Last year, when Mike Powell heard that UCLA’s jumps coach
Robert Johnson had left Westwood to take a job with Oregon, he
immediately got on the phone and placed a call to UCLA men’s
track and field coach Art Venegas. Little did he know that Venegas
had already been making calls in an attempt to get Powell back to
Westwood.
The match seemed perfect. Powell, the world record holder in the
long jump, had a long list of successes as a Bruin track and field
athlete back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
So far, both parties have flourished, as Powell’s
perspective and coaching methods have made him one of the most
sought-after coaches in the sport.
In his first year at UCLA, Powell has already transformed the
jumps program, taking a relatively unheralded group of athletes and
sending six of them to the upcoming NCAA Championships.
“I couldn’t be happier with seeing what he has done
with this group,” Venegas said. “Mike Powell has been
the one guy I have wanted in my program. I’ve coveted him so
much.”
Two Olympic medals and a world record would be considered
sufficient credentials for anyone wanting to be a coach. But Powell
““ who set the long jump world record at 29 feet, 4 1/2 inches
at the 1991 International Association of Athletics Federations
World Outdoor Championships in Tokyo ““ has brought more than
just his ample experience to the program. He credits his coaching
philosophy to his extensive background in sports psychology.
In fact, Powell was pursuing his graduate degree in sports
psychology at Cal State Fullerton before he was ever lured into
coaching.
“Being the world record holder doesn’t make me a
good coach,” Powell said. “I am an eternal optimist, so
to me, everyone can be better. Whoever I work with, if they buy
into what I’m saying and they work hard, they are going to
get better.”
Judging by this season’s results, Powell’s jumpers
have bought into his method. Since Powell’s coaching career
began in 2000, he has developed several internationally lauded
athletes, including Olympic stars such as India’s Anju
George, the 2004 bronze medalist in the long jump.
With the many successes he has under his belt, it’s no
surprise that Powell quickly became a hot commodity on the coaching
market.
“The rest of the country is going to have trouble with him
in a few years,” Venegas said. “He is going to attract
great athletes, and he knows what to do with them.”
This year, Powell has already had an immediate and positive
impact on the team.
In contrast to this year’s six, last year’s UCLA
team sent only one athlete to the NCAA Championships, though that
sole Bruin was Candace Baucham, the triple jump national
champion.
“(Powell) has been there before, so he knows exactly what
he is doing,” said sophomore Joel Tuosto, who sprinted in as
a dark-horse athlete to win the long jump title last Saturday at
the Western Regional Championships.
“He has so much experience. You never have a question he
can’t answer,” Tuosto added.
As impressive as this turnaround has been, Powell is still not
completely satisfied and believes his jumpers have not even begun
to understand all the knowledge he is capable of imparting to
them.
“The exciting thing is that they don’t even know
what they are doing yet,” Powell said.
“They get really frustrated because I teach them a lot of
stuff. In the beginning, I told them they aren’t going to get
all of this stuff this year. It’s going to take about two or
three years to get,” he said.
Powell’s ultimate goal is to build a jumping dynasty in
Westwood, one to go along with UCLA’s traditionally
exceptional performance in the hurdles, sprints and throws.
“Thinking about the future is really exciting.”
Powell said. “My goal is to make this program rival that of
LSU and Arkansas, where, at minimum, when recruits are looking at
schools, they have to at least take a look at UCLA.”