Nordland named new assistant track and field coach
Melissa Cowan
Issue date: 10/5/09 Section: Sports
On Monday, Andy Nordland was announced as the new assistant track and field coach at UMKC.
He held the same position at William Jewell College for four years before joining the Roos.
"Well, there was an opening (at UMKC)," Nordland said with a laugh. "It just seemed like a natural fit to me to come here."
Nordland will focus on coaching the throwers. Throwers participate in shot put, hammer, discus, javelin and indoor weight throw.
His love for track started when he was 5 years old.
"My dad took me to the Drake Relays for the first time," Nordland said. "I just loved it."
In high school, he won the Drake Relays twice in shot put.
"Because [my dad taking me] meant so much to me, to actually win a championship there, that meant the most to me," Nordland said.
He graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in finance. He then moved to Kansas City and started his own real estate business, which he kept for 15 years.
"[But] I always had an interest in working with kids," Nordland said.
More than two years ago, he sold most of his business.
He pursued his Masters in Education at Rockhurst University while coaching at William Jewell College.
He graduated from Rockhurst this past May.
"This is what I really love to do," Nordland said. "As long as this continues to work out, I couldn't imagine being a teacher."
He hopes he can help build a Division-I throwing team and a better track team as a whole at UMKC, both mentally and physically.
"The team has been down a few years," Nordland said. "We really want to build a conference championship caliber team. We need to continue to bring in quality recruits."
Nordland brings a strong technical and teaching background, plus a wider perspective in coaching different people, he said.
He credits this to coaching in Sweden during the summer.
"I see a real mix of cultures," Nordland said. "[I] see how people learn differently and train differently."
According to www.umkckangaroos.com, Nordland has coached two national champions.
"That's not really what I think of as my biggest accomplishment," Nordland said about this success. "I take a lot of pride in my throwers being technically sound."
He is less concerned with rank than with his team being ready to compete.
"I don't care if they finish first, last, in the middle," Nordland said. "I want them to be prepared and confident in what they're doing."
Norland is excited about this "next step" in his coaching career at UMKC.
"The meets are more challenging [than the meets competed by the William Jewell team], and there's higher quality competitions," Nordland said.
Out of the current throwers, only one competed for UMKC last year. The rest are freshman or transfer students.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how they compete," Nordland said.
mcowan@unews.com
He held the same position at William Jewell College for four years before joining the Roos.
"Well, there was an opening (at UMKC)," Nordland said with a laugh. "It just seemed like a natural fit to me to come here."
Nordland will focus on coaching the throwers. Throwers participate in shot put, hammer, discus, javelin and indoor weight throw.
His love for track started when he was 5 years old.
"My dad took me to the Drake Relays for the first time," Nordland said. "I just loved it."
In high school, he won the Drake Relays twice in shot put.
"Because [my dad taking me] meant so much to me, to actually win a championship there, that meant the most to me," Nordland said.
He graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in finance. He then moved to Kansas City and started his own real estate business, which he kept for 15 years.
"[But] I always had an interest in working with kids," Nordland said.
More than two years ago, he sold most of his business.
He pursued his Masters in Education at Rockhurst University while coaching at William Jewell College.
He graduated from Rockhurst this past May.
"This is what I really love to do," Nordland said. "As long as this continues to work out, I couldn't imagine being a teacher."
He hopes he can help build a Division-I throwing team and a better track team as a whole at UMKC, both mentally and physically.
"The team has been down a few years," Nordland said. "We really want to build a conference championship caliber team. We need to continue to bring in quality recruits."
Nordland brings a strong technical and teaching background, plus a wider perspective in coaching different people, he said.
He credits this to coaching in Sweden during the summer.
"I see a real mix of cultures," Nordland said. "[I] see how people learn differently and train differently."
According to www.umkckangaroos.com, Nordland has coached two national champions.
"That's not really what I think of as my biggest accomplishment," Nordland said about this success. "I take a lot of pride in my throwers being technically sound."
He is less concerned with rank than with his team being ready to compete.
"I don't care if they finish first, last, in the middle," Nordland said. "I want them to be prepared and confident in what they're doing."
Norland is excited about this "next step" in his coaching career at UMKC.
"The meets are more challenging [than the meets competed by the William Jewell team], and there's higher quality competitions," Nordland said.
Out of the current throwers, only one competed for UMKC last year. The rest are freshman or transfer students.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how they compete," Nordland said.
mcowan@unews.com
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