[ARETE] Review of Megares, Chasing Excellence

Tue Nov 17 13:33:27 CST 2020

All,
Please find attached and below Willie Steele's review of Pat Melgares. *Chasing
Excellence:  The Remarkable Life and Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I.Vigil*T
Thanks
Duncan

Melgares, Pat.* Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring
Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil*. Solstice, 2020. Paperback. $19.95.

Reviewed by William Steele, English Department, Lipscomb University

            When discussing the elite coaches in college sports, there are
names that need no introduction. Bud Wilkinson, Joe Paterno, and Woody
Hayes in football; John Wooden, Dean Smith, and Pat Summitt in basketball;
and Rod Dedeaux, Mike Martin, and Tim Corbin in baseball. But only the most
die-hard track and field and cross-country fans would recognize coaches'
names other than Oregon's Bill Bowerman.

            Legendary coach Joe Vigil, a former football player and Golden
Gloves boxer, has certainly earned his place as one of the greatest
collegiate coaches in history, not just in his sports of cross country and
track and field, but in any sport. Vigil, who turned the Adams State
College program into a national power in his 29 years at the school, won 19
national team championships, coached 425 All-Americans and 87 individual
national champions, and was named national Coach of the Year 14 times.
Perhaps most impressive, due in no small part to his own commitment to
academic excellence as a professor, Vigil's student-athletes achieved a 95
percent graduation rate over the course of his coaching career.

            In *Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring
Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil*, one of the coach's former runners, Pat
Melgares, introduces readers to the man whose commitment to learning his
sport and inspiring his athletes to achieve greatness contributed to
unprecedented growth in American track and field. Building on his time on
Vigil's team, Melgares uses numerous interviews with Vigil, his wife and
children, former athletes, coaches, administrators, and members of the
community to present a multifaceted look at both the personal and
professional sides of Vigil.

            Born into poverty to a mother who was already in the process of
divorcing his father by the time he was born, Vigil was inspired by her
work ethic and commitment to making sure her sons were provided for as they
grew up in the railroad town of Alamosa, Colorado. Vigil's own commitment
to excellence later helped him make the town synonymous with distance
running around the world.

            Melgares tells Vigil's story in a straightforward manner with
each chapter interspersed with sidebar anecdotes titled "Let Me Tell You a
Story." These vignettes come from former students, athletes, family
members, and fellow coaches. And while they occasionally interrupt the
chapters' narratives, the stories provide terrific insight into the
long-lasting impact Coach Vigil has had in physiological research, athletic
performance, and community involvement, all topics which are threaded
through the entire book.

            For those who follow cross country and track closely, the book
provides a compelling backstory to Adams State's rise to dominance as a
member of the NAIA and then their ability to compete at the NCAA level
immediately upon making the jump. Vigil's philosophy, something readers are
reminded of as the "Vigilosophy" throughout the book, ignored what
naysayers thought and showcased his ability to inspire his athletes to not
only compete with, but to defeat much bigger programs with far more
resources than they had in Alamosa.

            Melgares details Vigil's progression from a collegiate football
player at Adams State to high school biology teacher and coach to an
internationally recognized researcher and coach. The book provides insight
into Vigil's seemingly accidental entrance into track and field when, after
seeing the disappointment in the faces of the only three boys who showed up
for track practice at Alamosa High School, he began coaching them with no
budget and no administrative support. By the end of his first year, Vigil
had coached his first state medalist, miler Luther Quintana. A year later,
Vigil was offered the head coaching position for the football team, but the
school claimed to have a rule prohibiting coaches from being the head coach
for multiple sports. Suspecting no such rule existed, as others had coached
multiple teams at the school before him, Vigil thought the school might be
denying him the opportunity because he was Hispanic. In a decision that
would change the face of American track and cross country, Vigil chose to
coach track and field. Melgares spends little time on the details of
Vigil's high school coaching, choosing instead to elaborate on the years at
Adams State, the place where the coach's legend was cemented in his almost
three decades there.

            While an author so intimately connected with the subject might
be inclined to lean towards hero-worshipping, Melgares avoids this trap by
drawing on the variety of interviews with those who best kneaw Vigil as a
coach, administrator, teacher, researcher, and friend.

            Some of the most interesting parts of the biography are at the
end when the 90-year-old Vigil provides his top five memories from his
career, allowing the legend to give his own voice to conclude the
narrative. The remainder of the book is a set of four appendices: a summary
of Vigil's professional accomplishments and awards, dating back to his time
as a high school coach; a list of Olympic athletes Vigil coached between
1968 and 2016; an interesting and insightful collection of Vigil's quotes
on various topics, titled "Vigilante," compiled by assistant coach Jay
Birmingham during the 1993 season; and a list of countries where Vigil has
presented or coached.

            While Melgares presents only a brief glimpse into Vigil's life
outside athletics, readers will come away with an understanding of what
motivated him professionally, his impact on building the Adams State
program into an NAIA and NCAA powerhouse, his role in training Olympic
athletes, and the legacy he continues to build in cross country and track.
Those already familiar with Vigil's story will come away with a much better
appreciation for his philosophy and coaching, and those who are just now
learning about Vigil will wish they'd known about him long before now.

Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past

Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.
Professor of History
Book Review Editor
*AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature*
Ashland University
Ashland, OH  44805
USA
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