Upon meeting ASU women's cross-country coach Ryan Cole, one will immediately notice his drive, kindness, and humility.
What can't be instantly deciphered from Cole, though, is the layered love and passion for cross-country and competitive running he has in general. It is undoubtedly there, though, and it's paying off for the first-year head coach of the Sun Devil women's cross-country team, who recently earned a berth in the NCAA Championships on Monday.
Cole has been involved in competitive running since he was a child and has a long and prestigious list of mentors.
“I've had some really good mentors starting with my father, who coached cross country for 25 years.” Cole said. “I grew up around the sport and he started my interest in it. In college, I ran for Jerry Schumacher (Wisconsin) and Jerry Baltes (Grand Valley State). They are both very accomplished coaches on different levels and are very passionate about what they do. They are very into it and are a good model for me.”
“When I started coaching I had good models in Scott Cook (Northwood) and Louie Quintana (ASU).”
The teachings of Cole's mentors are paying off, as Cole has success in every coaching position so far. Before coming to ASU as an assistant in 2007, Cole spent a year at Northwood University, where he helped the school qualify its first two runners ever for Nationals.
The move to ASU the next year was simple.
“Division II was not the level I wanted to be coaching at,” Cole said. “I wanted to be coaching at a more competitive level.”
Self-described as “very competitive”, Cole ran at Wisconsin, one of the most elite distance schools in the nation. His time there didn't go as planned, but helped his growth as a coach.
“My personal experience at Wisconsin was pretty tough,” Cole said. “I went there joining a great program, and I didn't have the experience that I wanted to have as an athlete. It has helped my perspective as a coach in that I look out for every individual who wants to join our great program, but also wants to develop and succeed.”
Cole's hardships have also found him success in the recruiting department, where he recently landed blue chip recruits in Shelby Houlihan and Carly Paracholski. His hands-on approach and ability to talk and influence recruits is one of Cole's best skills. Houlihan was sure impressed.
“He was a big influence because he was the one who recruited me in the first place,” Houlihan said. “He's a really good talker.”
As for the future? Cole sees nothing but high expectations for himself and his runners.
“My challenge is trying to keep the foundation Coach (Walt) Drenth put in place and Coach Quintana elevated,” Cole said. “Hopefully I can continue that trajectory that those two phenomenal coaches put in place and if I can do that it would be a pretty neat experience as a coach.”
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
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