Monday July 10, 2006

Another Tiger Gone

Life deals us hard lessons as we all mourn the loss of Jarrett Foster. About 7:30 Sunday morning I found out about the accident that took the Clemson assistant track coach. I did not know him but almost everyone I talked to about it did. Many knew him very well. Others just knew him socially. From what I can gather anyone that did not know Jarrett missed out on a great friend we could have had. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

Athletic Department officials received word about the accident Saturday night and shock set in immediately. I talked to administrators and coaches Sunday and here are a few things I heard about Jarrett on Sunday:

?Jarrett was a great guy, ? said one administrator. ?I don?t know a lot about track and field but I understood he was a fantastic coach. I know Coach Pollack spoke very highly of him and thought he was on the fast track in the industry. I know he had a great rapport with everyone around Jervey (Athletic Center). He was always friendly. I just talked to him the other day and he was just returning from vacation. Jarrett loved people and loved to have fun. I think most people would say Jarrett was always positive and fun to be around.?

A friend added, ?Jarrett was a great friend. He was always there for you.?

I can also add that this has rocked the athletic department. In his seven years at Clemson Jarrett had made a tremendous impression on those he worked with everyday. The coaching fraternity at Clemson is taking this very hard.

I think some would be surprised about how supportive the coaches can be towards each other. A coach in one sport may not know very much about another sport but they understand the ups and downs a coach goes through. The coaches support each other off of the field and their families are often close. Often times you may find a soccer coach and a volleyball coach at a meal in our small town and more often you will see them conversing in the halls of Jervey. The conversations are about the common denominators of coaching rather than the specifics of their sports. The will talk about recruiting or NCAA rules. They ask each other about hotels to stay while they are on the road recruiting or where to eat in a certain area. When one coach wins a game or match they all win. When a coach loses a game they all lose. But when a coach is taken from us then they really understand how trivial a sporting event can be.

In this blog we hardly ever talk about track and field. However that is not because of a lack of success of our men?s team. Jarrett was part of a great coaching staff that has won as many championships as any sport at Clemson in the last seven years. The sports information release on the accident told us of his coaching success:

?Foster had a great impact on the Clemson program over his career, coaching 12 All-Americans, 40 NCAA qualifiers, 23 ACC Champions and 55 All-ACC selections. During his time as an assistant coach Clemson had five top 20 team finishes and won six team ACC Championships. Clemson's field event athletes had just completed their most successful season in history in many areas under Foster. In 2006, he coached four All-Americans, five ACC Champions and nine All-ACC athletes. Clemson had an All-American in the pole vault (indoors), the heptathlon (indoors) and the triple jump (outdoors) for the first time in school history, and had an outdoor decathlon All-American for just the second time.?

This summer Clemson mourned the loss of Tiffany Souers and now our village will have to pull together and support each other after the news about Jarrett. Scripture says rejoice in all things and there is a lot of good that comes out of the relationships Tiffany and Jarrett made in our community.

Two things happened to me Sunday over and over again. After telling them I did not know Jarrett I kept hearing things like, ?Everyone knows Jarrett. I can?t believe you could live in Clemson and not know Jarrett.? I took that as a compliment.

The other thing is I could hear the hurt in the voices Sunday. My friends were hurt and will continue to hurt for a long time. I can?t believe I did not know him either but I know friends need each other now.

I had already written a preview of the Clemson linebackers for today?s blog but some how linebackers don?t seem important right now. That can wait until tomorrow?a tomorrow that is never promised to any of us.