Nick Van Heest | Echo
As head coach Ted Bowers reflected on his time with the track and field program at Taylor, he repeated one word over and over again: enjoyable.
"I love the kids, and I love coaching," Bowers said. "My time here has always been enjoyable." After leading the track and field team for 11 years and the men's cross country team for nine, Bowers will retire at the end of the season, leaving behind a legacy of excellence.
During Bowers' tenure as head coach, the men's track and field team claimed the conference title in 2003, 2004 and 2005, while the women's squad won in 2013. Bowers has coached 53 NAIA All-Americans and five NAIA National Champions while at Taylor as his athletes set 24 school records.
"Coach Bowers has an optimistic outlook that exudes positivity and encourages confidence in his athletes," said senior Kelsey Van Housen. "We know that we can compete to our best ability because he believes in us."
Aside from his teams' awards, Bowers has compiled many of his own accolades, winning Crossroads League Coach of the Year three times and Indiana Intercollegiate Coach of the Year and NAIA Regional Coach of the Year two times each.
The NAIA National Outdoor Championships, scheduled for May 23-25 in Marion will give Bowers one last hurrah before he leaves.
"Ted Bowers has certainly been a devoted Christian coach for Taylor's cross country and track programs," said Athletic Director Dr. Angie Fincannon. "He has a love for Taylor, for the student-athletes and for his sport."
Bowers ('73), a former member of the track and field team, learned much more than simply how to succeed on the track under head coach George Glass.
"I wasn't a Christian when I came here, I was just a churched kid," Bowers said. "Coach Glass was concerned with how we were progressing as people, not only as athletes. Being able to talk about life with him on a weekly basis made a big impression on me."
After 13 years as part-time coach, Bowers finally became a full-time employee at Taylor during the summer of 2000, when he took over as the Sports Information Director, a position he held for nine years. After Chris Coy resigned as track and field head coach, Bowers took his place in the summer of 2002.
As head coach, Bowers strove to impact his athletes in the same manner that Glass impacted him.
"Coach has helped me mature not only as an athlete, but he has helped me to grow even more as a Christian athlete," said senior and Taylor women's athlete of the year Henrietta Carey. "He has propelled me forward in my faith and created an atmosphere for me to strengthen my relationship with God."
Van Housen agreed.
"Coach Bowers has showed me how to appreciate the individuality of each person and their unique role on the team," she said.
When looking back on some of his best days as coach, Bowers recalled two of his athletes, Darren Youngstrom and Joe Cebulski, going 1-2 in the pentathlon during indoor nationals. Championships and conference titles also came to mind, but a consistent favorite memory for Bowers was the team's annual spring break trip.
"Spring break is when our team develops good relationships and when my relationship with the team becomes deeper," Bowers said. "We're in a setting where we're developing a relationship, where I feel like track is doing something besides just producing athletes." Next up for Bowers and his wife Dana is a move to northeastern Alabama near their son. Bowers acknowledges that not being with a track and field program will be a little strange, but he is excited for what the future holds.
"It's clear that this is the best time for us to go," Bowers said. "I don't know exactly what's on the other side, but God opened the door for us."
The next track and field head coach has not yet been decided, but whoever succeeds Bowers will inherit a program on the upswing.
"The track program has improved tremendously every year since my freshman year," Carey said. "We are becoming a bigger threat to our competitors every year. I hope that we can carry on Coach's legacy and continue to excel."
