"Coulter Makes A Running Audible"

-Reposted from an article written in The State Newspaper, Columbia, SC-

Lexington’s Coulter makes a running audible
Switch from football to track and cross country has been a good one
By JOHN DEVLIN

Colby Coulter remains a football player at heart.

The Lexington senior always has had the speed, athleticism, work ethic and drive needed of a football player. What Coulter doesn’t have is the size required to compete at the Class 4A level.

“A coach in middle school suggested that I give up football and concentrate on track once I got to high school, but that’s not what I wanted to hear at the time,” he said.

“Football was my sport, but I eventually realized that running was the way I had to go. I wish I had listened to his advice because I ended up losing a whole year of (running) training to play that one last season of football.”

Coulter, however, did not pay a price for delaying the inevitable. He has been a standout in cross country and track from the start. Last year, he was runner-up to Dutch Fork’s Roland Hakes at the Class 4A state cross country meet while leading the Wildcats to their second consecutive team title. He earned two gold medals in the spring at the state track finals — anchoring the victorious 3,200-meter relay team and winning the 3,200.

“It was all about the team winning in cross country again, not about me winning the individual title, and the same was true in track,” Coulter said. “Winning the distance relay was the only real goal. The 3,200 race was the next day, and I just happened to have a good race. I always run to win, but I was a little surprised that I did.”

Nothing Coulter accomplishes surprises Lexington cross country coach Bailey Harris.

“He has tremendous drive to be the best he can be,” said Harris, who is also Lexington’s longtime boys basketball coach.

“Some guys use cross country for conditioning purposes, but we’ve been very fortunate to have had a recent run of guys who are committed to pushing this program to the top. Our workouts are intense; the guys compete hard and drive each other. If somebody takes a practice off, he runs the risk of being embarrassed. Colby was able to fit right in when he first came out, and now he’s the leader.”

Harris had no idea what he was getting when Coulter showed up for cross country duty. The coach’s son, Drew, filled him in quickly.

“When I asked Drew about Colby, he said he’d be very good right away,” Harris said. “Not many guys can come out for cross country for the first time and run that well right off the bat, but Colby did.”

Coulter earned all-state recognition as a sophomore, finishing ninth at the state meet.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into when I first came out because the thought of running three miles at every meet was not that appealing to me,” he said. “Drew and Will (Belue) helped me adjust. They told me to keep pace with them for as long as I could, and that was the challenge that drove me.”

Coulter’s task this season is to help Lexington become the first 4A team to claim three consecutive state championships since Mauldin (1983-85). He also hopes to become the Wildcats’ second individual state champ.

“It looks like it’s going to come down to Roland (Hakes) and myself again,” he said. “We’re so strong as a team this year that maybe I can concentrate a little more on the individual race.”

"Class 4A Athlete Of The Year"

-This story was taken from The State Newspaper out of Columbia, SC.-



Class 4A athlete of the year: Colby Coulter, Lexington

4A boys track mvp Colby Coulter of Lexington.

- Tracy Glantz

School: Lexington

My favorite event ... I’d have to say it would be between the 4x800 (relay) and the 3,200, which worked out perfectly for me this year. The 4x800 is the perfect team race. Everyone has to do their job and know where they need to be before they hand off the baton. I love anchoring and taking all the pressure for the whole race, it makes me a better runner. The 3,200 is one of the most challenging races in track. Anyone that runs it deserves props. You really have to reach inside yourself during that race and pull out everything you have, and then you still have a mile to go.

My inspiration is ... There isn’t a single person that inspires me most. My mother washes my clothes, makes sure I’m properly nourished, and is at most of my races. My dad works all week to give me everything I need for running and gets just as excited as I do about all of my runs. My team inspires me on the field and at practice. These are the best group of guys anyone could ask to run with. And, of course, I have some of the best coaches in the state.

Running teaches me ... Dedication, work ethic, and so much more. It’s also one of the best, and cheapest, shrinks you can find. The best thing is running just listens to you and always agrees. Well, until your body pain jumps in.

The best advice I’ve gotten is ... “You’ve been given a gift. This is your chance to show everyone who you are and what you’re about. I know you’re nervous and that’s natural, but you know what you can do. Forget about everything. Clear your mind of what everyone has said, because after the race you’ll know you were right and they were wrong. So, go out there and show them how Colby Coulter races.” (from Mom)

My life motto is ... “Find what you love, catch it, and excel in it.”

To prepare for races ... I always give a day to myself before big races. Pasta for dinner, motivational movie, and a good night’s rest. Wake up, eat a bagel, and put the headphones in my ear ’til we get to the line. I try to completely clear my mind and prepare for the race. I try to show my confidence toward my team so that when they see me calm and ready, they’ll be calm and ready.

"Contradiction"

This picture is reposted from "losmadden". It is a picture of Benji Madden from the band Good Charlotte in London during the riots..... Self explanatory.

"You Are Not Allowed To Go To The Neighbors And Boff Your Girlfriend"

Some things as a parent you expect to discuss with your children. Especially when you have as many as I do. But there are some conversations that you never expect to have with them. Especially if the conversation contains the words "boff", "neighbors" and "girlfriend" in it. This indeed is a conversation that I walked into the other day as it was happening. All I could think of in that moment was the good old days.

Today is another world compared to when I was a teenager. We did and discussed things a lot different back then. The less your parents knew, the better. You remember the "be home when the street lights come on" era. Or the "I am cleaning the house, go outside and play and don't come back until I call you" time. It was nothing for us to ride our bikes ten miles to get to the BMX track. Then we would ride the track for hours and then have to ride the ten miles to get back home, hoping that we made it back before our parents got home from work. That was usually during the summers when we stayed home by ourselves because both of our parents worked all day. We were only eleven or twelve at that point. But that is another story. We had a lot more freedom back then, but a lot less to worry about then we do now.

Also, my parents never thought twice about letting us wonder around our neighborhood at all times of the day and night. Or drop us off at the mall to walk for hours. And the skating rink every Friday and Saturday night, well that was an adventure. Now, there is no way that my kids are doing any of that without an adult watching over them. There was nothing to worry about back then. It was another world.

Nowadays it's the opposite. You have to know what your kids are doing every minute of the day. There are too many people out there trying to harm them. Some people would consider this being over protective. Yea, so what? If you ask my kids, they would probably agree. But at least I can say that I do everything possible, every day, to ensure that they are protected from the idiots in the world. We just last year started letting our seventeen year old track and cross country star go running outside of our neighborhood and that was a big step for us.

There are so many more things to worry about nowadays. For one you have the internet. It scares the hell out of me when one of my kids asks to get on-line. All they have to do is click on the wrong thing or search for the wrong word and someone knows everything about you.


To add to it, I can't believe now we have to worry about our kids going to the neighbors house.....

"Sometimes You Just Got To Say It"

Boy what a week! Not only did we all get to witness the Charlie Sheen one man show (winning), I actually learned a lot about people that I know, especially myself.

Starting with myself. I have learned that I can not keep my mouth shut when it comes to people that act like idiots. I have told myself for years that when something happens that I feel very strongly about, and want to comment, that I just need to give it a couple of hours or even until the next day to respond. If by then I feel like writing or speaking the same thing as I did when it happened, that it was okay to do so. By then I have given myself ample time to debate what the fallout is going to be and if I am actually right or not. When I allow myself the time to think about it, about half the time I calm down and end up responding in a different way. The other half I respond the exact way I wanted to in the first place. You know how you have to play the politically correct card some times, I'm not very good at playing that card.

The problem that I have is that I don't normally give myself that time to think about it and just go with my initial feelings and respond immediately. I have found that sometimes this is the best way to go. Some people live in a bubble and need to be reminded that they are stupid idiots some times. They tend to forget from time to time and I think that it is my duty as a human being to remind them.

My favorite is when I am talking to someone about their rediculous, stupid, childish decisions and someone, not part of the conversation, puts their ass right in the middle of it and tries to add their two cents. This tends to happen quite often with some people. This makes me particularly mad and ignites a flame in my Core and all I can think about is putting a scarf in their mouth to shut them up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Now on to the other people. I really, really hate people that only think of themselves no matter how many times that you have helped them out or how many thousands of dollars you have spent on them. See, they tend to forget all of that stuff when it doesn't benefit them. When I was much younger and was not as stable as I am now, I never forgot anyone that ever helped me or my family out. And I would not expect anything from anyone. That is just the kind of person that I am. And I would return the favor every chance that I got. That's just what normal people do.

It seems now a days that there are more and more people out there that always have their hand out. No matter what it is, they expect something from other people in their life. Believe me, I understand that some people are having a very hard time making ends meet at this particular time. And with the gas prices going up so much the last couple of weeks, it's only going to get worse. But when I see someone that always has their hand out waiting for someone to put something in it, I really want to throw something at them, like a grenade. I notice a lot of the time when they do this they don't always come straight out and ask for it (sometimes they do) but it's more like subtle hints that aren't really that subtle. I feel like saying "you have had every opportunity to get it yourself like everyone else, so get off of your ass and go do it."

I feel that I have had every chance to make the kind of life that I did (with my wife's help of course). I was not given any special opportunities. No special handouts. No free rides. I got my head out of my ass at an early age and got out into the world and worked for what I have. No matter what it took. If it meant working 18 hours a day or being away from my family 25 days of the month to get where I wanted to be, I did it. Those days really sucked and I still have to do it from time to time, but that is what it takes sometimes to be successful and I have learned that. If one day I decided that I didn't want to do that anymore, I would not expect anyone to be standing at my front door waiting to just hand me what I wanted.

We all have decisions to make. Sometimes we don't make the right decisions. That's life. But when you continue to make the wrong decisions, and you know it, that is a big problem. And what is even worse is when people like me continue to give you a handout even when we know what you are doing.

So I pledge to myself that I will continue to call you out from time to time to remind you of the things that you are doing and I can't guarantee that my comments will be politically correct or that you will take it in a constructive way. What I can guarantee is that I will be honest and my comments will come from my heart. Sometimes that is the best medicine.....