Girls Track & Field/Cross Country - Candace Carroll

 

• Coach at Holy Trinity since 2009
• Personal training and private coaching experience for the past 12 years. 
• Played soccer and ran track in high school (Tri-Valley, Class of 2004) 
• Ran Track & Field for LIU Post (Class of 2008)

"I like to take a very fun, hands-on, and personalized approach while coaching.  I am a firm believer of the saying, 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard,' and I expect my girls to give 100% to our track family/team.  When my girls win medals at a meet, it is because they have worked hard and earned them, not just because they showed up.  I often run with the girls to help motivate them to maintain the goal pace/speed for the workout.  With the mutual respect and desire for improvement, we have built an amazing culture on our team, which to me is the foundation of success." 

"My high school track coaches shaped my coaching philosophy a lot.  The head coaches were very demanding, in that they always expected respect and our best, and believed that we could achieve things we thought impossible.  In hindsight, they were incredibly supportive and caring. They would go above and beyond for any athlete, from the fastest nationally ranked to the slowest kid just trying to better themselves.  We also had a younger assistant coach who was very relatable and would run with us and joke around.  I can say I heavily base my philosophy and approach on my experience with how my high school coaches ran their program.  They were the embodiment of what an amazing coach is, and what a difference having a coach like that can make in the lives of high school students can make." 

"Our Titan athletes have the advantage of a phenomenal education paired with amazing support from all faculty.  Every single coach cares about their athletes as more than just a body to fill a position, they deeply care about the athlete as a person, and that support makes a difference as they navigate a new school, new friends, the process of choosing a college or life path, and beyond."  

"Best moment as an HT coach - This is a tough one! Two moments really stand out in my mind, both for different reasons:

The first was Caroline Brown's 1500m race her senior year at the Intersectional Champs/State Qualifier Meet when she finally beat Jasmine Fray after 3 long years of coming in second.  I vividly remember standing next to her mother just beyond the finish line and having tears of joy for her as it became obvious that she would win the race, finally beating her biggest competition, and would qualify for the State Championship Meet.  

The next moment was our 4x400m relay last spring season at our NSCHSAA League Championship Meet. I had this crazy idea a year prior that these girls could do something special in that race.  After a year of hard work, ups and downs, and then them buying into the dream, it all came together.  Those girls shocked everyone, except me as I predicted they could run no slower than 4:15, and they ran 4:11 to upset the league and came in 2nd place!! That moment, watching their excitement, the rest of the team go crazy in the stands, seeing all the hard work pay off, having other coaches approach me and give praise of the girls and what I've done with the team, was a huge moment for me as a coach, even more so than some individuals who worked so hard year after year to break long jump records (those moments are certainly up there for most memorable as well)!"

"I would tell any incoming student-athlete to come to Holy Trinity excited and ready for a new beginning!  I would suggest they reach out to their respective coach and find out what sort of training or workouts they could do to help them be better prepared for their first day of practice / try-outs.  I would also recommend that they take a look at their time management skills, and start getting used to planning things in advance, blocking out times for specific tasks, as they'll have to balance schoolwork, sports, family, and social life.  That tends to be the biggest challenge for many new high school student-athletes."