Frank O'Mara: John McDonnell shaped countless careers and changed so many lives

INSPIRING THE GENERATIONS: 1992 Olympic triple jump gold medal winner Mike Conley (left) with Frank O’Mara and John McDonnell, the legendary former University of Arkansas cross country and track and field coach. McDonnell, who hailed from Mayo, died this week.

In sport it’s very rare for a coach to survive all four phases needed to be deemed an all-time great: building, winning, dominating and — hardest of all — maintaining.

John McDonnell did that, and the outpouring of appreciation in the US when he died earlier this week spoke to just how much he packed into his 82 years. It’s my wish that those in Ireland know and understand just how much this Mayo man accomplished — the lives he impacted, the lessons he passed on.

For 31 years he was head coach at the University of Arkansas where he built the team into a powerhouse, one that won 42 NCAA team titles during his tenure, making him the most successful college coach in US sporting history.

There’s a reason news of his passing went ticking across the screen on ESPN with the word ‘legendary’ beside his name. For McDonnell, that wasn’t hyperbole.

He didn’t drink, smoke or party, his whole life revolving around two things: family and track. He was my coach for 18 years, guiding me to NCAA and world indoor titles and to three Olympic Games. His programme produced 23 Olympians, the most decorated being Mike Conley, the 1992 triple jump gold medallist.

What made McDonnell so good?

In truth, no one aspect of his coaching was the best ever, but all put together it was. He kept that up for 36 years, from joining Arkansas as an assistant coach in 1972 until his retirement in 2008.

There was no silver bullet, no magic potion — he just did the simple things really, really well. He never missed a day and even if it was just a boring eight-mile run, he’d be there, observing.

When I was at school in Limerick, he was the reason I wanted to go to Arkansas. John came to visit, convincing me and my mother that it was the best place to go, a decision I never regretted.

My father died when I was 15 and for many years after, John filled that role. After arriving in Arkansas I learned quickly that there was a certain standard expected. If you weren’t up to it, there were consequences.

He left nothing to chance. He’d make regular visits to your apartment, check the fridge for beer, and hold team meetings where the goals were laid out in great detail. If he was in business he’d have been a CEO, if he was in religion he’d have been an archbishop — he had core management skills that so few have.

At the start of every year, he’d make you write your goals on a page and we’d go back and forth about what they should be, then he’d tell you to post it in your dorm room, a daily reminder of the direction you’re headed.

When he had to be harsh, he was.

One time, after driving six hours back to Fayetteville after an event, he drove us another 10 or 12 miles out into the countryside, dropped us off and said, “see you tomorrow”.

In my first year I was underperforming, worn out after going from 30 miles a week in school to over 110 at Arkansas. John tried everything to get through to me to but the patient approach wasn’t working.

Then, at an indoor meeting in Dallas, I ran badly in my first race and before the distance medley relay, he whispered in my ear: “If you don’t hand the f***ing stick off in first, you can roll your ass home to Ireland.” I was scared to death, and handed it off 30 yards in front. After that I never looked back.

FIELD OF DREAMS: John McDonnell, former University of Arkansas cross country and track and field coach, and his wife Ellen, smile as a cover is removed from a statue in his honour during a ceremony at Fayetteville in 2014. Picture: Arkansas Democrat Gazette

He was ultra-competitive. There was a conference meet where Arkansas beat Tennessee by 80 points, a huge margin, but the Tennessee coach protested the method used to score the high jump, resulting in them narrowing the final deficit to 79.5 points.

The next morning at 6am, I was out for my run and saw the light on in John’s office. I went in and asked why he was there. He was making calls to new recruits.

“I’m going to beat them by more next year.”

He was born in Crossmolina, Mayo on July 2, 1938, the seventh of eight children, and raised on a dairy farm. In the ’50s there was little employment there so he moved to Dublin, joining Clonliffe Harriers and winning six Irish titles over a mile, three-mile and steeplechase.

After emigrating to the US he worked as a cameraman for ABC and competed for New York Athletic Club and got a scholarship to the University of Southwest Louisiana, where one of his highlights was a victory over US great Jim Ryun.

After graduating he was astute about finding work.

He knew colleges that were big into American football had huge budgets so they could afford a track programme.

He identified Oklahoma and Arkansas and wrote to them both, getting his first coaching experience as an assistant at Arkansas in 1972.

He loved Fayetteville, lived there into old age, having turned down massive financial offers to be lured elsewhere.

After retiring he got more into farming, and had a 2,500-acre ranch across the border in Oklahoma, where he loved to ride his horse or four-wheeler around to check on his livestock.

He was extremely humble in victory but equally bothered by defeat.

In addition to his 42 national titles he suffered through an additional 18 top-three finishes, each more painful than the last. I know because I was on five of them. But after those he analysed and invariably corrected.

His training was uncomplicated and involved lots of repetition: 6 x mile on Monday and 16 x 400 on Wednesday. Week after week. He believed that by running familiar distances at improved times throughout the year, you could see progress and build confidence. He kept meticulous records which allowed him to make comparisons over time. It appears simple, but it took a fastidious mind to execute.

As I got older, I realised the effect he had on my life went far beyond the track. He instilled positivity and demanded your full commitment. He led by example, always outworking his assistants and his athletes.

Above all, he taught me to get the basics right. A simple plan well executed is much more effective than a complicated one poorly done.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said that a good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life. In his 36 years at Arkansas, John McDonnell shaped countless careers, and changed so many lives. Those of us who had the privilege to experience it will be forever grateful.

- Irish Olympian Frank O’Mara enrolled at the University of Arkansas in 1978 and was coached by John McDonell for the majority of his career.