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Matthew Hird is the head coach for Salve Regina University's women's track and field team. A 1973 graduate of Colby College with a degree in history, Hird was a member of the cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field teams at Colby. He went on to earn his master's degree in teaching from Brown University, and later began his coaching career at Toll Gate High School, where he coached several all-state athletes. Hird was recently inducted into the RI High School Coaches Hall of Fame. Hird guided the Salve Seahawks to back-to-back Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Invitational Championships in 2016 and 2017. During Hird's tenure, two thirds of the team records have been broken. Hird, who currently serves as the secretary/treasurer for the New England Women's Division III Cross Country and Track & Field Association, arrived in Newport after serving as head coach of the women's cross country and track and field programs at Rhode Island College. While at RIC, 11 of Hird's student- athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships, and two of his student-athletes were All-American selections.
Having coached 17 seasons at Salve Regina, Coach Hird talks about his relationship with coaching:
“You're either born a teacher or you're not. I'd say I was born a teacher, and coaching is just an extension of teaching.”
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He talks about why he started coaching, and the most rewarding part:
“When you're coaching, you get to stay in a sport you love to do. It's just so much fun. You work all week, and you go to the meet, and you get to see your athletes do something terrific.”
Next, Coach Hird talks about the 3 things he looks for in athletes:
- Love your sport
- Be willing to work hard
- Be a good athletic citizen
He elaborates on what makes a good athletic citizen:
“You're at practice on time, you're willing to get up at 8:30 for a class in order to clear practice time in the afternoon. All the things that make a normal person an athlete”
He says if you work hard, show up, and support your teammates regardless of your time or score, he would love to have you on the team. Athletes like this are an inspiration to the rest of the team.
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He moves on to talk about what advice he would give his younger coaching self, and that is primarily to give athletes compliments, and to let them know you care about them. He talks about the “coaching sandwich:” giving athletes a complement, followed by constructive criticism, and closed with another compliment/goal. This encourages them to work hard “because they see the reward.”
Coach Hird ends with a time an athlete inspired him by leaving everything on the track, and reminds us:
“Some coaches say they're a good coach because of their record, but the good records come because of the coach.”
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* Originally published on January 31, 2022, by Madison Machado
