Making the Transition: Coach Lyles of San Diego State

Transition from high school to college

Adjusting to something new can be difficult, especially if it requires changing a routine habit or moving into a new environment, and not being sure what to expect. In part two of our interview with San Diego State coach Carjay Lyles, Lyles talks about making the transition from high school to college.

WNCPrepTrack.com: How do you get your athletes to buy into your training system?

Carjay Lyles: When getting an athlete to trust the training process of the coach, it simply comes down to production. I have had some good successes as a coach, despite my age. I use those successes to fuel the things we do in training. I am an ego-less coach and energized about what I do, and I understand that what works for one athlete might not work for another, so I test regularly to map progress, and I write workouts based on the individual not the event. It’s very time consuming but in the end I believe that the results will show it was worth it. I also never stop learning and adding new things to my training plan. I have the privilege to work for Shelia Burrell, who was a great athlete and great coach (which is rare), and she has taught me a lot. I’ve had great mentors: Al Joyner, Caryl Smith-Gilbert, Norbert Elliot are just a few. So when I teach an athlete something new and they don’t understand the purpose behind it, I give them a brief history of who has done this workout/drill and educate them on the reasons.

WNCPrepTrack.com: Most incoming freshmen always seem to bring up the term “PEAKING” frequently. What is your philosophy on peaking?

Carjay Lyles: When talking about peaking and reloading, every coach has a different training philosophy. I know of coaches who have their kids in spikes the first week of practice and some coach’s won’t have their kids in spikes until December, its relative to what the coach believes will guarantee a level of success that they are looking for. My personal philosophy is to prepare the athlete to do what I expect them to do during the season. So as far as when I load up on their distances, or incorporate speed into their workouts it all goes back to preparing them to run fast when I expect them to.

WNCPrepTrack.com: How do you control freshman egos?

Carjay Lyles: I remind my athletes all the time, that they are good, but not good enough, YET. I make sure they understand the difference as well. When you reach a div-1 level in track, everyone has pretty much won a county, district, state title at something, so all those accolades go out the door. It starts from scratch, and you can either step up or get left behind. I enjoy coaching, so at times, during the recruiting process, I look for that ‘diamond in the rough’. My boss trusts my judgment and allows me to recruit who I want, so finding athletes that are forward minded, will be the ones you see at SDSU for years to come.

WNCPrepTrack.com: Everyone in life is faced with decisions and options that can change their life’s in ways that they wont be aware of until later on in their future. When you recruit, how do you influence the athlete in terms of whether they’re making the right decision about joining your program?

Carjay Lyles: Choosing the right school for the individual can’t be stressed enough. I have always used my personal experiences as a resource for educating recruited high school student-athletes. I went to 3 universities throughout my college experience. My decision out of high school wasn’t based on the right reasons, and I paid the price for it; through having a miserable experience athletically and socially. I knew I was going to transfer from that school by the end of the first semester of school, and as time went on, things got worse for me. I learned a lot through that experience that now help me as a coach when recruiting. I understand every athlete I want, I will not be able to get, and I understand the bonds that are made with athletes during the recruiting process can quickly be broken when the athlete chooses another school, so I prepare myself for disappointment just in case an athlete makes a decision that is not favorable with my desire. Sometimes you run into athletes who don’t want to get too far from home or find other reasons why they do not want to attend your school. I tell them all the time, leaving home is a part of growth and sometimes you have to get away from home to be successful. The advice that I tell every athlete I recruit, however, is to pray on their decision and make a decision based on prayer and nothing else. I pray about whom I recruit and every student-athlete I come in contact with, so I make sure I encourage them to do the same when making the decision about who they will run for in the coming year.

WNCPrepTrack.com: Thank you for your time and best of luck to you this upcoming season.

Part 1: Recruiting 101

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