Tim Hall is off and running. South Carolina’s new track and field head coach wants to get the Gamecocks back to national prominence in every event, but he knows that building a program is a process.
“The SEC doesn’t yield itself to the faint of heart,” said Hall. “I call it a Diamond League every time the teams come together, indoor and outdoor. If we were a country, the SEC would have been like fifth or sixth in the World Championships in terms of the caliber of performances.
“We’re going to win sooner rather than later.”
Before he can get South Carolina to the top, he knows there will be challenges in building a program, and that’s something he fully embraces.
“Challenges are only as great as we create or make them,” Hall said. “My first priority is to get a staff in place that is going to understand my vision in terms of establishing relationships with student-athletes. We have to be of the mindset that we have to reach athletes first. We have to feel like we understand them as people first before we can extract any kind of performance from them.
“We’re going to get to work cultivating lives. We’re going to make certain we have a first-class program. We’re going to make certain that kids are being held accountable for the team ideals that we put in place. Then we’re going to try to move the needle every day to be one percent better to get this program back to its prominence and relevance in the SEC and NCAA rankings.”
While he comes to South Carolina after serving as the associate head coach at Kentucky for the last five years and has had stints at Tennessee, Clemson and Charlotte, the Charlotte native is glad to be back closer to home.
“This is home for me,” Hall said. “My wife, Adrean, is from Gaffney, South Carolina. I’ve had several opportunities to lead a program, but God has His timing and purpose for everything. This opportunity presents itself for that moment. I’m excited about meeting the kids and getting a staff together, making certain that we have people in place that are ready to impact young lives.
“This is the right moment, the right time, at the right school with the right people for me and my family. I couldn’t be happier or more excited about getting started.”
Hall has known South Carolina’s recently retired head coach Curtis Frye for some time, and he looks forward to being able to pick his brain from time to time.
“Coach Frye has been a mentor, a spiritual mentor, a…