(Anita) After a crash course as an assistant last season, Drew Ticknor will take the wheel of the CAM boys track program.
Ticknor soaked up as much as he could from head man Todd Russell last year, knowing that this opportunity could be coming his way. “I had an opportunity before the season last year to hop on as an assistant coach under Todd Russell. I kind of had some idea that he was maybe moving back around some of his family so he had maybe a year left and figured that was an incredible opportunity to kind of pick his mind and learn.”
And there was plenty to learn. Ticknor says he’s never been around anyone that lives for track as much as coach Russell and Russell was willing to share his expertise. “He’s like, ‘So when you do this next year, here’s ideas. This is what I’ve done in my time as a track coach.'” Ticknor says he received advice on preseason as well as what to do in practice during weeks when you have one, two, or three meets. “A lot of things that I feel you aren’t going to figure out until you are in those shoes and he thought of those little things and that was awesome to have him as a tool to start molding my experience as a track coach.”
Ticknor is a CAM alum and former state qualifier in the discus. He says it’s special, “To come back to CAM and be able to give back to a community that I graduated from. A lot can be taught as an athlete just as an all around person from sports. To be able to be around these kids and give them some opportunities to compete, but also learn other things that are bigger than just sports in life it’s a pretty special to be able to be around the group of kids that we’ve got.”
CAM will return a strong core of athletes for next season including three of their four members on a state medal winning shuttle hurdle relay and Lane Spieker who placed 3rd at state in the long jump.
