<div dir="ltr"><div>All,</div><div>Please find attached and below Willie Steele's review of Pat Melgares. <i>Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I.Vigil</i>T</div><div>Thanks</div><div>Duncan</div><div><br></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Melgares, Pat.<i> Chasing
Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil</i></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">. Solstice, 2020. Paperback. $19.95.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Reviewed by William Steele, English
Department, Lipscomb University</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>In <i>Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of
Coach Joe I. Vigil</i>, 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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span> </span>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.<span></span></span></p>
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</div><div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past<br><br>Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.<br>Professor of History<br>Book Review Editor<br><i>AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature</i><br>Ashland University<br>Ashland, OH 44805<br>USA<br></div></div></div></div>