Can I balance academics and athletics?

Absolutely! Over 40% of the student body is involved in athletics at Grinnell. This statistic alone shows how the college views the place of sports in the development of the individual. Our experience has shown that athletes tend to do better academically than the general student body. This is because student-athletes tend to organize and manage their time well. How well? Both the track and cross country teams have outstanding average GPA's. The cross country teams (both men and women) have been Academic All-America as a team every year for the past nine seasons (every year that the award has been offered). Professors at Grinnell understand the value of the athletic experience and support our efforts.

What are the teams like?

Teams at Grinnell are an amazing mix of personalities and backgrounds. Grinnell recruits student-athletes from all over the U.S. and internationally. The result is a special and diverse population that only adds to the education of the student here. Our track and cross country teams are known for being tight-knit and participating in many team activities together. There are few things that are more meaningful than a close team experience.

Will I improve in this program?

We believe that improvement is the primary measure of success in sport. While our society heavily emphasizes social comparison as the measure of success (the win-loss record), we realize that sport must first be understood at an internal level. We place heavy emphasis on self-responsibility, consistency in training, and self-discipline in the process. We believe that athletes will improve if the system is healthy, they have a motivation to improve, and if the coaches are knowledgeable. We believe that our programs at Grinnell do this.

How good are the facilities?

Grinnell is fortunate to have both 200m indoor and 400 meter outdoor synthetic-surfaced tracks to offer the athlete. The 400m outdoor Seka Bram surface was used at the 1988 Olympic Games. The home cross country course at Oakland Acres Golf Course 4 miles west of Grinnell is a truly outstanding site for cross country. It has been the host site for two NCAA Championships and three Central NCAA Regional Championships. The Grinnell area offers the distance runner many rolling courses for running. Primary training areas for cross country are the Krumm Nature Reserve and Rock Creek State Park, both close to campus. Both are natural settings with running trails of 3k, 6k, 9k and 13 miles. Arbor Lake in Grinnell is the site for repeat intervals and offers a 1-mile loop around the Lake. Other interval and increasing tempo workouts are done on the north campus loop around the new soccer complex. Grinnell College also offers the athlete outstanding weight-training facilities as well as one of the finest pool facilities in Division III.

Do the coaches have a healthy philosophy of sport, and will I grow from the experience?

Our goal as coaches has always been to create better people first, and faster runners second. We believe strongly that a healthy sport experience can provide the tools for the athlete to grow in many ways. Intellectual growth, the primary mission of Grinnell, is an obvious goal. Grinnell has a national reputation as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation. Our goal as coaches is to also offer the student-athlete experiences that create growth physically, emotionally, spiritually. A healthy sport experience can do this! We have operated our programs based on the following tenets:
· Use sport to create opportunity for growth as a person
· Place athletes before ourselves (it is the athletes programs, not ours)
· Provide opportunity for athletes of all levels (from elite to beginner)
· Place the well-being of the athlete first, winning second
Can we succeed in such a model? Since we came to Grinnell in 1980, Grinnell track and cross country programs have won 32 conference titles in cross country and track. While we are proud of these reults, we are most proud of the professional accomplishments of our athletes after Grinnell. We know that the sport experience at Grinnell has helped prepare them for life after Grinnell. They also have each left a special mark on our programs. Will the athlete grow from the experience. Absolutely!

Are the coaches knowledgeable?

We recognize, as coaches, that the knowledge base of any coach is a primary determining factor for what he/she can offer the athlete. We have worked hard, and continually, to learn and grow as coaches. Will Freeman is one of very few coaches in the U.S. to be certified as a "Level III Coach" with USATF. This is a great honor and has been the result of much study and work for many years. Will has been the national chairman for coaches education for USATF and has been directly involved with the writing materials in that program used to teach coaches at all levels of the sport.
Both Evelyn and Will Freeman are sought-after speakers for conventions and clinics both nation-wide and internationally. They have written two books, developed many videos for coaches, and written many articles in the field.