Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #175: Gill1918 Presents Mechelle Freeman "Part 2 Women in Leadership"

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#175: Gill1918 Presents Mechelle Freeman "Part 2 Women in Leadership" · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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Welcome to the Gil 1918 Project, a podcast series by coaches, for
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coaches, powered by Gil Athletics.
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Think of this as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
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Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
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Check out the show notes below For more information.
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Now let's get into today's topic.
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Bring an objectivity. I was doing research all those
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years that I was the assistant relays coach, research on what
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it was. That was the biggest errors, the
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biggest thing for the relay program.
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They weren't reading the marks because they weren't used to the
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person coming in. So how are we teaching them how
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to judge the speeds, how we all looking at the marks the same?
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The second thing was acceleration.
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Once you trust the mark, are you really accelerating fully?
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And then the third was the pass. Once you get time to drop off
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the package, it needs to be as quick and efficient, as safe as
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possible. And so I broke it down in those
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three areas on how to correct them so I can make my selection
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and get the baton moving around the track as fast as possible.
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The other thing I created was a manual.
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It didn't exist. A rubric for selection so
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everyone can see why and who I selected on the science side.
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What place did you finish at a trials?
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What's your season's best personal best trend of marks?
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Your acceleration? The time pass fees, The art side
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of it? Are you reading the mark right?
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Are you accelerating? What's your relay experience?
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What's your global championship experience?
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The science and the art. Keeping track.
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A rubric. So now you can objectively show
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why your selection is the best before going through the four by
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one. We never sat down and talked
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about the the what the first leg is actually running 110 meters
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and the second leg is running 130 meters and then we're not
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running the four by one. You need someone who has amazing
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speed and doors on the street for 130 meters.
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You need someone who could do the same thing on the turn
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really, really well. And your anchor leg needs to be
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somebody with the biggest heart for 120 meters.
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It just was clear and objective. Now you can tell an ID.
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Now you can pick your people. OK, this is from one of my good,
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my good buddies. I, I love this learning from
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coaches all the time. But JC Ayers, he has this great
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slide here just about what we were just showing.
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We literally just never took the science side of of sprinting and
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translated that to how we decided where our takeoff mark
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should be so that we're keeping the baton moving through the
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zones. And so tomorrow I'll talk more
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about that on my relays, on the technical side of it.
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But I really started to teach how to move the stick.
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And so our first Test was World Championships.
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Anybody there? Anybody come to Oregon?
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Yeah. You were there for the 4 by 1.
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So I didn't go out. I was too nervous in the back.
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And it was the first time that we took them to relay camp.
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We said, hey, we're going to measure baton speeds.
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We have time and gates. We have video, we have film
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sessions. And I come out there and the
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fastest girl missed relay camp. They called me the night before
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and they said she had COVID. And I was like, no, because I
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need the girls who actually meet the demand.
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So I'm like, OK, so we practiced with the four girls.
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There's our first time going through it.
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They starting to get it by day three.
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We're hitting it. The time that I wanted to hit.
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I need you to keep it 3 seconds in the zone 2 point 92.9 hitting
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it now I can correct you then read the take off Mark.
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You need to accelerate better. You need to accelerate, you
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know, harder and more intense or hey, the past those three
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things, it was clear it was a process.
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We get to World Championships. The fastest American finishes as
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the top American for us in the 100 meters.
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Everybody else who made it to relay camp either didn't make it
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to the final or they got last in the final.
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In the final, the one who got sixth in the final was the one
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who missed relay camp. Oh my gosh, it's always set up
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like that. Are you going to have the hard
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conversation? Here we go.
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Hey, are you going to go with the process that you've been
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testing? Are you going to go with we can
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go back what we're used to putting the fastest on the
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track? So I had the conversation with
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the coach. Hey, I'm I'm I'm not going to
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run her and final what you can only understand my conversations
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with personal coaches. So let's talk about that.
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So imagine this conversation. Let's just say by the time it
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was for the check in he had, the tweet was already out.
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And so now I'm nervous and we have a huddle and I say listen
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everybody, this is the thing. First leg, you go out there, do
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what you got to do, move the stick.
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How we talked about it. By the time you get to the
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anchor leg, we the only way we are beating Jamaica is by making
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up the space in the zones. If you move the sticks at 2.9
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seconds the same way we did at relay camp, you will win.
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When TT gets the stick at anchor leg you will be in front TT.
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All you need to do is trust yourself and bring it home like
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you have been doing every time I've seen you race.
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TT looked at us and she said if you give me the baton and the
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lead I will not get caught and that was the last thing they
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said before we left and so I'll let me just play this.
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I know you saw it, but. And Are you ready for two World
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Championship winning nations to be crowned?
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Let's do it. Men's and women's 4 by 100m
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relay finals and we start. With OK last.
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Year in the Olympics. And Melissa Jefferson, not fazed
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by the huge draw? She's in the zone can.
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Y'all hear that? In Italy, Italy two there were
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seventh at the last World championships but didn't get out
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of the heat at the Olympic Games.
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And the final nation and team to me is Team Switzerland in Line
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1. Kambuji, who made the finals in
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both 100 and the 200, will run their second leg.
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They were fourth in this event at the 2019 World Championships.
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That's their best ever finished at world.
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They were 4th at the Olympics as well.
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Both the US men and women's teams are running exactly the
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same orders as they did in the heat, with one exception.
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This one. Abby Steiner has been brought in
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to replace Aaliyah Hobbs and Aaliyah Hobbs is already on
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social media saying the only reason I couldn't go to relay
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camp and why I'm on the final is because I got COVID.
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SO1 change for Team USA. TT Terry will anchor.
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Prandini will hang handle 3rd as she did yesterday.
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Masterfully. Steiner on 2nd and this young
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woman, Melissa Jefferson, the US champion, will lead off.
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Last US world title in this event 2017 London Women's 4 by
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100. Meter relay final Let's.
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Go Team USA lane 3 Jamaica. Off to a very good start.
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So is Great Britain, but look at Melissa Jefferson destroyed 1st
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lane. Boom, I said.
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Are we in the league? We in the league?
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That's a lame Thompson hero down the back.
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Just. For Jamaica, but the US is
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there. Boom, right here.
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I knew we was in. I said OK, TT, we just talked
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about this. We just talked about it.
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The US was hand off first, but Soreka Jackson, she's long time
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TT. Soreka Jackson, here comes
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Jamaica. Yes.
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You know, we pulled it off by 4 hundredths of a second, Four
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hundredths of a second. You look back at the baton
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speeds in that race. We won every zone.
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It's the only way. So then, you know, people
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started talking less just for a day.
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We ran the fastest time ever on US soil.
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Still to this day with that race.
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Again, no one made the final. Only one.
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Only one made the final. I'm sorry, Melissa Jefferson,
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she got 8. Everybody else didn't make the
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final. It was because they understood
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their individual task for us to accomplish the team task 2023.
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Now you got to bring in your superstar, you got high
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performers that's got to look at each other and respect each
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other in the same space. Now you got to get your girls to
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work together. Now I don't pass the baton
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before to somebody. I wanted to do something
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different with that baton, but we got it around the track and
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that is what it's going to be. How are you going to take the
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personalities and the differences and still get the
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task done? The morning I woke up this time,
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I told them that I was changing the order.
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We had gone out there in the prelims.
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We almost didn't get out. We passed the baton at 29 1/2
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meters on the second exchange. Luckily, we made it happen.
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We came back, I changed the order.
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The good thing about that was that they understood the process
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because now I'm sticking to the process and they know it.
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Now I'm walking around and they respect the fact that I'm
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picking people based on execution.
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But at the same time that's calling a rift between me and
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the personal coaches because I'm starting to tell some big names
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no. What are you going to do?
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Are you going to keep going for it or not?
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That is going to be your question.
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We won, broke the World Championship record in Budapest
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2024. We asked for a competitive
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opportunity before heading to Paris.
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We were told no. So what does that do?
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It minimizes the opportunity for people who have run certain legs
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because you have less time and space.
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So based on my process, I am going to stick to minimizing
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risk and maximizing performance, which means based on the
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circumstance that whoever can show me the most in the time
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that we have, they're selected. So if you have someone who's
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made the team and they haven't run third leg a lot, but you
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need a third leg, that means that the person that has run
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third leg has an advantage. But that's the time and space
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that you're given. You have to make those hard
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decisions. This relay, I chose to run the
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same for both rounds. That means that somebody didn't
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touch the track and I was a hard decision I had to make.
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Are you going to coach for everyone to get a medal or are
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you going to coach to accomplish the task?
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Those are going to be the decisions as a leader that
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you're going to come down to talking about some of the four
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by fours. The biggest thing on a four by
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fours again was just sticking to who the the fours should be,
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right? We won in 2022.
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Coming back to 2023. I don't know if you all remember
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the 50 bowl fall at the finish line moment, but what a special
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moment. Alexis Holmes had not made the
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team. We had someone who decided not
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to go and I had to select another athlete and selected
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Alexis Holmes. Alexis Holmes knew how to win.
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She was on that 323 junior team. Alexis Holmes was on it.
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I knew she knew how to win. She was on the NCAA 4 by 4
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championship NCAA record team. The history shows she knows how
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to win. You have to think about all of
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those things when you talk about the best of the best.
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Take the risk on your heart, your mind, your soul.
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Take your risk. Nobody thought Alexis Holmes was
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going to walk them, get bowled down.
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Nobody. The men went out there.
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You only can have one sub. The men went out there in the
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prelims and someone they ran really, really bad and the plan
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was to bring in a man, another man in the final.
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But since, I'm sorry, another woman, but since the man friend,
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so not that great. Then we had to switch up the
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plans. Can the women hold it down?
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We decided to go for it. Alexis Holmes pulled it out.
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Coaching is also about instinct, trusting your instinct.
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So coming back to the women's 4 by 4, 6 minutes, here we are.
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I got 6 minutes left. What am I going to do at this
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point? This is it, Shell.
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You have no more time. I finally just had the courage
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to stand up for the process. It had been working.
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We were winning. We were back to the golden era,
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not just at a a time where the US was expected to win.
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We were winning big moments when our when our competitors were at
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their best. And would I compromise that for
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this? Every time I tell you, whenever
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I didn't do what I was supposed to do, I failed 4 by 4 in 2023.
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They ran out the zone in the four by four.
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Who does that? Ran out the zone.
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I didn't do what my heart, my mom and my soul told me to do.
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We ran out the zone in 2022. Mixed relay.
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It was a vivid picture in my mind.
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I'm talking about vivid. It was like I had a vision of
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what would happen if I didn't follow what my heart, my mind
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and my soul told me to do. And that vision came to life.
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We got the bronze and here I was and I said, OK.
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History shows that anytime I go against my heart, my mind, so we
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fail. It's always something that
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happens. Now, anytime that I haven't, we
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win. So in this last 6 minutes, are
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you choosing the process? Are you choosing your word?
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And it's, I get it, It's your word, right?
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It's your word. You don't want to go against
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your word. It's your word.
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That's all we have. And so I had two different
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directions. I had a huddle of coaches like
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you said what you said, so you got to do what you said.
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Then I had this other coach. He pulled me to the side and I
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will never forget. He said you can always right or
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wrong. You can always right or wrong.
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And I say that because I knew that the wrong thing was not
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sticking up for something. I built something that God had
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blessed me with the discernment. So for me to honor the gift, I
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had to have the courage to stick up for it.
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And that meant that my word was going to take a hit.
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And I knew and that moment that this probably was going to be
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the way that they figured it out to finally Get Me Out.
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So I didn't, I told her and I said you're not running.
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And it was one of the no. It is the hardest moment of my
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coaching career till this day. And it is a moment that I failed
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as a leader. You know why?
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Because I procrastinated the truth.
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I procrastinated the truth. And the truth was she wasn't my
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4:00 and I knew she wasn't my 4:00.
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And I got in the way of myself by not sticking to my
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boundaries. And I didn't stick to my
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boundaries because I was operating in fear because I was
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not protected in a lot of times that I stood up for myself in
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the way that I was treated as a woman in leadership.
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The decisions you have to make and have to tell and though the
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reception of those decisions. And so it's a circle of
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dysfunction and I didn't do my part in breaking that cycle in
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that moment. And so I have to always live
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with that. I live with the failure of that
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moment, but I also live with the success of that moment.
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And I was standing up and having the courage enough to say, if
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I'm a go out, One thing you're going to know about Coach if she
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did it this way every single time.
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And that's the one thing that I take away now that I'm not in
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that role any longer. All right, a couple of women.
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I just want to make sure you understand at different points
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of my career that stood up for me.
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You got to have some women warring for you.
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You got to be a women for women because it was women who who
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wasn't for women. And my outcome was different.
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Francesca, she was the one that taught me the pivotal.
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Like I, I was trying to figure this out on his junior team and
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I could not figure it out. And I it messed up my steps
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because there's 1 runner. She's a high school runner.
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She didn't get time in space back then.
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I was taking a risk on it. I didn't have enough time to
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really get her ready because she was not used to running with
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relay teams. She's a star by herself.
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I ran on relays, only had a certain amount of days.
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I was just trying to force it on social.
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All you got to do, this is all you got to do.
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Finally Francesca comes over and she says because I was like, I
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just can't get her the way she she's inconsistent.
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Sometimes she hit it hard, sometimes she doesn't.
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He said. It's her stance, her stance.
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He was too narrow. You need to open it wide like
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this. Came and whispered it to me,
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nothing loud, just to let me know what she saw.
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And I, I fixed it, but I didn't change the steps.
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And so the next day she got out like a bat out of hell.
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It ran out the zone like you need the stick.
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But again, I always learn from that moment moving forward.
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That was a part of my critical 3 component corrections.
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It's the stance, it's the acceleration.
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I will always remember friends Chester for whispering in my
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ear. Latonya Sheffield.
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Tokyo on the ground World Championships 22, Paris 24.
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If I said something, she was going to lead the way.
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She was the head coach. She trusted me fully.
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If I say this is what I needed, this is what needs to be done,
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she stood up for me. Sandra Farmer Patrick, she was
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on the the she was just everywhere.
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Sandra's everywhere. So you want somebody that's just
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speaking up for you. It don't matter who she's
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talking to. Your cousin, your aunt, the
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president, she is going to speak up for you.
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That is my Sandra. And then Carol, how are you?
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How are you doing? Someone that's checking on you,
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You have to make sure you're doing.
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You got to be one of these roles for somebody.
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You have to be because in these moments, I needed these women to
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stand up on when I couldn't stand up, when I didn't have the
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courage. And then it's the side of
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silence. And I leave that slide with no
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picture because they didn't do nothing.
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Nothing in the room, witnessing, hearing emotional misconduct,
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mental misconduct, heard it was there, nothing.
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It's not OK. Emotional fatigue.
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I mean, of course I miss my, you know, doing the role, but I'm
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not stressed out. I was stressed out leaving
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global championships, upset, crying, tired.
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I was skinnier than I am. I don't need to lose weight
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being labeled as difficult. Hey, we need a competitive
21:56
opportunity. Paris shouldn't be the first
21:59
time we crack. I mean, we run at the track meet
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for the reader. I would think.
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I don't use that. You, you want too much.
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You, you just just do it. Just win, figure it out.
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Speaking up is going to, you know, have cost before it
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protects you. Standing up is going to have
22:24
cost. But silence is the present and
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the presence of misconduct is complicity.
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You cannot be silent. You, you'll be one of them.
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Leadership. You know, I, I was saying at the
22:41
very beginning, it's not just about climbing ladders or
22:44
resilience a person's success, but how are you protecting your
22:49
gift others? You know, what you believe, what
22:52
you stand up for, your heart, your mind, your soul, your
22:56
instinct is put there for a reason.
22:59
Discernment is not given to the weak.
23:03
You have to be responsible for that.
23:07
And then you have to create safer pathways for those who
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come after us. We have to.
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And so I just think, you know, I got the call about what, 3
23:23
months into 2025, last year that my contract wasn't being
23:26
renewed. I was not surprised.
23:28
It was OK, But I was just thinking about everything that I
23:36
had done for that last decade. Everything I'm just thinking
23:39
about like all the sacrifice, all the things, all the
23:44
accolades. The 4x4 went on to break a 36
23:51
year old record. We should have broke the world
23:54
record that night in Paris. I knew we were going to break
23:58
the world record with the four. The only reason we ran that 10th
24:02
of a second and Gabby almost ran into the rail.
24:04
I don't know, but the only reason was because I had the
24:07
distraction and then 6 minutes before I was dealing with the
24:11
distraction instead of with the four, passing the baton, giving
24:15
them my last cues, giving them my last gems.
24:19
I wasn't focused on the four, I was focused on the one.
24:22
And that one was a 10th of a second.
24:24
And we got the American record, not the world record.
24:30
Speak up early. Don't wait.
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You know, speak up early, don't be afraid, even if it puts you
24:38
out. Speak up, Build your trusted
24:45
circles, have your people, have your people to protect you, have
24:49
your people to speak up for you and choose your courage over
24:53
your comfort. You will always be able to walk
24:57
into a room and with your head up knowing that you did your
25:01
best in the face of fear, in the face of doubt, choose your
25:06
courage and be the woman that that you want, that you need it
25:10
At some point. It is your responsibility to be
25:14
that woman for that woman the same way that I will be for the
25:18
next. And then so as we leave, just
25:23
think about, you know, who are you going to protect?
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Who are you protecting? You know, what gift are you
25:30
protecting? Who are you amplifying?
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Who you speaking up for, going to war, for praying for whatever
25:41
it is? Why are you silent?
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And why now? I have made a decision that was
25:50
a selfish decision because at this point I'm 45 and I'm not
25:54
perfect. And so when I was younger, I
25:57
made some selfish decisions because I was thinking about my
26:01
outcome. So you won't be perfect, but
26:07
change it when you can. Now that you have the education
26:12
and the knowledge. We're older.
26:15
Be responsible for that. And what power do you hold that
26:19
someone else needs? How do we power share?
26:24
Remember, breaking barriers isn't enough, but we must break
26:27
our silence too. Final charge Leadership is not
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proven. When things are easy, it's
26:35
revealed. And how we respond when someone
26:37
else is being harmed. I choose to speak so others
26:42
don't have to suffer in silence again.
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I'm going to say it again. Another spot.
26:46
Who are you protecting? Who are you amplifying?
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Why are you silent and why? What power do you hold that
26:50
someone else's needs and say it again.
26:52
Two slides because it is that important for the legacy, for
26:59
the next generation, for the woman, for the woman, for the
27:02
woman, for the woman, for the woman.
27:04
You got to do your part and for the woman.
27:09
All right. Thank you.
27:17
Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here. Hey, I hope you enjoyed this
27:20
episode of the Guild 1918 Project series.
27:23
It's really my mission, my passion to bring you massive
27:27
amounts of value and I hope this one hit the mark.
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The Gill 1918 Project is really dependent on you if for you to
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build your own episode, to hear your voice, to have your voice
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heard you have something to say and teach other coaches out
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there. So please get a hold of me,
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e-mail, text message, Twitter, smoke signals, get a hold of me
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and let's help create your episode of the Guild 1918
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Project. Hope you enjoy the day and we'll
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see you tomorrow.