Letter to the Editor: The right man for Niles

Published 5:01 pm Monday, June 14, 2004

By Staff
As a track and cross country runner at Niles High School, I have had my fair share of accomplishments. This past track season, however, exceeded all of my expectations. Our Niles Men's Track Team won the Big 16 Conference West Division, after finishing in the basement the previous two years.
Although much credit is due to the hard work and determination of my teammates, one man has truly helped shape the program. Coach Joseph (Tony) Todd, assistant coach for the past three years, has put in great amounts of time to promote the growth of Niles track.
This past winter, he provided the opportunity for all willing runners to train by creating the Niles Indoor Track Club. For over three months he came in on his own time to help make Niles runners the best they could be.
However, sharing the knowledge of running is not new to Coach Todd. While he served in the U.S. Air Force, he created the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Runners Club and was the trainer/assistant coach for the Air Force's Track Team. All of this after having a successful running career himself, in which he was a three-time Michigan High School State Qualifier and a runner at Southwestern Michigan College. He has grown up around running and the sport of track is truly in his blood.
On top of it all, Coach Todd is a great person who has shown nothing but kindness to me and my teammates in the three years I have known him.
As Niles looks for a new head coach to lead the men's track program, I feel that Coach Todd is the right man for the job. He is a proven winner and a great person to lead Niles track into the future.
Austin Neilson