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韦德体育app官网越野赛和田径总教练保罗·赖斯的心中永远有一张照片, 中科院“97. Signed by the 2002 OU men’s cross country team, 这张照片是11月在印第安纳波利斯赢得该项目第一个分区冠军后值得纪念的一天.

“It’s definitely something I’ll look back on and remember,” says Rice. “I’ll remember the scene. I’ll remember the colors. I’ll remember the smells. I’ll remember the excitement. It's something that's burned in my brain.” After coming close to victory the previous year, 男子的胜利是在多年的努力工作和相信正确的事情之后赢得的, setting the stage for incredible milestones: Numerous conference titles, like the women’s first victory in 2010, countless accolades and amazing accomplishments.

While the photo stirs memories of a shining success in his career, 赖斯认为，当教练最重要的方面是培养运动员可以借鉴的个人品质.

“Winning championships is amazing. I mean, you can't replace that feeling,赖斯说. “但最重要的是，这些时刻对我来说没有任何意义，除非这些运动员真的从我们的项目中走出来，成为负责任的人，为成年做好准备.”

在他的职业生涯中，赖斯已经为俄勒冈大学的田径运动走了很远. 从20世纪90年代的先锋学生运动员到越野赛和田径的总教练, 赖斯向导师学习，并将他们的经验运用到自己的指导中, k现在ing the key to a successful program is a strong bond with athletes, 校友和教练. “当我们建立了牢固的关系，当我们能够继续培养这些关系时，我们就成功了,他说.

起跑线

Running never crossed Rice’s mind until he was a junior in high school. A passionate wrestler, 莱斯一直在权衡自己的大学生涯，直到体育课上他一英里跑的速度引起了东底特律高中田径和越野教练韦恩·布朗的兴趣. Rice was approached by Brown the day after his run, who convinced him to join the school’s track team.

“At first, I wasn’t really excited about it,” Rice recalls. “But I thought, ‘Seems like a nice guy. We'll give it a shot.’”

Rice quickly fell in love with running. 布朗成了赖斯的导师，甚至在毕业后还与他保持联系. Dedicated to the sport, 他是一位严格的教练，教导他的运动员自律，并在赖斯大学最后一年带领越野队在州锦标赛中获得第五名，这对学校来说是一项巨大的成就.

赖斯说:“直到你回想起来，你才会想到这些事情。. “如果[布朗]没有走进那个房间，说服我参加田径比赛, 我就不会站在这里，我就不会想到跑步，也不会想到田径或越野赛. 那绝对是你意识到你的生活被永远改变的那一刻.”

成功的步伐

1990年，赖斯在高中的跑步成绩让他进入了州立大学越野队. 赖斯还记得，他的教练和运动员们会为即将到来的运动员付出额外的努力, supporting them every step of the way. From senior Ken Osmun, OU’s first NCAA cross-country All-American, to his coaches Hal Commerson and David McCauley, Rice found mentors throughout his college journey, learning leadership lessons he would apply throughout his career.

“他们只是创造了一个环境，让我们在追求成功之间保持良好的平衡, working hard and having fun, and our personalities all meshed really well,赖斯说.

Mirroring his mentors, leadership came naturally to Rice, who was voted team captain during his sophomore year. “I was highly motivated as an individual to see some big success, 但我们也有伟大的目标和伟大的梦想，我们的团队试图做一些我们从未做过的事情,他说. During his four years as a student-athlete, the team hit memorable milestones, 比如在1993年增加了女队，并在大三时获得了大湖校际体育大会的亚军——这在当时是球队历史上的第一次.

Crossing into Coaching

OU became an essential part of Rice’s life on and off the course. Working at Meadowbrook Health Enhancement Institute after graduation, he was approached by OU’s new cross country head coach, 肖恩·巴特勒, 他让赖斯告诉他更多关于这个项目的事情——这次谈话导致赖斯自愿担任助理教练. 两年了, 他帮助指导, 在1998年被春季任命为总教练之前，他和球队一起招募和旅行. “对我来说，回馈这个项目立刻变得很有意义, just a couple years ago, I had been in their uniform,赖斯说.

In his new position and throughout his coaching career, Rice has been able to draw from his own student-athlete experience. “当你能完全理解学生们正在经历的经历时，你所做的事情就会增添一种独特的品质,他说. “因为即使是30年前，这仍然是我们的共同之处.”

很健壮

In his 25+ years as head coach, 赖斯将俄勒冈大学的项目从一个小型越野赛团队转变为一个包括越野赛和田径项目的成熟且非常成功的团队. 2006年增加的田径项目为全面的运动体验打开了大门. 有9名助理教练——其中7名是公开大学校友——以及55-75名学生运动员, the programs have produced astounding accomplishments, from winning 12 team conference titles to countless accolades, NCAA限定符, 全美大学生体育协会，并在密歇根州之外建立了这个项目的声誉.

Hollie L. 莱普利荣誉堂入选者，曾13次获得年度最佳教练荣誉，他认为自己的职业生涯不仅仅是努力工作, k现在ing it was the people along the way who believed in, supported and trusted him. 这个支持系统塑造了他的教练哲学和对运动员的愿景, 然后, 现在, and for years to come. “I want them walking shoulder to shoulder, side by side. And our coaches walk behind them,赖斯说. “We're never out in front of our athletes. 我们总是支持我们的运动员，因为这是帮助我取得今天成就的原因, 就是知道有人在我身后扶着我，在我摔倒时扶住我.”