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Waukesha coach's shirts off my back motivate runners
Every week of the track season since he started coaching, Waukesha South's John Barndt doles out a shirt from a former athlete to a runner he'll deem that week's Athlete of the Week.
WAUKESHA, Wis. - If you know Waukesha South's John Barndt, you'll know he's got a lot of shirts, and they aren't just any ordinary shirts.
"This is 24/7," said John Barndt, Waukesha South's distance track and assistant cross country coach. "I'm thinking about shirts, I'm thinking about athletes. I'm thinking about all the things that go into coaching."
Barndt has been Waukesha South's distance track coach and assistant cross country coach the last 14 years.
"This is the best job I've ever had in my life," said Barndt. "I love coaching young athletes."
That love is reciprocated.
"He's like one of the best coaches," said Abby Szolyga, Waukesha South sophomore.
"It just shows he really cares about us, and he's invested in our success," said Reghan Mulder, Waukesha South senior.
That's where all these high school and college shirts come in. They're given to Barndt in bunches by his previous athletes when they come back home from college. He's also given shirts by his coaching friends and sometimes he'll find more shirts at rummage sales.
And every week of the track season since he started coaching, Barndt doles one out to a runner he'll deem that week's "Athlete of the Week."
Waukesha South track and cross country coach John Brandt shows off one of his shirts, which he awards to his athlete of the week. (FOX6 News Milwaukee)
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"I've been running for 46 years so I have plenty of shirts and I thought I'd like to give them something unique and it was a hit immediately," said Barndt.
There's a lot of thought put into his weekly award.
"It normally starts with kind of weather-related," said Barndt. "They might get a hoodie when it's still cold out so I want to give them something that they can wear, but then also remember why they got that shirt. One says Waukesha North track and field. Maybe she beat a girl from Waukesha North and it was a really exciting race and I want her to kind of remember that fact. It's something kind of special, a meaningful shirt."
And who doesn't want a cool shirt?
"I wear most of them because they're usually really nice shirts, so I wear them all the time," said Mulder. "I've a huge collection of running t-shirts actually."
This week, that honor went to sophomore Abby Szolyga.
"Barndt saying I did well, it made me feel good and that like I feel like I earned the athlete of the week," said Szolyga.
Above the recognition, the award is about much more.
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"My main job is to help them become better runners, but that just seems part of it," said Barndt. "I want to help them get ready for life. Some of these are life lessons. Having good sportsmanship. I think that's the foundation of youth sports."
Those lessons have resonated with the girls.
"We do stuff not just for athlete of the week, but just because we want to be nice people" said Szolyga.
"One of the main things he's taught me is leadership, so he's like a coach of track and cross country, and he's helped me improve, but he's also so much more than that," said Mulder.
It may be a simple gesture to his runners, but the weight it carries lasts a lifetime. It's all thanks to a coach who will never run out of shirts to give.