Tuesday February 23, 2010
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Tuesday February 23, 2010
Bob Pollock In his industry, his career was unmatched. Consider the following: *He was the ACC Coach of the Year 19 times. *Pollock was the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year 16 times. *He coached the men’s indoor track team to 11 top 20 finishes and the men’s outdoor program to 10 top 20 seasons. Seven of the indoor track national finishes were top 10s. *Under Pollock, Clemson won 11 indoor ACC titles, nine outdoor and one cross country title. His indoor teams won every ACC crown from 1989-93, then from 1997-2002. He led the Tigers to outdoor conference titles in each of his first three seasons. In cross country, Pollock's 1988 team won the league championship and finished fourth at the NCAA national meet. *Pollock was National Coach-of-the-Year indoors in 1992 after leading Clemson to a national runner-up team finish, best in program history. *Pollock coached athletes who won 13 national champions during his time at Clemson, including 10 indoors. *He mentored athletes that won nearly 200 All-Americans during his tenure at Clemson, including recent Clemson two-sport athletes Jacoby Ford and C.J. Spiller. *Clemson had at least one All-American in each of his 20 seasons. *Fourteen student-athletes from Pollock's program went on to compete in the Olympic Games. Two of the athletes, Shawn Crawford and Carlton Chambers, won gold medals for their respective countries. Crawford won the 200m dash for the U.S. in the 2004 games, while Chambers was part of Canada's gold medal winning 4x100m relay in Atlanta in 1996. But Bob Pollock was more than just a track coach. He was a friend to many. I wanted to share who Bob really was, so I asked three of Bob’s good friends to share their thoughts and honor Bob in today’s blog. These men dropped what they were doing and wrote the following letters about their good friend. Below are the memories of his friends Wayne Coffman, Jon Seketa and Sam Blackman. Wayne Coffman is an Athletic Academic Advisor at Clemson. He is a former track athlete and former head women’s track and field coach at Clemson. Wayne is a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame. I want to thank Wayne for submitting the following letter: It is very difficult to write about Bob since he was more of a friend than a coach to me. We spent countless hours together coaching, recruiting, and cheering for one another’s athletes. We discussed times, and strides, and splits, and hurdling techniques, and spent endless days and nights trying to find the right match for our Clemson teams or how to help an athlete recover, or setting up schedules for meets and events. We spent hours measuring for the new cross country course that was to be built around the horticulture gardens and Jervey Meadows. He would drive the golf cart and I would roll the measuring wheel over and over and over so that the measurement was exact. Working not only as cohorts, but as best friends, we had a goal in mind--to win for Clemson. Bob had a very keen eye for talent. Michael Greene, Shawn Crawford, and others were not highly recruited but Bob would say, “I like that guy, or he looks good to me.” Almost as if he was betting on horses at the races. Guess you can see by those names that we, Clemson became the winner. The names are endless. We once were recruiting in San Diego at the Footlocker High School Cross Country Championships, and I drove off and left him because he would not stop talking. His talking is why a lot of athletes ended up here at Clemson. They would say, “Let me commit to Clemson so this guy will stop talking!!” Bob was always looking to gain an advantage in competition and I think that is what I learned the most from him. He would say, “Cheech, it’s your team, but you may want to attack it this way.” Or he would ask me questions so we could figure out how to get an advantage, point wise, together. Bob was always looking for the “Coaches Special”. He would tell the manager of every restaurant where ever we traveled that we were from Clemson and we were there to buy the Coaches Special. Of course there was no such thing. Bob just always wanted a discount. Most of the time, he could talk the manager into something for free. Hopefully, it was a Bojangles Biscuit or sweet iced tea. The stories could go on and on. I did get to talk to him about two weeks ago and even as sick as he evidently was, he was able to carry on a conversation for about 45 minutes. The man simply had a heart of gold, and I will miss him deeply. He had a rough finish to his career here at Clemson but his love for this institution never wavered. He talked about Clemson highly throughout it all, even ‘til the very end. He was and always will be a great friend, an irreplaceable coach, and a tremendous father. He repeatedly sought what was best for each and every individual who had the honor of knowing and working with him. We prevailed side by side for years, pulling for each other, loving each other’s personal and Clemson families. The Clemson Nation has lost a true fan. The running world has lost an unbelievable motivator and competitor, and I have lost a dear, dear friend. So have many, many coaches around the conference and southeast. I will miss him tremendously. Wayne Coffman Jon Seketa is Clemson’s Assistant Athletic Director in charge of event promotions. He was very close to Bob. I want to thank Jon for submitting the following letter: Who was Bob Pollock? Bob Pollock was a fierce competitor and a proud Citadel man. Bob would review all the times and distances prior to an ACC Championship and knew prior to the meet what it would take for his team to win. I never heard Bob give a pep talk however it must have been good for his teams to win 21 ACC Championships. As you watch the meet unfold it was amazing how sometimes the team quietly came from behind to win. The unknown athlete would give Bob that one point he was looking for, while on other occasions they would run away and win by 60 points. Clemson Track & Field & Cross Country under Bob Pollock was like the good old days in football where you had 150 players on the team. If you wanted to compete, all you had to do was get in your car and get to Clemson. Some might have gotten full scholarships while others just got a book scholarship, however in Bob's eyes, I think he thought having a large team was worth it since it prevented another school from scoring a point. Bob Pollock gave an opportunity to anyone as long as you were willing to work. Bob was like the title of the movie "The Quiet Man". Bob hosted relays for area middle schools at his outdoor track meets. The winners would advance to the finals in May. As I think back to these relays I wonder how many area youngsters who participated have gone on to college to compete or might even be enrolled here at Clemson today. How many people know that Bob's team would host two area families during x-mas. As Bob would say, "The Fellas" wanted to buy toys for the area children in need of a little joy during the holiday. I went to a couple of these meals and it was awesome to see the glow in everyone's eyes as these two families got to enjoy a early holiday. Today, "The Fellas" have kept this tradition going. Once again Bob shows why he was "The Quiet Man". Bob loved his family, the Chicago Cubs, Da Bears and Seneca High School. Not much success for Bob cheering on the Cubs, Da Bears or Seneca against Daniel in football. However when Cheech or myself would call Bob, he take it like a man and hope for a better outcome next time. Cheech would call each time Daniel won and I would when Green Bay won. Bob's family was very important to him. How do you start coaching x- country in August and don't get a break until mid-June after the NCAA Championships and still have time to go to all your children's events in high school and later in college? Somehow Bob found time to be with his family. There are very blessed. What is a legend? In my eyes, Bob Pollock is Clemson's next legend. He is right there with Mr. Bradley and Coach Howard. The accomplishments by his teams and coaching staff will not be matched. All I can say is, move over Mr. B. and Coach Howard, Bob is on his way to join you. Thank you Bob, tell Jarrett hi and make sure he gives you more than one piece of gum and don't sass me. Love, John Sam Blackman is Clemson’s Associate Sports Information Director. He was also a close friend to Bob Pollock. I want to thank Sam for submitting the following letter: Coach Pollock was a good man and I was sad to learn of his passing away. However, he was in a lot of pain, and God knows what¹s best. I first met Coach Pollock on his interview trip to Clemson. He was introduced to me in my office in 1988, and the Associate Athletic Director at that time, Dwight Rainey wanted me to show him around campus. I took him to the place on campus in Newman Hall that sold the delicious Clemson milk shakes. After we had a couple of milkshakes, I asked him what he thought about Clemson. He was very impressed and I think I immediately sold him on Clemson. He told me, “If they offer me the job, I definitely coming to coach at Clemson since they have a great milkshakes like this!” I knew then he was something special. He ran organized track meets at Clemson and he was always concerned about his athletes. He was very instrumental in the design of our new indoor track building. I remember Coach Pollock always had a lot of papers and legal pads with him. I can still see him carrying his brief case. He would also keep a lot of legal pads in his office. What he was doing was writing workouts for his athletes, and then he would keep them for future reference. He made notes on everything. He was an excellent coach and a good man. It was my privilege to have worked with him for the many years he was here. It was more than that; it was an honor to call him my friend. I’m so glad I sold him on this place-I knew the milkshakes would do it. Sam Funeral arrangements for former Clemson track coach Bob Pollock Visitation - 6 to 8 PM on Thursday February 25th. Funeral service is at 10 AM on Friday February 26th. After the church service on Friday the grave side service will follow immediately at the address below. In lieu of flowers make donations to the American Cancer Society The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
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