Track coach Aldrich all about success
PITTSBURGH — Winning has followed Gary Aldrich around for most of his career.
Now he's hoping it sticks around.
Aldrich, 55, a Cranberry Township resident and Slippery Rock University graduate, was recently named head men's and women's track and field and cross country coach at Carnegie Mellon University. He has served as associate head coach at CMU the past eight seasons.
He replaces Dario Donatelli, who retired after 15 years at the helm. CMU men's and women's track finished second in the University Athletic Association last spring.
“It was Dario who got me back into coaching,” Aldrich said. “I was working for a sports equipment company and was working the high school state track meet in Shippensburg.
“I had known Dario through the sport and his son was a senior at Central Catholic that year and was competing. I bumped into Dario at that meet and he asked me to join his staff at Carnegie Mellon.”
Aldrich's previous coaching stints included three years as head coach at Bishop Stang High School in Massachusetts — where his teams won state championships – a graduate assistant post at SRU, three years as an assistant coach at Allegheny College and three years as head coach at Alfred University.
Allegheny is the winningest track and field program in North Coast Athletic Conference history. Some of Aldrich's field athletes at Alfred still hold records there.
Aldrich himself still holds the discus record at SRU, reaching 170 feet, 7 inches in that event in 1983.
“I've known I wanted to be a coach since I was 12, but I always thought it'd be in football or baseball,” Aldrich said. “I gravitated toward track through my coaches at SRU.
“Bill Lennox, Tom Lambert, Dick Maxwell — I idolized those guys. Dick Maxwell was part of the world record shuttle hurdle team in 1948. They were legendary.”
During the past eight years, Aldrich has been part of three UAA championship men's teams at CMU and has coached five All-Americans. He is a five-time Mideast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.
“I've been fortunate in that I've had very talented athletes to work with who listen to and believe in what I have to say as a coach,” Aldrich said. “When kids like that perform well, it reflects well on you as a coach.”
Aldrich is the only fulltime track and field coach on board right now at CMU. Longtime Notre Dame coach Tom Connelly will join the program at the start of the outdoor season.
“There won't be a whole lot of changes here because we've had success in the past,” Aldrich said. “One thing I will do is stress the team element.
“In track, a lot of times the team fragments off into the sprint group, distance, throws, etc. We're going to be doing a lot of work together. I use a lot of 'sayings' when I talk to kids that I hope they remember, too.”
Aldrich has twice coached on the international level. He guided the North American, Central American and Carribean Athletic Association Under 23 team in 2010 and served as throws coach for the United States at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Spain in 2012.
“I worked with some of the top performers in the country, including the Division I hammer throw champion ... Athletes like that make you look good,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich's son, Christian, is a baseball player at Central Catholic. His daughter, Kate, is a distance runner and will be a freshman at Oakland Catholic next year.
“They are gym rats like I was and they're only two blocks away, so they hang around our team here quite a bit,” Aldrich said. “It's a great environment for a kid to grow up in.
“I'm excited about what we can accomplish here moving forward. I have Dario Donatelli to thank for this opportunity, along with my wife. I took a 60 percent pay cut to get back into coaching eight years ago and she was on board with it.
“It's worked out great for our entire family,” Aldrich added.
