PODCAST: “Why I Coach” with Glenwood’s Cory Faust

(Glenwood) A Greenfield native who rose to coaching prominence at AHST is this week’s Why I Coach podcast guest. Cory Faust, now at Glenwood, has built powerful programs in both football and girls track.

Faust says sports have always been a passion of his and sometimes to a fault. He’s worked to find balance in his life while also giving his best to every coaching role he’s tackled. “If you want to be good at anything you have to be committed to it and dedicated to it. It has to be a big deal to you. I think that’s what ultimately separates a lot of people from being successful and not, but you can definitely take it too far. I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older more isn’t always better. Sometimes you can burn the stake not only of yourself, but of your athletes and your coaches around you. You have to look at what’s really important to you and for me that’s my family and my faith.”

Middle School Baseball at Nodaway Valley was his first coaching gig during summers home from college. It was far from a smashing success. In two summers he went winless one year and picked up only one victory in the other season. He chalk is up as a learning experience and jokes that he has since apologized to those athletes. Faust went on to be a student assistant with the women’s basketball team in college. He recalls there being one math teaching position available when he graduated at semester. The opening was at AHST. “I took that, I coached middle school track in the spring and the following fall I called the defense for the high school football team. The next spring I was the head boys track coach and for some reason the next year I became head football coach.”

Whether he was ready to be a head coach or not was in question. “I was probably 24. I knew I wasn’t ready, but I felt like I was still a legitimate option. I definitely had some people telling me I wasn’t ready. I had some other people telling me I’d be fine. I got bailed out by a good situation, good community, really good coaches around me, and most importantly some really good kids.”

He’s enjoyed all of his coaching gigs, but football is undoubtedly the biggest animal. “You probably have more control in football as a coach compared to a lot of other sports. That can also drive you crazy because you want to do it right and put your players in the right position. You can work 80 hours a week 365 days a year and probably still feel like you could do more. I’ve probably been drawn a little bit more to football, but I’ve enjoyed coaching all things. The real reason why I coach is to make a positive difference in people’s lives and get to be around sports.”

Early in his career he learned not to live and die so to speak based on wins and losses. Control what you can control is an extremely common phrase uttered by coach Faust. It was something that applied to him as an athlete and has stuck with him throughout. He expands on what the ‘control what you can control’ phrase means to him. “I might not individually be very successful, but I’m going to make sure I have no regrets about my attitude, my effort, and my preparation. I’m going to leave it all out on the field or the court or the practice space. When this time is done even if I’m not successful in reaching my goals I’m going to be able to have pride and look myself in the mirror and know that I’ve given it all I have.”

Curiosity about being able to get the job done in a different setting eventually led Faust to Glenwood where he’s taken the Rams to the dome in football and has won a state title in girls track. He says every single coach he’s had along the way has positively impacted him in some way as well as all the people that have been on the same coaching staff with him. He talks about several of those folks in our full visit which you can listen to right here: