The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981: Touching Greatness, Forever Together

Touching Greatness, Forever Together - The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981 is an inside account of how a small private university in eastern USA became the greatest middle-distance track & field power in the world. For 16 consecutive years, the Villanova Track Team won the Championship of America Distance Medley Relay at the Penn Relays – a winning streak that is unrivalled in the world of amateur and professional sports. Astonishingly, during this same period, Villanova won a total of 52 Championship of America relay races including the One Mile, Two Mile, Sprint Medley and Four Mile at the Penn Relays as well as producing numerous IC4A and NCAA Champions, World Records and World Bests.
Written by Jerry Bouma, a former Villanova track athlete (1970-74) and Co-Captain with John Hartnett in his senior year, the book provides front line insights of the philosophy and approach of the great Coach Jumbo Elliott. He describes in detail the ascendency of such national and international stars as Dave Patrick, Charlie Messenger, Frank Murphy, Tom Donnelly, Dick Buerkle, Marty Liquori, Chris Mason, Donal Walsh, Davey Wright, Wilson Smith, John Hartnett, Ken Schappert, Brian McElroy, Eamonn Coghlan, Tom Gregan, Ed Takacs, Phil Kane, Mark Belger, Don Paige, Tony Tufariello, Sydney Maree, Dean Childs, John Burns, John Hunter, Mike England and Marcus O’Sullivan and describes in detail the leaders who emerged from this accomplished group to inspire the team year after year, each in their own unique way. All supported and guided by another key contributing factor - Coach Jack ‘Mother’ Pyrah who played a critical role in the success of the team.
Bouma addresses the fundamental questions of how and why the Villanova University Track Team sustained such a successful program for such a long period of time. He identifies and analyses several critical factors that encompasses coaching, training, the unique characters, leadership, team culture, and the uniqueness of the location of Villanova University itself including the training environment.
Touching Greatness, Forever Together - The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981 is a must read for any coach, aspiring runner or athlete from all sports. Additionally, the principles that generated success for Villanova Track year after year, can also be applied to any individual or business.