The sign on Associate Head Coach of Track and Field Andrew Valmon’s wall reads, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision … It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
Though one might not guess it from his soft-spoken demeanor, this philosophy helped carry Valmon to two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 4×400-meter relay and a world record performance at the 1993 World Championships in the same event. It has also made him an uncommonly good coach.
Valmon began running in high school, but it wasn’t until his sophomore year of college at Seton Hall University, when he went to the NCAA Championships in the 400-meters, that he realized his gift. He went on to be a three-time All-American and participate in 13 United States National teams, as well as two Olympic teams in 1988 and 1992.
It was as the captain of the 1993 United States National 4×400 relay team with Michael Johnson, Quincy Watts and Butch Reynolds that Valmon’s philosophy of teamwork and communication fully crystallized.
“Nobody wanted to do the lead off run, which isn’t very glamorous, so I realized that it was my calling,” Valmon said. “I saw that in order to not just run fast but to break the world record, we had to come together as a team.”
After his Olympic successes, Valmon received numerous offers to travel and speak about his experience. “Those opportunities focused on the glamour rather than how you got there,” he said.
Instead, he founded the Avenue Program, which organizes track and field clinics and provides role models for underpriviledged children.
He also decided to go into coaching “as a way to give back.” Valmon came to Georgetown in 1997 as a men’s assistant coach under former Head Coach Frank Gagliano, who had first seen him compete when he was running for Seton Hall .
“I really enjoyed his character, personality and honesty,” said Gagliano. “I knew he would be a tremendous asset to Georgetown in dealing with young men and women who would look up to him as both an athlete and a person.”
Valmon chose Georgetown over programs that focused more on sprint events because it offered him a unique challenge. “The interest for me was to work with kids who weren’t necessarily the top sprinters, to work with a team that can compete from 55 meters all the way to 10,000 meters in an urban area and with no facilities,” he said.
Valmon’s philosophy is simple: “If you can get kids to use their mental capacity without getting a big head, that’s the complete package,” he said. “It’s not about bragging or showing people up, it’s about competing at the highest level while being a good sport. Those skills transfer to any aspect of life—job, family, marriage.”
The message has been well received. “Coach Valmon believes we should develop as men first, and then we’ll become better runners,” said senior jumper Davin Williams. “He’s like a father figure for me. I come to him before I make any big decision, and it’s like that for a lot of people.”
“When he recruited me, he focused on the big picture—a track school versus a place that could make me a whole person,” added senior sprinter Robert Wingate-Robinson. “After an hour I pretty much decided to come to Georgetown without ever even visiting.”
Aside from helping the men’s outdoor track team to a win at the IC4A Championship and a second place finish in the Big East Championship last spring, Valmon is also one of three chairs of the United States Olympic Committee’s 2004 Summit Program, which gathers U.S. summer Olympic medal hopefuls for a think tank to help them become mentally prepared for the games.
As for Valmon’s own trips to the Olympic podium, he claims it’s almost impossible to describe.
“When you’re up there, you just think about all those days you questioned why you were doing this and you think, ‘This is why,’” he said with a smile. “There’s no dollar amount you could put on that medal. The only thing close to that feeling will be seeing one of these [Georgetown] kids get one.”
