HDN Profile: Trever VanCampen

Trevor VanCampen has been a key component to the Havre High track and field program

for a while now. In past years he has been responsible for developing the Blue

Pony sprinters. But now he's taking on the task of heading up the whole

operation, as he enters his first season as the head coach.

And it's been a tough transition for

VanCampen, only in terms of having to fight terrible spring weather in his

first year at the helm. Still, VanCampen is an enthusiastic and dedicated coach

and he's poised to point the Blue Pony track and field programs in the right

direction.

HDN: What was your first priority coming in as the new Havre High

head track coach?

VanCampen: "My priority coming in was to just learn the history of the

program and to get familiar with the routine of the program and how it is ran.

Getting to know all the faces was also a priority, and getting to know who they

are and what events they compete in. I was just trying to familiarize myself

with the program as a whole, rather than just one event."

HDN:

What is the biggest different between

coaching one event and being the head coach?

VanCampen: "The biggest difference is how I have to spend time with each

event. I have to plan out accordingly the needs of each sprinter and spend time

with them accordingly, but that is multiplied tenfold as everybody and every

event needs me and needs to talk to me. When it comes to time it is just

important to keep everything in check and prioritized."

HDN: What team goals would you like to see accomplished this

season?

VanCampen:

"To keep everybody (athlete) who started

the season out for the program. We need to keep a solid nucleus of boys and

girls, and that would give us something to continue to build on next year. We

want to keep building towards the future, but our immediate goals are to bring

home hardware and to compete at divisionals."

HDN: What is it going to take to make the Blue Pony track team a

dominant team in the Class A?

VanCampen: "That kind of goes with keeping the numbers up and keeping

track fun for the kids. But as long as we are continuing to compete hard and

having fun, I think our numbers will stay steady. That is what Montana is

facing right now, there are more sports offered in the spring than just track,

but if we can keep it fun I think our numbers will stay steady."

HDN: What meet do you look forward to competing at the most during

the season?

VanCampen: "Obviously we want to take as many kids to state as we can, but

I like competing at divisionals because we get to go head to head with all of

the teams in our division. It is nice to face and beat the rival teams year in

and year out, and that's what it's going to take to put this team on top."