Matt Sparks, former women’s track and field assistant coach at Ohio State, is already geared up to help SIU’s distance runners improve.

Matt Sparks, former Ohio State University women’s track and field assistant coach, was looking to relocate.

Connie Price-Smith, SIU women’s track and field head coach, was looking for a long distance running coach.

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The timing was right, the need was there, and Sparks is now ready to lead the track team to greater distances.

Sparks, who has been hired to train the distance runners for the SIU women’s track and field team, had his first official day on the job Wednesday. He replaces former assistant coach De Dee Nathan, who left the team earlier this summer after just one season in Carbondale.

Although Sparks has just recently been hired, he has already jumped into his job by calling and introducing himself to players and making sure they have kept up with their summer conditioning.

Players are already encouraged that he will help make a big difference with training the long distance runners.

“I can tell he’s really involved in trying to get our team back together,” said Lindsey Campos, a distance runner who sat out last season.

Price-Smith has known Sparks for several years and is glad that the timing worked out so that he could join the Salukis.

Though she has never worked with Sparks directly, she knows he has worked with long distance runners in the past, an area Price-Smith admittedly doesn’t have much experience with.

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“I think he will be able to pull the distance team in closer together,” Price-Smith said. “He will be able to provide them with the training knowledge to help them compete better.”

Sparks spent his last two years coaching women’s distance runners for Ohio State’s cross country and track and field team, specifically working with and training the long distance runners.

He also coached two years at Indiana University as a graduate assistant for the track and field team while he earned his master’s. This was also where he met Price-Smith as she was training for the Olympics in Bloomington, Ind. Sparks has since watched her athletic career and has been impressed by the examples she sets for young athletes.

“I’ve just admired her leadership and what I think she can bring to a track and field program and to an athletic program,” Sparks said. “That was one of my big selling points.”

Sparks also likes Carbondale’s smaller community, as well as SIU’s beautiful campus. However, Sparks won’t let the scenery distract him from what he wants to do with the team.

“It’s a rebuilding process,” Sparks said. “The team has been down the past couple of years, and I realize that it may take a couple of years to try to turn things around.”

Campos said the track and field team had a temporary distance coach for several months last season, but eventually Price-Smith and Nathan took over. Campos, like many of the long distance runners, said she is ready for a permanent coach who can train them specifically for their event.

“It was really hard for the girls last year,” Campos said. “They felt like they were missing out, because they didn’t have a long distance coach who could help with their specific needs.”

Sparks, who hasn’t personally met the team yet, is already planning to stress to the young women to have committed attitudes to aid in turning things around.

“I think you can make some quick improvement by just having the right frame of mind coming into a season,” Sparks said.

Sparks’ training and experience, along with his committed attitude, have impressed Price-Smith since she has known him. She is also impressed by his ability to recruit, work with people and with his administrative work.

“I’ve seen his work, and I know people that have worked with him,” Price-Smith said. “I know he can do a good job, because I have seen him do it.”

Reporter Kristina Dailing can be reached at [email protected].