Kathlyn Hotynski

There’s an old saying that goes: when life hands you a lemon, make some lemonade. Former women’s cross country and track and field coach Tracy Yengo did exactly that – she resigned her position as coach for a job teaching kinesiology at UW-Eau Claire.

To fill the void of his resignation, she called an old friend and colleague from Dickinson College (Pa.), to see if he would be interested. Informing him that Eau Claire was a great place to coach, he accepted and drove cross-country, pun intended, to fill her position.

It was these circumstances that brought head cross-country and assistant track and field coach Brian Falk to Eau Claire. Falk said that he and Yengo remained in contact during their separation as colleagues and she told him about Eau Claire’s strengths as a university and as a community.

“We stayed in touch and she told me what a wonderful place this was,” Falk said “And she always enjoyed being here and she liked working here and liked the kids and liked the people here at the university.”

Falk left his fiance, Amy, in Pennsylvania to accept the position. While they were married in October, it has been difficult being separated from her and from his daughter, Eva, from a previous relationship.

“It’s terrible. I hate it. I mean, I really miss her . and I miss Eva and it’s not fun,” Falk said. “But with it being temporary, it’s bearable.”

The cross country teams had already been practicing for a week before Falk was able to meet them for the first time. He arrived in Eau Claire on Sept. 1, and began coaching the next day. Falk said it is common in the coaching profession to inherit a weaker team after the firing or resignation of a coach. That simply was not the case for him.

“A lot of times, people come to new jobs and the reason there’s a new coach is because the old coach didn’t do well and the team is in shambles,” he said. “But that’s not the situation here.”

Meeting his teams two weeks before their first competition made analyzing and getting to know the players a challenge. Knowing how to motivate and coach players comes with time, he said. Falk said he had no illusions of having a “fully functioning, optimally performing team” in his first season. It simply was not realistic, he said.

However, both squads of the cross country team have been improving at a constant rate.

Senior captain of the women’s cross country and track and field teams, Bridget Bocher, said she first thought that Falk was a serious, “get down to business” person. However, she said after she spent time with him, she realized that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Once you get to know him, he’s a really down-to-earth, personable guy,” Bocher said.

Motivating and coaching cross country athletes is a different animal than motivating a football tea,m Falk said. It’s not about yelling and getting in athletes’ faces to improve, but involves a holistic approach to their lives.

“It’s more observational because running is such a 24-hour day job and you have to be able to spot who’s having a good day, who’s not having a good day and then trying to figure out why,” said Falk.

Bocher agrees that his approach to and methods of coaching are unique, given the nature of the sport of running.

“He takes a different approach … an individual approach to coaching,” she said. “If he tells you to do something, and if you question it, he’s got the facts behind everything and the logic behind it all.”

The skill level and dedication his teams show is not like anything Falk has ever seen, he said.

It is rare for there to be full rosters and to have talented athletes in every event group. The devotion to the track and cross country programs Eau Claire shows is not the national norm, Falk said, saying he is fortunate to be a part of the Eau Claire athletic staff.

“The level of enthusiasm for the sport here, it is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, which is wonderful … I just feel very lucky and very proud to be here,” Falk said.

Falk said he has high expectations for his team, but he thinks they can be realized. He knows that the WIAC is the top Div. III conference for running, but he still wants his team to be nationally competitive.

Having grown up in rural northern Pennsylvania, it was not difficult for Falk to adjust to the lifestyle and geography of the north woods of Wisconsin.

His hometown is much like rural Wisconsin – dotted with dairy farms, sparse populations and avid hunters and fishers. Just because he’s from the east coast, don’t let that lead you to believe he’s huddling next to his fireplace, waiting for the snow to melt and arctic air to recede to Canada. The recent brutal weather conditions have not overwhelmed him at all.

“I happen to like winter, so I’m not fazed at all by the weather,” Falk said. “The only thing I cared about was whether or not my car would start.”