PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

“It is the nature of man to rise to greatness when greatness is expected of him.”
—John Steinbeck

While John Steinbeck was speaking of man in general, Coach Dave Barney likes to use his words for the track and field team in particular. The quote is indicative of Barney’s unique style of coaching and motivation. He has the highest of expectations for his team and demands that his athletes have the same outlook for themselves on and off the track.

Barney has won six national championships in cross country but has yet to accomplish that goal with the track squad, finishing as high as third nationally. But that does not deter him, or the competitors, from setting their goals for a championship.

This year alone Nancy Piazza won the National Indoor Championship in the pole vault with a vault of 11’8”, and Tod Rodenbaugh finished as the runner up in the men’s vault with 16’4”. Five school records have been broken and more than 20 members of the team will compete at Nationals in multiple events.

Sophomore Angela Petersen will be competing in the steeplechase event at the NJCAA National Championships. She currently has the best time in the U.S. in the event, an impressive 11: 02 mark.

“We like to focus a lot on hard work and quantity and volume of that work, especially in the off-season,” said Petersen. She hopes to beat her personal record of 11:02 at Nationals, and then she plans on transferring to Brigham Young University next year, one of the top track programs in the country.

In order to compete at the highest level, Coach Barney makes sure his practices are tough and long on hard work.

“We run laps where we alternate our speeds from coasting to acceleration to raise lactic acid levels, so the body can practice removing it without reaching exhaustion,” says Barney.

Coach Barney also uses verbal motivation to coincide with his physical training regimen. “Let’s see how tough you are. Let’s see who can run until they fall!” he yells. The athletes made a visible change in effort and output, demonstrating how high expectations are shared in practice and competition by all.

Tod Rodenbaugh, a sophomore, will compete in the pole vault at Nationals. “For me, the coaches make it fun and take pressure off, so I feel confident in aiming for the top,” said Rodenbaugh.

He hopes to beat his personal record of 16’4”, aiming for the 17-foot range. He will transfer to ASU in the fall and compete for a place in their track program.

Under Coach Dave Barney, the bar is set, and it is up to the competitors to concentrate in order to reach their goal and make it over the top.