Interview with Alan Shakespeare and the D4NCs

(Originally published July 5, 2011)

“If I can help impact their lives for many years to come after they graduate then I get a real sense of accomplishment. These kids are going to be the ones teaching and coaching my kids. They are the ones who will be helping to make the community I live in better and stronger. Of course I want to make sure we develop our athletes the best way that we can for on-the-track performance, but I think it’s more important that we develop them the best way we can for off-the-track performance.” -Alan Shakespeare

High school runners hoping to compete on a college team used to have few options.  The best of them could hope to obtain a coveted athletic scholarship.  Others could go to a smaller NCAA Division 3 (D3) school where tuitions can stretch the pocketbooks of many families and high academic standards can make it difficult for some students to get in.  Some simply went on to a state school and ran on their own or gave up on competing.  Now, thanks to the efforts of people like Alan Shakespeare in Cedar Falls, there is another option – attend a state school like UNI but compete on a club team against NCAA competition.

The UNI track and field club team travels to D3 meets in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois and competes under the team name D4 National Champions (D4NC).  The moniker D4NC, which gives no clue as to what school the athletes are from, often leaves competitors scratching their heads: Just who are these guys (and gals, too)?  The name originated from current club coach Shakespeare as a joke, but the team is anything but.  Members are every bit as dedicated to competing hard as those competing under their schools’ names.

Shakespeare, who ran track at Vinton-Shellsburg high school, knew in high school that UNI was the place for him but was not good enough to make the UNI track team, then among the nation’s best.  After one year in Cedar Falls he realized how much he missed “being part of a track team, the friendships, the hard work and the fitness that comes from the hard work.”  He began to meet some athletes he competed against in high school who were longing to get back on the track.  Shakespeare, along with three other students, got together and began travelling to D3 track meets in 2002.  The group grew and by 2005 D4NC was official, with jerseys and a full indoor and outdoor meet schedule.

Shakespeare says that D4NC typically starts the track season with 50-60 members (men and women) and may end up with 20-40 remaining by the end of the season.  Early-season workouts start out hard in an attempt to weed out those who may not want to commit themselves. Those that remain are truly dedicated and fit in the five organized weekly workouts between classes, jobs and other activities while Shakespeare does his best to accommodate diverse schedules.  The squad is heavy on sprinters and middle distance runners, but distance runners are welcome, too, as are throwers and jumpers.  Shakespeare coaches them all.

Coaching is really not Shakespeare’s job.  By day he is a Business Banking Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo in Waterloo but at night and on the weekends he is a coach.  He writes all the workouts, organizes team travel, handles meet entries, finds fundraising opportunities such as selling football programs and cleaning up after football and basketball games for the team to cover all their costs (they receive no funding from the university), coordinates uniform purchases, offers advice on injuries, mentors and disciplines his athletes and more.  In the summer he spends time reviewing high school track performances and cross-referencing those with incoming UNI freshman so he can give them a call and recruit them to join the team.  In short he does most everything that college coaches do, except receive a paycheck.

If there’s no money in it for him why does Shakespeare devote so much time and energy to the team?  In short, he loves the sport of track and field and he loves watching his athletes grow, improve and mature.  He strives to create an “atmosphere that makes [the athletes] want to be there,” one where the fastest among them and the back-of-the-packers can have fun together while working to improve their PRs as well. For Shakespeare anyone is welcome on the team (even grad students and non-UNI athletes) as long as they are dedicated, willing to work hard and represent the team with dignity and class.

Still, the vast majority of D4NC members are UNI undergrads, and the team is a close-knit group, running together, eating together and in many cases rooming together.  Jon Steinkamp, who transferred to UNI from Wartburg College after his freshman year and was active with the D4NC team for four years typifies what the club means to many:

While a member of D4NC I ran personal bests in all running events and even set a few club records, but even more importantly I made great friends that will be in my life forever.  D4NC really did change my life, not only because of the memories and friends I made, it taught how to be a leader, how to always work hard to get positive results, and that hard work can be turned into fun with the right attitude. When I joined I can honestly say I had no idea that it would change my life the way it did, but it was by far the best thing I have ever been a part of.

Steinkamp was one of the long-time members who get asked by their coach each year to help run practices when Shakespeare’s “real” job keeps him away.  John Brehm, a senior-to-be with the team who, upon Shakespeare’s suggestion, made the successful jump from running 100s in high school to 400s in college agrees with Steinkamp that the D4NC team has made his college experience even better.  He also notes that the fact that team members have to work together to earn money to fund the team makes them appreciate their opportunities to compete even more.

Maria Moeckly, who is expecting to run a third and final season with the team this upcoming academic year echoes much of what her male teammates say; the hard work, fun and friendships and the opportunity to compete on the track make running for D4NC one of the best experiences of her life.  Moeckly notes that without Shakespeare’s dedication those opportunities would not exist and says “I know we all don't thank him enough. We couldn't ask for a better coach!”  They should also thank Shakespeare’s wife because as Shakespeare says “without her support this team wouldn’t work out.”

UNI is not alone in having a club like this.  The sizes and structures of university club teams may vary but they are growing in popularity at large D1 schools and are offering opportunities for college athletes to continue competing past high school.  NIRCA, the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association, has exploded since hitting the scene six years ago with 70 teams in 30 states across the country.  Thirty-five men’s and 21 women’s teams competed in the 2010 club cross country championships at Indiana University where the Iowa State men finished 5^th and the women 17th.  Some of these teams are big, with 50+ members while others are small, with barely enough to score as a team at meets, but they are all made up of students who have a love of running.  To date NIRCA has been more focused on cross country, though most of its clubs compete in the track.  D4NC does not compete in cross country, though some members are interested.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to run in college on teams know how great it can be.  Too many high school athletes graduate and head off to big schools still wanting to compete and experience the joys of being with teammates who share a passion for running, but not having any outlet to do so.  Now, thanks to people like Alan Shakespeare, college students at some big universities have that opportunity. And for those that don’t have that opportunity yet at their school, a little (or a lot!) of hard work can make it happen.