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May 15, 2026
With the Olympics returning to Los Angeles in 2028, I've been thinking back to the summer of 1984 when I attended the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at the LA Coliseum - as a coach.
At least officially.
Originally, I had planned to go to the Olympic Games, but by the time I looked into tickets almost everything was sold out except the 10,000 meters. The sprints, jumps, and marquee events were impossible to get.
At the time I was the head track coach at Oakton High School and was still competing in the decathlon myself.
Several evenings a week I trained at George Mason University, running and working on the throwing events, and over time I got to know the coaches there pretty well.
One evening while I was complaining about not being able to get decent tickets to the Games, one of the George Mason coaches asked me:
"Any interest in going to the Trials instead - as a coach?"
I said yes immediately. So did my friend Dan, who also ended up going along as a coach.
The 1984 Olympic Trials and the U.S. Junior National Track & Field Championships were both being held at the LA Coliseum that summer as a dry run for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The Trials was a chance to see the same USA athletes that would be competing in the Olympics later that summer - but in a more intimate and accessible setting.
George Mason was taking several athletes to the Junior Nationals and invited me to come along as coach for one of them.
That's how I ended up with a coach's credential for the Olympic Trials.
Officially, I was listed as the coach for Eric Metcalf, then a senior at Bishop O'Connell High School and already one of the best young long jumpers in the country.
He would later go on to play 13 seasons in the NFL.
Truthfully, Eric didn't need much coaching from me. He knew exactly what he was doing.
My role was mostly a creative way to get me inside the stadium.
The coaches and athletes stayed in the USC dorms, which would soon become part of the Olympic Village for the Games themselves.
Every morning we walked through the Exposition Park Rose Garden on our way to the LA Coliseum.
Each evening, when we returned, there always seemed to be another layer of fencing and security in place as Los Angeles prepared for the Olympics.
The first time we approached the Coliseum we noticed a brand-new addition outside the entrance: the Olympic Gateway bronze sculpture created for the Games.
The massive bronze figures were impossible to miss.
Let's just say the sculptor had a very strong commitment to anatomical realism.
Our credentials allowed us to attend any event on any day, and we took full advantage of it.
We watched Carl Lewis win the 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump.
We watched my former high school teammate Jim Hill compete in the men's 5000 meters despite a leg injury that prevented him from using his usual finishing kick.
His only realistic strategy was to take the lead early, build as much distance as possible, and hope the field could not reel him back in.
For several laps it actually looked like it might work, but eventually the pack caught him and he finished seventh in his qualifying heat and missed the final by two seconds.
We also had the chance to watch Rob Muzzio compete in the decathlon.
I knew Rob from training at George Mason University, and unfortunately he had to withdraw after the first day of the decathlon because the LA weather aggravated his asthma.
He went on to finish fifth at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
One of the most memorable nights came during the final events of the men's decathlon.
The decathletes, who often compete in the shadow of the sport's bigger stars, suddenly had the entire stadium to themselves.
The events were narrated dramatically by legendary decathlon expert and Mount St. Mary's coach Frank Zarnowski.
Music blasted through the Coliseum between events, and the final 1500 meters was introduced almost like an operatic finale.
It felt less like a track meet and more like theater.
But the most unforgettable moment of all may have been the women's 1500-meter final, when Ruth Wysocki stunned the heavily favored Mary Decker in one of the great upsets in American track and field history.
Our seats in the coaches section gave us a perfectly elevated view of the finish line.
As the runners came down the stretch, the entire section rose to its feet cheering and shouting in disbelief.
That's when we heard someone behind us loudly cursing.
A few rows back sat famed Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr., holding a massive telephoto lens.
The crowd standing at the finish had completely ruined his shot.
At least that's what he thought at the moment.
He may have missed that one photograph, but he went on to capture countless iconic moments in sports history afterward.
And forty-two years later, I still have the coach's pass.
Here is a link to a story about Iooss' 1984 efforts - https://tinyurl.com/57p73u2c
