BMC

Right now I am a jumble of mixed emotions... overwhelmed, excited, nervous, intimidated, thankful... you name it, and it's there. Why?

On Monday afternoon, it was officially announced that I will be the new cross country coach for Blue Mountain College!

A few months ago, Coach Smith asked me if I had ever considered coaching at the college level. I told him that I had never thought about it, and he then assured me he had no immediate plans of leaving BMC. A little more recently, he contacted me to let me know that he was indeed going to be moving to Colorado. He said that he had given my name to the athletic director and wanted me to consider applying for the job.

Scott and I prayed about it and decided that it couldn't hurt to turn in a resume, especially since it just kind of came out of nowhere and landed in our laps. After submitting a resume, I waited. and waited. and waited. For what seemed like EVER... but it was only a few weeks!

I was called in last Thursday and offered the job! It all seemed to work out in an obviously providential manner. They changed the job description to be part time; I can do as much work from home as I like, and my only responsibility is the XC team. This will allow us to continue homeschooling and keep some flexibility in our family life.

Last weekend I got to attend a coaches' conference (not related to BMC.) I learned SO much information that will be helpful to the Toppers and Spartans, and I need to carve out a little time to assimilate it all!

On Monday afternoon, I got to go to the school and meet the team. Before practice, the school photographer interviewed me and got some pictures for the press release...

Just a quick aside... Press release?!? I am like a little kid... I have never really had a "for real" job before! Now, I get my own office computer...business cards... press releases... all kinds of crazy stuff! It seems very weird!

Anyway, I got interviewed for the press release, and went down to the gym. When the first runner came in and saw me in there, he gave a couple leaps across the room, gave me a huge hug, and kept a grin on his face for at least 5 minutes. You see, I coached Austin for 3 years when he was at East Union! The other two runners that I coached at East Union had similar responses, and the ones that I did not know seemed agreeable enough to have me as their new coach.

I start next week in an official capacity, but this week I am working like crazy to begin recruiting, research and plan my training schedule for spring, order some BMC gear, and get my house cleaned and organized!

I am going to try to copy and paste the article from www.bmcsports.com....

Duley named BMC cross country coach

Heather Duley, center, was named the Blue Mountain College cross country head coach on Monday. Duley, talking with BMC athletic director Lavon Driskell, left, and outgoing Toppers coach Fred Smith, will begin her duties March 1.

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. - Heather Duley will become head coach of the Blue Mountain College cross country program on March 1.

Duley, coach of the Spartans, a team of North Mississippi home-schooled runners based in New Albany, will replace Fred Smith, who founded the BMC program in 2007. Smith resigned recently to move to Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Coach Duley brings a wealth of knowledge as a cross country coach," said Lavon Driskell, BMC athletic director. "She has worked with and knows numerous athletes and coaches in our area. It was a difficult decision because of the quality of the candidates for the job, but we feel Heather is a good fit for BMC."

Duley, a native of Cordova, Tenn., helped start the East Union High program in 2001 and coached there until 2004 when she and her family moved to Louisville, Ky. She was a four-time letter-winner at Lambuth University and captain of the cross country team.

While she was at East Union, she coached Tuesdae Rowland, Richard Feist and Austin Epting, current members of the BMC cross country program.

The Toppers are members of the NAIA TranSouth Athletic Conference.

"I'm excited to get this opportunity," Duley said. "Blue Mountain is a great college and Coach Smith has done an outstanding job with the cross country program the past three years. It's a big challenge; definitely new and different, but I'm looking forward to it.

"My main goal is to continue to build a strong program on Coach Smith's foundation," she added. "We're going to focus on building a strong team atmosphere and also add to our women's team. We need to get some numbers there where we can be even more competitive in the TranSouth."