GOTR coaches train at East Park

Girls on the Run Nashville is entering its third year and starting off strong! If the August 28 Fall Coaches Training is any indication of things to come, this is going to be one amazing season!

While all other training sessions have been wonderful and unique in their own right, here are just some of the ways Saturday was a new experience. First off, it was the largest group ever, which is really exciting! There were 38 of us! It seems to be as far as Coaches Training goes, the more the merrier. And it didn’t hurt that the group was made up of some really interesting women (and men)! Three of the women in attendance had coached at other GOTR councils in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Northeast Tennessee (that last one is actually me – Jillian Neal, the new public relations/marketing intern; I’ll be coaching T/TH at Percy Priest Elementary this fall). There were mothers, fathers, elementary and middle school teachers, college students and professors, lawyers, entrepreneurs (!), a Dell computer tech, personal trainers, the Vice Mayor of Oak Hill (!) and many enthusiastic runners.

Speaking of those men – that’s right! Men at Girls on the Run! We are so lucky to have our first male coaches – Curious Chris, Goofy Graham, and who could forget Gorgeous George? While the program is all about the girls, it’s wonderful to have strong, positive male AND female role models.

Everything kicked off at 10 am at East Park Community Center. We all signed in, donned nametags, and watched a training DVD containing an emotional message from GOTR founder, Molly Barker. Next there was a fabulous video about our own Chapman’s Retreat program, created by Cory Mason of Williamson County Schools. Then we buckled down and got Policies and Procedures out of the way, so we could have some fun!

To show everyone just exactly what GOTR is about, trained coaches led us in a mock lesson. The Getting on Board exercise consisted of going around the circle and telling everyone your name and an adjective that describes you that starts with the same first letter. We had everything from Helpful Hannah to Marvelous Mia to Loving Lauren (there were 3 Laurens)! Everyone wrote down everyone else’s name on a name tag. After that, we did our warm up. Coaches Dog Lovin’ Dawn and Dancing Diane stood at one end of the field while the rest of us stood at the other. They read some statements and if that statement described you, you had to run to the coaches and back. We found out some fascinating things about each other – like who’s eaten frog legs and who has ever milked a cow! Then it was time for our workout. We all had to take those nametags from earlier and stick them on the back of the right people. With so many of us, it was darn near impossible! Things got even more frantic when lunch was on the line and we needed to finish sticking those nametags before having some tasty treats (like our Publix deli sandwiches, and the amazing mini-cupcakes with vanilla frosting and chocolate covered strawberries made by 12-year-old Genesse Semon! Only one word could describe them – YUM!)

Following lunch, we did a little more procedural work but then came the real fun! All the new coaches got the opportunity to coach their own lessons. Everyone rose to the challenge. Without hesitation, each and every new coach just dived in and showed his/herself to be completely competent and ready to start off the season! We ended the session right. Plenty of spirit awards to go around (The Elvis, the Arnie, the Abigail, and the all-new MAN-tastic) and then, with a little creativity, we joined all right hands in the middle of the circle and did the Girls on the Run cheer!

Girls on the Run is so much fun!
Girls on the Run is number one!

I know, without a doubt, that this season is going to be incredible. After meeting all the awesome new recruits (and a few old pros), the next step is to meet the girls themselves. I can’t wait! This is going to be an adventure and I know all our coaches are up to the challenge.

~Jillian

Jillian Neal is our PR/Marketing intern this season, completing her practicum for her Master of Mass Communication in Integrated Communication at the University of South Carolina. She came from heaven just as Board of Directors/PR Director Jackie Johnston headed to law school. She literally hit the ground running in Nashville a few short weeks ago and has been working furiously on our behalf. She will be coaching T/TH GOTR at Percy Priest Elementary this fall.