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By Norm Weber nweber@sunnews.com

The Sun Newspapers

For a person who came in almost dead last in his first running race, Avon Lake native Andy Schmitz has made up a lot of ground.

In fact, he's now the leader of the pack of sorts, following his recent appointment as head coach of the United States Olympic triathlon team. The promotion means Schmitz, 34, will head the team that will compete next month in the Beijing Olympics.

Not only did Schmitz not become discouraged after his first cross country race at Learwood Middle School, he also did not let a recent life-threatening accident keep him from moving on with athletics.

Up until this month, Schmitz's major responsibility was to work with high school athletes in the Olympic Development Program (Junior Olympics), but his work was so noticeable that he was asked to move up and take over the Olympic team.

"I knew a year ago that they had narrowed down the coaching choices," Schmitz said. "We are taking two credentialed coaches and five total staff members. A year ago I was a little far back in my development as a coach. While I am confident in my ability, I was surprised when I was narrowed down to one of the four being considered for the job. In addition, I was also surprised when I was named one of the alternate coaches for the Pan American Games last year in Rio."

He did not go to the Pan Am Games, however. While riding his bicycle down a Southern California road he was brushed to the ground by an oncoming car.

"I wasn't in any shape to travel, but was named as being one of the four coaches selected for the Olympic job around the same time," Schmitz said. "A car went through a red light and went right into my path. I was going about 30 miles per hour. I was going southbound and he was going northbound. He went to turn and I had no time to react."

Schmitz, who experienced a 40-minute blackout, was carted to a medical center and spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit. He suffered 30 broken bones, including major injuries to his left pelvis and right wrist, and was hospitalized for two weeks. Doctors wanted him to stay for another week, but he was tired of being confined to a bed. It took four months before he could train at full strength.

"I was able to climb stairs and walk," he recalled. "I couldn't type for six weeks and could do nothing with my right arm for three months. I had to have someone open my computer and I used voice recognition software. I had access to an index finger and a thumb, so I could at least dial a phone. I was depending on others. I couldn't pick up a glass for a long time."

In time, though, he was back in full swing.

After graduating from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1996, Schmitz went to work as an analyst, consultant, and manager for Accenture, a communications company that tests technologies for cell phone businesses. He made a career change in 2003, relocating to Columbus to attend graduate school at The Ohio State University and starting his coaching career by helping with the cross country and track programs at Ohio Wesleyan University. He was also the triathlon club team coach at Ohio State.

"I was very passionate about that," Schmitz said. "At the same time I was coaching, I came across a training partner, a high-end female athlete. I helped her move from the amateur to pro level. She was invited to the Olympic Development Training Program in Colorado Springs."

That was his path in to the Olympic circle of people. After getting his master's degree, Schmitz went on to work primarily with age 15-17 athletes. He started out working camps and clinics for the ODP and then, after a shake-up two years ago, took over the junior team.

"It was a full-time slot and since I worked with college-aged athletes at Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan, my focus was on that age group as well," Schmitz said. "It might have been a junior team, but they were all high-end athletes. They were on full rides and many of them qualified in the Olympic trials for track and swimming." Most of the athletes were age 15-21.

Eventually, Schmitz moved to San Diego, where he could work with the athletes at the Chula Vista center in the North County section of San Diego County.

"I oversee their programs, so I have worked with a number of Olympians over the last year," Schmitz said. "We take a team approach to coaching. Most of the athletes I prepped on the Olympic Junior National team are now in the under-23 group and in the Olympic pipeline. I was fortunate to be asked to take on more responsibility."

Schmitz's racing career hardly got off to an auspicious start. In seventh grade he competed on a Learwood team with 25 boys and 10 girls. In his first race he beat only one boy and only about half the girls. His mother, Judy Schmitz, recalled that he became disenchanted and could have withdrawn from the sport right then and there, but didn't, choosing instead to persevere.

"I was interested in the sport," he recalled. "I just wasn't very good at it. After I lost some baby weight, I made some strides in eighth grade and then became better by my freshman year."

He was good enough at Avon Lake High School, running track and cross country under coach Jim Saul, to move to the next level as an intercollegiate runner at B-W. He began in swimming as a youth and picked it up more at B-W after getting the green light from the track coach to join the swim team as well to stay in shape. He also started bicycling. After graduating, he started entering triathlons. In 2005-06 he qualified for the World Championships as an amateur. He has done a half-Iron Man, but normally sticks to the speedy and short triathlons.

The best chance for a U.S. medal might come from Laura Bennett, who was in the top three in three of the last four World Championships. Bennett has done well whenever competing on the Beijing course. Sarah Haskins is also a top prospect.

Only eight countries are allowed to have the maximum three starting positions for each sex. The United States is one of only five countries having three in each this year, giving the country a better chance of earning a medalspo.

So far, the U.S. is one of only 12 countries that have won at least one medal since triathlon became an official sport in 2000 in Sydney. 

2008 Baldwin-Wallace College Cross Country Preview