Over the past several years, there have been few college track and field teams as decorated and dominant as Kennesaw State’s squad led by Andy Eggerth, but his demeanor remains is still incredibly humble.
A former pole vaulter and an assistant at three other schools before coming to KSU, Eggerth has helped the men’s team win seven straight indoor and five straight outdoor conference championships. He has also led during the rise of the women’s side, who won their first conference titles in both the indoor and outdoor competitions last season.
This outdoor season, the teams are looking to improve themselves from the indoor season and continue to set personal bests. The women’s team came just short of defending their indoor conference title this season, but Eggerth maintains that they can get right back up and compete for the outdoor title.
“They’ve done a good job, but they just haven’t done everything in their power that they could do,” Eggerth said. “I challenge them to take it a step higher. We’ve got talent there…we’ll have a realistic shot of getting that title back.”
Though the men’s team successfully continued their streak of indoor conference titles earlier this season, that does not stop Eggerth from finding ways to improve. He sees the reality that the current team is excellent relative to other teams but may be lacking in comparison to past KSU teams. With this realistic view, he commends his athletes for their successes but does not delude them into thinking that they are perfect.
For all the accolades that the teams have garnered, Eggerth’s keen sense of strengths and weaknesses in particular disciplines allows him to adjust every season and avoid stagnation. In addition to the technical side of the sport, he understands that his relationship with the players is equally as important.
“As a head coach I have to find the right balance between…building them up but at the same time challenging them,” Eggerth said. “The last thing that we can do as a coaching staff or as a team is to get complacent because we’ve had a lot of success.”
Every year, new and veteran athletes alike on Eggerth’s track teams push themselves both physically and mentally. An inherent desire to improve on skills is perhaps the most important attribute of any recruit that seeks to join KSU’s program.
“We try to recruit people that are intrinsically motivated,” Eggerth said. “If you don’t put in the full work in the preseason, you can be as motivated as you want on championship day, but you’re only going to get the results that you’ve earned in the preparation.”
The track teams opened their outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on March 16 and 17 with Erica Sergeant’s school-record pole vault score highlighting the day. They move on to participate at the Winthrop Adidas Invitational from March 22-24 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
