and I won four in a row which is awesome. That was right at the end. But there was 31 times where I did not win. 31 times where I did not have a trophy. “

But there is one reason. One that burns deep in Evans’ heart. The one reason he stays.

“My parents ask me why I am still at Thornwood,” Evans continued to explain. “I tell my parents that the kids and the parents that I coach appreciate me and that is all that matters.”

It is more than that. Much more than that. It shows the character that he has.

Evans told me “I feel it is my charge, my duty to return all of that. I have been blessed to have success for such a young person. This is my fourteenth year coaching. Most people look at me and think it is my second. I have been blessed beyond. There are some coaches that have not accomplished what I have. There is never any complacency or taking for granted. I am thankful for everything’s that have happened. At the same time, life in the south suburbs is not rainbows and butterflies. I’ve had offers to go to other schools. The thought has crossed my mind. Gary Haupert gave 35 years of his life at Thornwood. He built a tradition. This is his life’s body of work. At the end of the day, they brought me out to Thornwood. It was all about coaching track. Coach is not going to be there forever. When I interviewed, they had the stats on me. I knew who I coached and what I had achieved. The school told Gary to hire whoever he wanted to. He chose me. That decision ways heavy on my heart. It is not something that was a gift. It was something that was passed to me and then to give that burden to someone else. You hold your burden symbolically until it is lifted from you. He chose me out of everyone. It has never been ego that I have been at the school, it is the heavy weight on my heart. I have to uphold this legacy. I have to make him proud. I have to make sure to show him that his life work was not for naught.”

It is a mission that drives this man.

On a personal note, I wish that Thornwood High School would look beyond the wins and losses and look what Evans has done with the young people that he spends a couple of hours a day with. It is not a matter of winning on the track for Evans though it is important. It is a matter that when the athletes graduate from Thornwood, they are ready to win off the track.

That is the most important thing isn’t it?