Hammond's Five-Year Plan
March 14, 2009 07:34 PM | General
March 14, 2009
 |
||
| Jon Hammond |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University rifle coach Jon Hammond went into this year's NCAA championships hoping for a top-three finish. But after his team's dismal performance on Friday, his expectations were lowered considerably.
"We had a terrible day yesterday," said Hammond, his Scottish accent unable to disguise his disappointment.
West Virginia was competing at nationals for just the second time since rifle made its return in 2005. Three years later in 2008, West Virginia placed sixth at NCAAs in Hammond's second season guiding a Mountaineer program that once reached iconic status in the late 1980s and 1990s under Ed Etzel and Marsha Beasley.
During an 18-year period from 1980-98, the Mountaineers finished either first or second in every national event, claiming 13 NCAA titles from 1983-98. And during a five-year stretch from 1988-93, West Virginia failed to lose a single match, compiling five straight national championships and 57 victories.
At one point West Virginia had produced 16 individual national champions and 12 Olympians to become the measuring stick for all other rifle programs. The Mountaineers were to college rifle what UCLA was to college basketball.
Then when West Virginia began to slip after its last NCAA title in 1998, Alaska-Fairbanks filled the void by claiming nine of the last 10 team titles.
When Hammond took over the WVU program in 2007, he privately thought it would take five years to get West Virginia back to being a national title contender. It turns out his five-year plan is two years ahead of schedule.
"I really wanted to get the team back to being competitive with all of the other teams and being able to go out there and win," Hammond said.
Hammond believes the days of one or two teams dominating NCAA competition are over.
"The teams are so close," Hammond said. "I think West Virginia back in the 1980s and 1990s was just so dominant. And then you have had Alaska the last 10 years. You really knew who was going to win the national title before it even started. I just don't think we're ever going to see that again.
"I think there are a lot more quality programs out there. There are more scholarships available and the recruiting is tougher. That makes the sport a lot more exciting," Hammond said.
Hammond says that outside of the Olympic qualifier, NCAAs is probably the most pressure-packed match a shooter can compete in.
"I've spoken to so many Olympians and top shooters from the States that are now shooting internationally and they all say NCAAs was the hardest match to shoot, barring Olympic Trials. It's the only match where it's a true team situation and so many people are relying on you and you are working for a greater goal," he explained.
 |
||
| The team poses with their 2009 NCAA championship trophy at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Submitted photo |
The coach experienced the pressure first-hand this afternoon as West Virginia began to make up ground on the top three teams.
"Today was crazy. At one point it looked like Kentucky had it locked up and then suddenly Jacksonville looked good," he said. "Alaska started coming back into it and I think it's going to be like that many years into the future now."
What got West Virginia back into contention was a really strong performance in the first relay. That put Tommy Santelli and Bryant Wallizer into position to close it out at the end.
"We were 20-22 points down on Jacksonville and Kentucky and after the first relay we made up so much ground and I realized, 'Wow, we're actually back in this.' We jumped up to third and we were within five or six points with the last two to shoot, which were Tom and Bryant," Hammond said.
"Suddenly I got really nervous again and it was incredible. Sometimes it's a painful experience for the coaches watching the scores come forward and you are really powerless to do anything. Our kids finished and it came down to the last 10 shots for the other team to finish up," Hammond said. "Fortunately we ended up on top at the end. It was an exciting finish."
When Hammond felt the excitement about to overcome him he did what all successful rifle coaches do - he got away from his team.
"When we made up all of those points I didn't want the next two guys to know that so it was a case of having to calm down a little bit and get ready to shoot their match," Hammond said. "They didn't want to know what the scores were and so they weren't really aware of it and just concentrated on themselves."
Making this year's title even more satisfying was the fact that West Virginia finally defeated Kentucky. The Mountaineers lost a head-to-head match with the Wildcats earlier this year in Lexington, and also finished second to Kentucky at the conference championships.
"Even though we lost to them our scores were comparable," Hammond said.
Continued success will now be expected from a Mountaineer program dominated by sophomores. Of the five competitors at this year's nationals one was a junior, three were sophomores, and the other a freshman.
"The future looks very bright," Hammond admitted.
Aware of the enormous history the West Virginia University rifle program represents, Hammond is pleased that this year's group was able to add their names to the record books.
"It's been an emotional day," he said. "All of the history of the program and what Ed (Etzel), Marsha (Beasley) and everyone did - it's a really special day and a special feeling for me. Honestly, it really won't sink in until next week. They're all pretty ecstatic. It's not like we've had a night to sleep on it."
All of them can get a good night's rest this evening - they've certainly earned it.
