Noted Carlsbad track and field coach said upbringing made him successful on world stage
Patrick Pyle credits growing up in Carlsbad for setting the foundation of his success as a track and field coach.
A 1997 graduate of Carlsbad High School, Pyle won state and national track honors while in high school, junior college and at Kansas State University.
Pyle now calls Houston home and recently returned from Budapest, Hungary where he coached Shelby McEwen at the 2023 World Championships.
McEwen, a Mississippi native, attended the University of Alabama and finished seventh in the high jump while in Budapest Aug. 20 and Aug. 22, according to the World Championships website.
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“He’s a very accomplished athlete. Him and I started working this year,” Pyle said.
McEwen has finished in the Top 8 at the World Championships and has won various national championships, per the World Championships website.
“In a relatively short time we’ve come to figure each other out,” Pyle said.
He said McEwen is one track and field athlete who could win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Pyle also coached high jumpers and wrote the physical training for pole vaulters from 2009-14 at Rice University in Houston, according to the Rice Owls website.
Pyle helped pole vaulter Chris Pillow win three Conference USA pole vault titles and helped him advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2014. He placed seventh that year, noted the website.
He also coached Belle MacFarlane to the 2014 Conference USA Indoor Title in the high jump. She also advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships where she scored an honorable mention, per Rice Athletics.
Pyle compares coaching track to composing music.
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“At the end of the day, the athlete has to play those notes,” he said.
Pyle added there is a trust factor that develops between track and field athletes and coaches.
“It’s the biggest stage in the world. I serve many different roles to my athletes,” he said.
A closer look at Pyle's track and field career
Growing up in Carlsbad, Pyle said learning high school track from coaches Ron Singleton and Ken Hitchens propelled him to where he is today.
While in high school he won the 4-A state championship in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relay.
“The mid-1990s was incredible for Carlsbad athletics. We all kind of fed off each other,” Pyle said.
After graduating from Carlsbad High School, he attended Garden City Community College in Kansas where he won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) pentathlon in 2000. He was also an All-American in the decathlon while at Garden City.
After junior college, he attended Kansas State University where he finished ninth in 2001 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in the heptathlon.
During the 2001 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, he finished eighth in the decathlon and posted a time of 10.64 in the men’s 100-meter.
During his senior season he finished second in the heptathlon at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in 2002 and finished fourth in the 4X100 relay at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Patrick Pyle touts Carlsbad for track and field coaching success
