Gary Droze named TCC women's cross country coach
Posted: April 18th, 2016, 8:22 pm
Will he still have time to fish?
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Jordan Culver, Democrat staff writer 7:13 p.m. EDT April 18, 2016
Maclay cross country coach Gary Droze has been named the women's cross country coach at Tallahassee Community College. Droze, who will maintain his duties at Maclay, will be the first women's cross country coach in TCC's history. He said he's excited for the opportunity to begin a program from scratch.
"It’s really rare to have the opportunity to start everything from scratch at a place," he said. "I can take responsibly for everything from the get go. It's pretty exciting. It doesn’t happen that often."
Women's cross country will be the fifth sport at TCC, and the first addition to the program since the 1994. Droze will be able to hold practices after Aug. 1
"I'm extremely excited to welcome Gary to the TCC athletics family," said athletic director Rob Chaney in a statement. "He is well-known and highly-respected throughout Tallahassee's vibrant running community."
Droze started at Maclay in 1993. He said for now, he's content with growing TCC's program. He said even though the days will be "long" he's ready to be the head of both Maclay's group and the new Eagles team.
"I’ve been exposed to a lot of different levels of coaching," he said. "The real excitement comes from developing really interested, really motivated athletes. The allure of D-1 coaching is not something that appeals to me."
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Jordan Culver, Democrat staff writer 7:13 p.m. EDT April 18, 2016
Maclay cross country coach Gary Droze has been named the women's cross country coach at Tallahassee Community College. Droze, who will maintain his duties at Maclay, will be the first women's cross country coach in TCC's history. He said he's excited for the opportunity to begin a program from scratch.
"It’s really rare to have the opportunity to start everything from scratch at a place," he said. "I can take responsibly for everything from the get go. It's pretty exciting. It doesn’t happen that often."
Women's cross country will be the fifth sport at TCC, and the first addition to the program since the 1994. Droze will be able to hold practices after Aug. 1
"I'm extremely excited to welcome Gary to the TCC athletics family," said athletic director Rob Chaney in a statement. "He is well-known and highly-respected throughout Tallahassee's vibrant running community."
Droze started at Maclay in 1993. He said for now, he's content with growing TCC's program. He said even though the days will be "long" he's ready to be the head of both Maclay's group and the new Eagles team.
"I’ve been exposed to a lot of different levels of coaching," he said. "The real excitement comes from developing really interested, really motivated athletes. The allure of D-1 coaching is not something that appeals to me."
I've never met Mr. Droze, but I was a runner back many pounds ago and I remember seeing Gary's race times. Very fast runner and also good a distinguished coach. Gary, congrats and best wishes for continued success.