Francis named Lenawee County Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year
ADRIAN –– After coaching Adrian boys track and field to one of its best seasons in recent memory, Tammy Francis has been selected as the Lenawee County Boys Track and Field Coach of the year.
Under Francis’ guidance, Adrian won county titles in the 800-meter dash, 4x400 relay, 4x800, 400, 3,200, high hurdles and high jump while finishing third in the SEC White championship meet and the Division 2 regional meet.
Francis credited newfound depth and the ability to spread athletes across multiple events without overloading them as the key to a successful season.
“We had a great balance this year,” she said. “This was one of our first years in many that we have been well-rounded and could represent all the events.”
That competitive balance shined through at the 11th Mark Carpenter Invite at Dearborn Divine Child on May 6. Going up against stout competition from schools in the metro-Detroit area, Francis knew her team could place but wasn’t prepared to have her expectations surpassed.
“As I was looking at the scores throughout the meet, I said, ‘oh my God, we’re in it in it. And we just kept coming up and the kids were doing their jobs. They won that meet and that was a huge victory for that program.”
Despite enjoying the team success, Francis is quick to note it took a backseat to listening to her athletes to make sure they could reach their individual aspirations late in the season.
“When we went into regionals, I had to take and step back and say, ‘OK, what do you guys want to do?” she said. “Where do you want to see yourself in the next two weeks?’ So instead of tripling kids up, we backed that down a little bit and put them in one or two events instead of three or four events.”
Even while sacrificing the opportunity to score more points, Adrian finished third at the Division 2 regional at Milan behind Pinckney and Chelsea as Francis’ athletes continued to find greater success. She kept the same approach for the state meet, allowing her 4x800 to finish third in the state and set a new school record with a 7:56.
“To have them peak at the right time, all on the same day, it’s very rare for that to occur,” she said of 4x800. “But they all peaked, they surpassed my expectation and my goal for them and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Francis also had the unique opportunity to help coach and see her son, Joe Francis, win a county title as a senior in the high jump with a mark of 6-feet-2-inches. After convincing him to come out during his junior season if only to stay conditioned for basketball, she said she coudn’t have been more proud to see his development in a new event.
“To see him do a different sport out of his comfort zone, where he doesn’t kind of know it all, where he does have to learn new technique, was pretty amazing to see,” she said.
Team successes and individual successes make it all sweeter for Francis. But as an Adrian alum, she’s happy to help the community that helped her as a runner in any capacity.
“I just love the sport so much,” she said. “That’s just something I’ve always wanted to do-give back.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tammy Francis Adrian boys track coach of the year
