Competing in the Olympics is a lifelong dream for most athletes. They train and compete for the majority of their lives for the opportunity to represent their home country and win a medal. However, many of those athletes stray from the sport once they retire. But it is quite the opposite for former Olympian Fred Newhouse. He used his Olympic success to influence and inspire the next generation of athletes.
Fred Newhouse’s Road to the Olympics
In 1976, while working at Exxon and simultaneously competing in track and field, Fred won Olympic Gold and Silver Medals at the Montreal Olympic Games. He has been involved in track and field in some capacity for his entire life and currently serves on the Meet Management Teams for national and international competitions.
Newhouse has earned a lot of success in the sport, but it was not easy by any means. Even just making it to the Olympics was a process. He tried out for three Olympic teams in 1960, 1968, and 1972 before he was ultimately selected in 1976. Newhouse says that going through the adversity of making it to the Olympics is all part of the process. But it was his drive that helped him persevere.
The Olympic Preparation Process
“Unfortunately, like in any other sport, some days are better than others. And our system is designed around one day for track and field for each event,” he said. “And you know well in advance what that day will be, and you prepare. So it doesn’t matter what you do all the other days. What you do on the day of the Olympic trials matters. So it’s all about you.”
The Olympics’ preparation process differs from that of other sporting events. Most sports operate seasonally, with a scheduled offseason for the athletes to recoup. But the training for the Olympics is nonstop. Newhouse says that for him and many other Olympic athletes, the preparation for the event begins as early as high school.
“Preparation takes years and years and years for most athletes. And it starts, for most, me included, in high school, if not before. That’s when they first realize that they have the potential to be an Olympic athlete. And that is where it begins—and it’s every day for years,” Newhouse said.
“After that, a competition is staged where the 16 best runners in the country are invited to try out for the Olympic team. Of those, 16 will make it to the finals. There are three rounds of competition: prelims, quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the finals. And then the top three are who go on to represent the country at the Olympic Games.”
Putting His Olympic Experience to Use
Fred could have taken his experience as an Olympic gold medalist, rode off into the sunset, and retired. However, he knew he had so much knowledge to offer in the sport and wanted to share that with other athletes.
He used that experience to found the Northwest Flyers Youth Track Club in Houston, where he coached until 1996.
Fred already had previous experience as a track coach. While earning his MBA at the University of Washington, he was the track team’s graduate assistant and coached sprinters, jumpers, and quarter-milers.
However, the catalyst for his founding the Northwest Flyers was when his daughters noted unfair treatment at the initial club they joined. Then, Newhouse and his wife decided to bet on themselves.
“My daughter says, ‘We don’t like this coach because he doesn’t even put the best girls on the relay team in the track club,” Newhouse said. “And my wife looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t we have a track club?’ ‘So we know there’s no bias in the process.”
Newhouse’s club has employed as many as 100 athletes simultaneously. Simply put, the Flyers gave him purpose.
“It was just the joy of my life. To provide an atmosphere where these kids could grow and enjoy each other. We tried to, again, continue to expose them to different things,” he said. “And we always did. And that gave them exposure to other parts of the country. We traveled to a lot of different universities. They got to see things that they only saw on television. And we figured out a way to do it.”
The Life Lessons He Wants Them to Remember
As a former Olympian, Newhouse possesses a rare knowledge of what it takes to be successful in track and field competition. He instilled some of those same principles into his Northwest Flyers athletes.
“We “encourage our athletes to recognize their assets and liabilities and manage them all appropriately. And you know them when you see them and know what to do. Do them humbly, with courtesy and respect for others, because you have to do them,” he said. “The sooner you start learning how to manage them, the better. Because later in life, when it takes a much larger effort, you’ll do better at it.”
Newhouse’s coaching goes beyond just telling athletes what to do. It is also about teaching them what not to do. He wanted to prepare athletes in his club to avoid making the same mistakes he did on his come-up, mainly how to avoid distractions.
“The main problem I see as an athlete’s biggest battle is all the distractions vying for their attention during that process. They have to be ready to manage additional things on top of their competition,” he” said. “The most difficult part is staying focused on the why. Why are you doing this? Because you’ve got so many distracting things around you.”
Measuring His Successes
Not every athlete will make it to the Olympic Trials. However, Newhouse says that even the athletes from his club who don’t have Olympic careers are successful in other areas of life, such as graduating from college or starting a business. That was his vision when he started the club, which remains a success today.
“We’ve got something extraordinary going on, and we’re going to continue because we know we’re making a difference in people’s lives. We know we are,” he added.
“We’re not bragging about it. We’re happily doing it. Right. And while it started as a selfish thing with our children, it also made a difference in their lives. Because they developed friendships, relationships that have lasted for 40 years.”
