ASU track and field head coach Greg Kraft has led his team for 21 years with what his athletes call a parental style of leadership.
Through honesty and care, Kraft has lead many athletes to championships and Olympic glory. This July will officially mark 21 years since Kraft was hired at ASU.
Few have had as much experience with Kraft’s jumping knowledge as former Olympian and ASU alum, Trevell Quinley.
Quinley worked directly with Kraft for all four years of his collegiate career and attributes much of his success to Kraft's coaching.
“I’m an Olympian because of him, very simple,” Quinley said.
Quinley said Kraft and the athletes he developed was one of the reasons he came to ASU and that he was excited about working alongside Olympians like Dwight Phillips.
“I wanted the opportunity to train with an Olympian,” Quinley said. “He (Kraft) was working with one of the best long jumpers in the world. It just seemed like the right place to be.”
Once he got to ASU, Quinley said he felt that the track and field program was almost like an extension of his family, as Kraft emphasized the same values as his parents.
“It’s funny, I feel like my Dad was coaching me,” Quinley said. “He was very parental, in a way. He definitely cared about me outside of the sport.”
Once Quinley graduated from ASU, Kraft became an even more parental figure to him, giving him advice for his future.
“He was much more honest. We had better conversations, real conversations,” Quinley said. “I think that really when I got out of college our relationship got better.”
Kraft’s honesty was not the only thing that resonated with Quinley, as he also noticed that Kraft honestly cared about his athletes.
“I genuinely knew that he cared about me and my development as a person and as a man,” Quinley said. “It is easy to care about if they (the athletes) keep their scholarship or if they perform well, but to know that someone really cares about you, that really spoke to me.”
Quinley also added that Kraft’s fatherly demeanor is just part of his personality.
“I don’t think any other coach will have this kind of success unless they do this one thing, and that is genuinely care,” Quinley said. “It’s hard to be a coach unless you care.”
Throughout his tenure at ASU, Kraft has cared about the lives and careers of many athletes — one being Mason McHenry, who was a distance runner in the program from 2008-12, and is now a graduate assistant coach.
Since McHenry was a distance runner, he worked more with the distance coach Louie Quintana, which gave McHenry a different view of Kraft.
“Especially since I was an athlete that didn’t really work with him, being a distance runner.” McHenry said. “You see him in more of a head coach kind of role as an athlete, where he is talking to you about points.”
In this role, Kraft had a huge impact on McHenry and his confidence. He said his favorite — appropriate — story was when Kraft approached him one day after practice during his freshman year because he had performed well that day.
“A head track and field coach coming to you your freshman year, you always think of him not knowing who you are really,” McHenry said. “So when he says good job to you after practice you’re like 'oh thanks.'”
McHenry said this gave him an inside look at how much Kraft cares about each of his athletes.
After watching Kraft in roles as both the head coach and the jumpers coach, it is almost like seeing two different people.
"You look at it in two different senses. One as his role of director of track and field, and the other as his role of jumps coach," McHenry said. “How he delegates responsibility, and in some sense, how he manages the scholarships and how much he wants to spend on each position."
McHenry said that Kraft's decision making is what lead him to 21 years of success at the helm of the ASU track and field program.
“You have to look at him as a coach and you also can’t deny that he has been a successful coach, with Dwight Phillips and Bryan McBride,” McHenry said. “His knowledge by far is probably one of the best in the United States as far as jumping goes. It’s just incredible.”
Ryan Whiting, an Olympian and thrower for ASU from 2007-09, didn’t work directly with Kraft, but still found a way to get to know him.
When Whiting was first deciding where he wanted to attend college, he said Kraft’s honesty played a crucial role in the process.
“He was just really straight forward with me and I really appreciated that,” Whiting said. “He told me exactly how much money I was getting to come here, he didn’t beat around the bush and I really appreciated that.”
Whiting added that Kraft’s straightforward recruiting philosophy is also a key part of his coaching style.
“He is a big proponent of 'you do the work you need to do to get better and I’ll do what I need to do,'” Whiting said.
Whiting said that Kraft never brags about his achievements.
"He put together a really good coaching staff and he is a really good silent leader," Whiting said. "I think he moves the team in the right direction."
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