RU Coach’s Corner: Cross Country's Jordan Turner

WALESKA, Ga. – (Video Interview) This week's RU Coach's Corner ventured to the Brown Athletic Center as Reinhardt Athletics (RA) spoke with head cross country coach Jordan Turner (JT) on how his teams are preparing for the 2020 season for the Eagles.

Name: Jordan Turner
Position: Head Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
Years in Position: 8 years
Alma Mater: Reinhardt
Hometown: Ball Ground, Ga.

RA: What's your favorite part of being a cross country and track coach?
JT: Seeing the growth in a student-athlete from both the academic and athletic side. Both work hand-in-hand with each other at a school like Reinhardt, so when you see the light bulb go off in one area you know the other will be close behind.

RA: What's the biggest challenge of your job?
JT: Recruiting athletes to join our track and field team since the Reinhardt community is without a dedicated track and field facility on campus to train on.

RA: What's the best piece of advice you have ever received?
JT: You'll learn more from one loss than all the wins combined.

RA: What book would you recommend a new coach reads?
JT: Born to Coach - it's a tremendous story of a coach Bill Squires of the Great Boston Track Club and how he took a group of washed up, average, unmotivated post-collegiate runners and made them some of the best runners the sport has ever seen. His ability to get the most out of the least talented is something I use to mold my coaching philosophy.

RA: What can you not live without?
JT: Cell phone. 

RA: What is your favorite place to eat in Canton, Ga.?
JT: Tecali Grille.

RA: What do you like to do in your free time?
JT: Spending time with my family, running, golfing, hiking and working on my never-ending honey-do-list.

RA: What is one interesting fact not many people at Reinhardt know about you?
JT: I've hiked over 300 miles on the Appalachian Trail.

RA: What is your favorite Quote? (who said it)
JT: 'Be it great or be it small… do it well or not at all' – my grandmother Carolyn Turner.

RA: If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
JT: London. For the history and scenery of the country.

RA: If you could have a 30-minute sit-down with anyone dead or alive, who would that be and why?
JT: Roger Bannister. First man to break four minutes in the mile. I would love to hear about his training and his thoughts about human performance breakthroughs that we are seeing almost 70 years after his famous run. 

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Cross Country, please click here, and Reinhardt Women's Cross Country here.