LARRY COLBERT AND THE

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT TRADITION

Greenbelt, Maryland -Larry Colbert can’t remember the number of

championships he’s won in his thirteen years as Head Track Coach of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland. ” I can’t tell you how many I won, but I can tell you how many I lost, “ he says matter of factly.

The track and field program he’s built at Eleanor Roosevelt has won a staggering number of awards and titles; twenty-four indoor and outdoor Maryland state titles, 26 county indoor and outdoor championships, and 22 regional indoor and outdoor championships since 1989.

In speaking with Colbert, one sees there’s more to him than championships and titles. He’s quick to point out the number of student athletes he’s sent to college and the number of college graduates he’s produced as well. One also realizes that his love of coaching extends beyond the Roosevelt campus.

His Glenarden age group program has 300+ members who come from all over Maryland, Virginia and the Metropolitan area to be a part of his highly competitive team. Next week, he brings his high-powered Maryland state championship team to the NSSF Nike Indoor Championships to be held at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex on March 15^th and 16^th. The meet is one that he has been attending for some years now.

He and his athletes are looking forward to the competition. “It’s a great meet. They get to face the best athletes and gives them the exposure they need to get into college,” he says.

Colbert, himself, a successful master runner, stumbled into the sport at the ripe old age of 35. An aching back suffered from a horse falling on him at a young age, left him looking for therapy and running was the best thing for him. Coach Stan Mullen, who still coaches him today, spotted him and the rest is history. He was recently inducted to the Master’s Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the track that include four still standing world records.

His coaching career coincided with his rise as a master runner. With no training partner, Colbert had to come up with innovative ideas to improve his training. One workout had him chasing his young son up a hill on Delwood Avenue, the street that he lives on. His son would willingly participate because Colbert would tell him that the workout was a “game.”

Soon there were six boys wanting to “play.” Colbert thought it was a good idea to take the young runners to the East Coast Track Champs held on the Towson State campus. Colbert made an event of the trip, buying the young boys uniforms from K-Mart and entering them as the “Delwood Avenue Striders.”

The boys, never having had any formal training or track experience, were over matched. One attendee told Colbert that one of his boy’s form was horrible. They returned home beaten, but the boys had fun and Colbert drew pleasure from the experience.

On the following Monday, Colbert heard a knock on his door. He found one boy

asking about the “Delwood Avenue Striders Track Club.” Colbert replied that there was no such thing, but the dye was cast.

Colbert, never one to turn anyone away, decided to accept the challenge and train the boys. Strangely, in ending the story, he does not mention how they fared later on in track. As is the case with most of his stories, he goes back to the covenant by which success is judged in the Glenarden Track Club.

” Of those six boys, five went to college. The other went to the Police Academy and is now an officer,” he says with great pride. The Glenarden track club now boasts 300+ members, an administrative staff, a booster club and a coaching staff comprised of former members and that would rival most college programs.

His beginnings at Eleanor Roosevelt were much the same. His son, again, was the

catalyst for the move to the high school coaching ranks. A member of the track team, he asked his father if he would help out. Colbert who trained at the Roosevelt track decided to.

Initially assisting the sprinters, Colbert inherited the program in 1989 and proceeded to win the boys’ and girls’ state championship. He hasn’t looked back since.

The NIC indoor championships hold a fond place in his memory. He’s been participating for quite some time now and remembers the early meets. He recalls some of the great athletes he’s taken including Suzanne Reid and Jermaine Lewis.

”Jermaine Lewis set the record at the championships in Syracuse and Suzanne Reid also won the championship,” he says with pride.

The meet is also a way to showcase his athletes to college coaches as they compete against the nation’s best.

”They look forward to this meet because it’s another level of competition. They see kids from California, Maine, Texas, and Florida, but they never get to compete against these kids. When they get a chance to compete against these kids, it motivates them. It moves them to another level of competitiveness. That’s why we go,” he says.

This year, Roosevelt enters as the defending 4x 200 meter girls relay team

champions. They are currently nationally ranked in the 4x 200 meters, the 4x 400 meters, and the sprint medley relay. Individually, they their star is Tiandra Ponteen who is the defending 200 meter champion. They also have nationally ranked 800m runner, Crystal Anyanwu.

When asked what he tells his runners before the meet, he says, ”When you run against the best, it will bring the best out of you. We are the state champions now, but we want to be the national champions. That’s the focus we want them to have and we train them that way.”

The meet also holds more meaning to him for another reason. As a member of the

coalition to build the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, Colbert was critical in designing the facility that now hosts the NIC Championships.

”The facility you see is what I thought a track facility should have. It’s a great facility!” he says with some bias.

As Colbert continues, he seems more interested in one of his most cherished traditions he started years ago with the Glenarden team. “We have a plaque that now has 55 names. Those are the names of our Glenarden college graduates,” he says.

Whatever the outcome of next week’s races, Colbert will always have a different

perspective and memory of his athletes’ accomplishments.