#340: Richard Anderson – Vestavia Hills HS | From Fired Football Coach to National Track/Field Coach of the Year

#340: Richard Anderson – Vestavia Hills HS | From Fired Football Coach to National Track/Field Coach of the Year

🏆 From small-town Alabama to the USTFCCCA Boys National Coach of the Year, Richard Anderson’s journey is anything but ordinary.

In this episode, Coach Anderson shares:

🏃 His unlikely path into track & field after years as a football and baseball coach

🏗️ Starting a program from scratch with no facilities—just painted lines, dug holes, and pure determination

🤝 Building culture at a 265-athlete program where distance runners, throwers, jumpers, and sprinters learn to support each other

🥈 The sting of four straight runner-up finishes—and the joy of finally breaking through to a state championship in 2025

📚 How coaching education and mentorship shaped his evolution from “football coach who did track” to “track coach, period”


💬 “If you don’t have joy in what you’re doing, don’t do it. That’s what I tell my staff, that’s what I tell my kids, and that’s what I remind myself every single season.” – Richard Anderson


🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into 300+ episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.


🎙️ Create Your Own Podcast Episode: Reach out to Mike Cunningham for instruction on how to create your very own Gill1918 Project episode, which airs Tuesdays through Sundays. Find YOUR voice on the Gill Connections Podcast Network.


📲 Stay Connected: Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍



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#121: Gill1918 presents Erik Jenkins "Coaching the Relays Part 1" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

#121: Gill1918 presents Erik Jenkins "Coaching the Relays Part 1" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phil...

4 Maalis 19min

#120: Gill1918 Presents Coach Kamara Sitton “The Importance of Female-Only Competition Opportunities” Powered by Coach O

#120: Gill1918 Presents Coach Kamara Sitton “The Importance of Female-Only Competition Opportunities” Powered by Coach O

Kamara Sitton is instrumental in bringing The Pink Spike Festival Girls/Women Only T&F Meet and scholarship to life each spring. Kamara is a coach for the Titans Track Club (AAU) in Upstate SC. She ea...

3 Maalis 8min

#352: Rick and Brett Witt-UW-Stevens Point | A 50-Year Coaching Legacy, A Father–Son Transition

#352: Rick and Brett Witt-UW-Stevens Point | A 50-Year Coaching Legacy, A Father–Son Transition

What happens when a program built over five decades gets handed—quite literally—from father to son?In this special father–son edition of the Gill Connections Podcast, longtime UW–Stevens Point legend ...

2 Maalis 1h 47min

#119: Gill1918 presents Sammy Dabbs "High Hurdles Part 2" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

#119: Gill1918 presents Sammy Dabbs "High Hurdles Part 2" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phil...

26 Helmi 21min

#118: Gill1918 presents Sammy Dabbs "High Hurdles Part 1" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

#118: Gill1918 presents Sammy Dabbs "High Hurdles Part 1" from Tampa Bay/USF Clinic

The crew at the University of South Florida put on an excellent clinic in Tampa, Fla this past fall of 2025. Speakers included Sammy Dabbs, Erik Jenkins, Vince Anderson, Chris Korfist, and Dwight Phil...

25 Helmi 26min

#117: Gill1918 Presents Coach/Author David Emeott “Coaching Your Own Children” Powered by Coach O

#117: Gill1918 Presents Coach/Author David Emeott “Coaching Your Own Children” Powered by Coach O

Dave has coached hundreds, maybe thousands of athletes over his career at East Kentwood HS in MI. Coaching his own 3 kids came with many joys and also lessons learned for him and every member of the f...

24 Helmi 12min

#351: Fireside chat with HoF Coach Randy Huntington Part 2 | Big Rocks, Coaching the Coach & the Long View of Track & Field

#351: Fireside chat with HoF Coach Randy Huntington Part 2 | Big Rocks, Coaching the Coach & the Long View of Track & Field

Part 2 of our fireside chat with Randy Huntington goes deeper than technique and medals. This is a conversation about legacy, empathy, curiosity, and what it really means to coach—especially when the ...

23 Helmi 3h 25min

#116: Gill1918 presents Zontavious Johnson "Coaching the Short and Long Hurdles Part 2"

#116: Gill1918 presents Zontavious Johnson "Coaching the Short and Long Hurdles Part 2"

Back in the fall of 2025, Coach Marques Lowe (Gill podcast alum!) and the Vipers Track Club hosted a Central Illinois Pre-Season Coaches Clinic. To increase the value to other coaches, he has allowed ...

19 Helmi 25min

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