First-year assistant track coach Javier Olivas arrived at his decision to coach from an unusual direction.
 
A two-time Verizon Scholar-Athlete award winner, he was hungry for more education as he approached the end of his career at Texas A&M in 2008. He'd had a successful career as a thrower (shot put) there, where he qualified for the NCAA Championships, and was a three-time All-Big 12 performer as well as twice being named All-Region.
 
He'd thought of coaching, but was more focused on getting a master's degree, following the Bachelor of Science he earned in Political Science at A&M.
 
At the 2008 NCAA Championships he was approached by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore coach about coaching track and working on his master's degree there. He jumped at the chance.
 
"I knew I had a passion for the shot put and I got caught up in the chance to teach that passion to kids. I wanted to see them get better. Just as I was hungry for more education, I wanted to help them become better athletes and to accomplish their academic goals," said Olivas, who will coach men's and women's throws, all men's jumps, women's high jump and serve as the team's recruiting coordinator.
 
The more he coached during that period of attaining his master's degree, the more intense became his desire to work with young athletes. And, by the way, he did get that master's degree—in Agricultural Education—as his desire to coach increased and the master's subject matter became less important ("those classes fit into my coaching schedule").
 
Following his graduation at Maryland Eastern Shore, he was hired to coach "jumpers and throwers" at University of California Santa Barbara ("a great place to live if you have lots of money"). Since his own background was throwing, he turned to a series of mentors to broaden his knowledge.  One of those he remembers best was Jim VanHootegem at the University of Oklahoma, who'd been the jump coach at Texas A&M when he was there.
 
While there, he coached vertical jumps, throwers and the combined events. He coached one USA Junior National Qualifier and two NCAA National Qualifiers. His athletes scored a combined 59 points at the Big West Conference championships, including the Big West Conference high jump champion.
 
At UC Santa Barbara, Olivas coached Derek Masterson to a personal-record decathlon point total of 7,295, earning a position in the Top 30 in the nation.
 
Then it was back to Eastern Shore as a full time assistant, where his athletes broke 10 school records. Additionally, Olivas coached 10 athletes to the NCAA preliminary rounds, and seven to the NCAA Championships, the highest single-season total in Eastern Shore's recent history.
 
Specifically, Olivas coached Ackeem Smith to an Eastern Shore-record 13.711 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA preliminaries. Smith later became an NCAA All-American.
 
When PSU's job opened up, Olivas was interested. He'd heard of Viking head coach Ronnye Harrison. His mentor VanHootegem also had heard of Harrison and said he was a good coach.
 
So, it was back to the west coast for the Del Rio, Texas native. Part of the draw was the reputation Oregon has as a track and field hot spot, he said. 
 
"Oregon is one of only four or five states that offer javelin and hammer throw in high school," he pointed out.
 
And as recruiting coordinator, he's not daunted by competing with the nationally known University or Oregon program.
 
Olivas says he'll concentrate his recruiting efforts on the Mid-Atlantic states and California. His goal is to help the team win a conference championship.
 
"I want as many of my athletes as possible to win conference championships."
 
Olivas believes the Vikings have a number of things to offer track and field athletes, but none is more important than the overall team atmosphere created by Harrison.
 
"Usually track and field teams are pretty much a collection of different hot spots divided up by their sport. Here, everyone is on the same page. It's a family atmosphere. The sprinters are rooting for the throwers, and the throwers are rooting for the sprinters. Usually the enthusiasm is contained with each area of competition. The atmosphere here is really special," Olivas said.
 
In the short time he's been here, Olivas said he's learning how to lead a group…"just by watching Ronnye."
 
"I love to see the great chemistry here and watch Coach Harrison bring this team together. There's so much energy and so much passion. It's awesome to watch."