After a successful track and field meet, Coach Bradley Burzumato expresses his excitement. “Track and field is like a close knit family,” Burzumato said.
Track & Field Sprints Coach: Bradley Burzumato
Coach Bradley Burzumato has been coaching track and field since Rock Ridge opened in 2014. When Burzumato is not coaching all three seasons of track and field, he works as an AP World History teacher. “I never have an off season,” Burzumato said.
In high school, Burzumato participated in football, track and field, and soccer. When he first started his teaching career at Rock Ridge, he immediately knew he wanted to coach track and field. Burzumato enjoys the sport because he believes that it is different from others in that it is more individualized with different events while other sports are essentially one event. “In other sports, there’s a big, giant scoreboard at the end, and sometimes you win. But in track and field, there are always different things to celebrate,” Burzumato said.
Burzumato believes that there are always small victories in track and field. “There are always good things we can talk about. Somebody is going to run the best race of their life. Somebody is going to qualify for championships,” Burzumato said. “It’s easy to build on that, and give athletes a sense of accomplishment.”
In addition to celebrating victories of all sizes with his athletes, Burzumato’s favorite part of coaching is getting to know the students. “Getting to see the students, have fun, joke around, and then watch them push themselves and try to become better and commit and achieve goals is my favorite part about coaching,” Burzumato said. “I enjoy watching the growth that happens in both as athletes and as people.”
Burzumato plans to continue coaching track and field in the coming years. “I enjoy being able to witness constant growth happen,” Burzumato said. “That’s what I love about track and field — because although we compete individually, you still have that sense of family.”