INDIANA
Adam Beltran ’99
Assistant coach, University of Notre Dame Track & Field program

As an assistant coach for the Notre Dame track and field team, Adam Beltran (B.L.A. ’99) knows he has a big responsibility.

“At the collegiate level, you are much more than just a coach. You are the person a student athlete will spend the majority of their time with,” Beltran says. “You have the opportunity to be a positive influence and help them with issues that you have already dealt with as a former student athlete.”

Beltran’s mentorship of student athletes appears to get results. During his tenure, at least nine athletes have broken track and field records.

Despite that success, Beltran says being a coach presents new challenges every day.

“In a program with a smaller budget, getting new equipment was a challenge because resources were limited and had to be stretched between multiple areas,” Beltran says. “Another challenge I have found coaching at the collegiate level is that job security can be directly linked to the head coach. I can speak from experience that going through a head coaching change can be very nerve-wracking.”

A lifelong athlete himself, Beltran says UMKC helped him fine-tune how he could turn his love of sports into a career.

“I always gravitated towards sports as a kid,” Beltran says. “Initially, I thought I wanted to teach high school and coach, but then UMKC gave me the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach for the track team.”

Beltran’s advice to student athletes: Choose a school for yourself, not for the athletics.

“Pick a school that you can see yourself at, even if they do not have your sport,” he says. “This is the place you will be the happiest and excel the best. Coaches leave, but the school will always be the school.”