Saturday, April 14, 2012

Building A Foundation

One of the fastest growing sports in America right now is Triathlons.  It has taken off to the degree that the NCAA is looking to possibly sanctioning  Triathlons as an official NCAA  sport.  Whether it becomes an official sport or not is yet to be known.  NC State like many colleges has a triathlon program which at this stage is considered a Club Sport.  North Carolina and Duke both have decided that should the NCAA sanction Triathlons that they are already laying the foundation to ease into a varsity program should  college sports head that way.

Today North Carolina State became  the third ACC school to take that step into a growing sport.  Brooks Doughtie has been asked to create the training program  for the athletes that are now in the N C State  Triathlon Club.  He will also create a budget, find training facilities and have N C State ready when ever the day comes to move forward into a varsity sport.

Brooks is a 2004 graduate of N C State  and over the past several years has developed his coaching into Elite Status in triathlons.  Elite means he can work with the top athletes in the world and just today one of his Junior athletes won an event in Martinsville Virginia.  He just returned home to Raleigh after spending a week at the U S Training Center in Colorado Springs Colorado.

Brooks is a 2000 graduate of Rocky Mount High School where he ran cross country, tennis and track for the Gryphons.  During his stay at N C State he was on the Mountain Bike team  ( a club team) and between his cross country running and riding of bicycles it didn't take long to realize that he could coach others better than he could do it himself.

There is no doubt that everyone in the Doughtie family is hoping that as time passes and if this does proceed into becoming a varsity sport at N C State that Debbie Yow would not have to look far to find the N C State's first varsity coach.