The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

#113: Gill1918 presents Mike Erb "How to be a Great Assistant Coach Part 2"

·20 min·2 clips

Mike Erb worked for free at Marquette to discover how Division I coaching differs from Division III.

This episode features Mike Erb discussing his coaching career progression across different collegiate levels. He begins by describing his move from being a head coach at a Division III school to volunteering for free at Marquette University to experience Division I coaching. Erb explains the significant differences between these levels, including year-round training, recruiting, travel, and budgets. He then details his first paid assistant coaching position at the University of Illinois under head coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, a several-time Olympian. Erb shares insights on Buford-Bailey's ability to manage diverse athlete personalities, her direct yet caring approach, and the importance of passion in coaching. He introduces his 'prioritize down' philosophy, emphasizing that assistant coaches should focus on their athletes' success rather than just pleasing their boss. Erb briefly mentions his head coaching stint at the University of New Orleans, where he learned about the additional responsibilities and decision-making pressures head coaches face. The bulk of the episode covers his 11 years as an assistant at Indiana University, where he observed that athlete development can take multiple years to fully manifest. Erb describes working under Ron Helmer, noting Helmer's artistic coaching style in conducting complex workouts. Host Mike Cunningham concludes by revealing how Erb proactively secured his Illinois job by tracking down Buford-Bailey at a national meet, challenging the myth that coaching positions are always pre-filled. Cunningham encourages other coaches to share their stories through the Gill1918 Project.

As heard by us

A grounded coaching-clinic case for serving athletes first while pursuing college roles.

The most useful idea here is simple and durable: an assistant coach's first obligation is to the athletes. Their growth can travel upward, strengthening the head coach's program and making the work visible to administration without turning the job into an exercise in managing up.

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Why you'd press play

Want a candid assistant-coach reset, from working free at Marquette to the trap of only pleasing the boss?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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