We recently connected with Byron Ragsdale and have shared our conversation below.

Byron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

So my vision when we started Run-em-Down Track and Field was simply to provide a positive Track and Field experience for the atheletes we coach. The way I describe positive is:
– each kid feels accepted
– each kid being coached at their level
– each kid showing daily improvements
– each kid, learning and understanding
– each kid understands the purpose of the training,
– each kid is learning tools for life success as well as Sports Success.
– and last but not least, is each kid performing better in this weeks practice an competitions than they did last week.

Our success is built on setting new personal best week by week. The ability to see these improvements benefits each athelete by allowing them to see the constant improvement as their training progresses. I measure the success of our program from a competive side by the number of athletes that qualify for Junior Olympics which is the AAU national meet. The biggest Track Meet of the year. Our first year we had 1 athelete qualify out of the 8 atheletes on our team. Year 2, we had 9 qualifiers out of the 26 on our team. Last summer, we had 18 qualifiers out of the 46 members on our team. A smaller success measurement would be the percentage of athletes that qualify for the regional meet. Qualifying track meets that get you to Junior Olympics go as follows:
District Meet – (top 15 move on to Regionals). Regional Meet- ( top 5 move on to Junior Olympics). Junior Olympics is comprised of the best athelets in the country in their respective events. So I say all that to say this, As an Organization we are driving our mission by the output of our athletes. And those percentages speak for their self. I believe we develop a very high percentage of Junior Olympians yearly. From a personal stand point. I would love for every athelete to experience what it is like to be and compete against the nation’s best. I understand that’s not realistic, but that’s how I stay hungry and motivated.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started competing in Track and Field in high school. I saw success so fast I just stuck with it. I was fortunate to have some amazing coaches throughout my career. So when my son Grayson was born I couldn’t wait to introduce him to track. One reason of course is that I love this sport and he showed amazing potential at an early age. I knew that I had learned so much throughout my journey that if I taught him he could be really really good. And he was. Other people saw and believed in what I was doing and asked to do it as well. That’s how we started. We began just coaching my son, an ended up with 8 kids that first year. The thing I am most proud of is our atheletes. We love them like family. We train and compete together all summer long. But when school starts everyone is on their school team. But that feeling of family always prevails even when they compete against each other. I’m also the head coach at Central High School. But when I go to Track meets you can see kids from all the schools that Ive coached in my teams section. It’s amazing to watch them from start to finish, an see how they improve. We haven’t been around long enough to see a athelete graduate school an go on to compete in college but I’m pretty sure we will reach that goal this year.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It’s simple, the coaching staff that I put together. Everyone plays a major role in our programs success. I’ll start with my beautiful wife Summer Ragsdale. It’s rare you find a soul mate with a passion for the same sport as you, and the same goals within the organization as you. I have that. She’s a coach, or social media handler, equipment manager, Uniform designer, an the list goes on. Next is David Gaston. David’s 3 kids are members of Run-em-Down Track and Field. He is a javelin specialist. I would consider him a world class Jav instructor. The crazy thing about that is, he’s self taught. As a member of our coaching staff, he has never had a year without a National All-American (which is a top 8 finisher at Junior Olympics. He also knows sprints and jumps.
Stephanie Johnson is next on the list. I met Stephanie a long time ago, back when we were competing in AAU. Fast forward a few years, she’s a Sprint and Mid distance coach on this AAU team. Her athletes flourish on the track. 2 of which are her own kids and both of them were national qualifiers along with several others.
Kimberly Battle is the next name on the list. Kim is not only a coach she also handles alot of our administration work, fund raising opportunities, and organizing. She has 2 children that compete with us as well. 1 of which is the first national qualifiers we had as a program. His name is Chance. He has an amazing story as well. That first year I believe he was around 10 or 11. He qualified for Junior Olympics by placing top 6 in his event at Regionals. The following week he was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then he has battled all the way back to qualify for Nationals again last summer. Our newest coach is Mr Mike Miller. Mike brings over 10 years of track and Field experience to the team. He’s coached countless Regional and National qualifiers. He also does personal training for athletes who want to put in extra work. It’s a known fact, that 99% of the times that you are at a local track or xc event, Mike will be there. He shares the same passion for coaching and development as I do. We are excited to have him. If any readers are interested in training with coach Mike, reach out to me on instagram: @runemdowntrackandfield, or in the contact us section on our website Werunemdown.org, and I will get him in contact with you. Anthony Mason is the next coach, he’s the man. He literally helps out coaching anywhere that it’s needed. That’s big, because it allows us to be incredibly efficient at practices an competitions. He also bring years or Track experience along with years of Strength and Conditioning knowledge.

Individually, each coach has major accomplishments on their own. I consider each one of them successful people. As a team, we are a powerhouse that strives to produce excellence. We all do what we do within this organization on voluntary basis. Practice 4 days per week, 2hrs each practice, from March to August. If you count indoor track, it’s from Dec to August. Fundraisers, meetings, track meets. We spend alot of time on the track or doing track related activities. This program demands alot. But, that’s why I give the credit to the coaches. We have grown this program higher, and bigger than I ever imagined it to be. We have a successful reputation.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

It’s starts with you. If you are in a coaching or leadership role, your vibes will spread faster than you think. Athletes, employees, co-workers, church members, any one basically. If they see their coach or boss show up, with a frown on his face, aggressive tone, short answers…… They are not going to look forward to an encounter with you. It’s hard to deliver instructions to a person that dosent even want to be close enough to talk to you. You have to set the tone as a leader.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Werunemdown.org
• Instagram: @runemdowntrackandfield