University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Patrick Henner
July 13, 2022 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Patrick Henner didn't have a plan when, right out of college, he began coaching and teaching at a Blacksburg, Va., middle school. He knew he was passionate about running and educating, but that was about it.
Henner's coaching career soon took off, with stops at James Madison, USC (where he first worked under Georgia Director of Track and Field Caryl Smith Gilbert) and Arizona State, before he arrived at Georgia this summer as the Bulldogs' new track and field distance and cross country coach. It has been a journey he didn't expect, yet he's doing exactly what he was meant to do.
During a recent Quick Chat, Henner, from Bristol, Va. and a graduate of Virginia Tech, talked about his start in coaching, his days as a runner, his passion for rock climbing, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What was the experience of teaching and coaching at the middle school level?
Henner: It was a blast. I was 23 years old, and a couple of times the middle school and high school people confused me with one of the students, I was so young. I have great memories — we won the state meet three years in a row, boys and girls cross country, and had a good group of co-workers at the middle school where I taught. I have very fond memories of those days.
Frierson: Did you think that's what you would do for many years, or did you aspire to get to the collegiate level?
Henner: I had no aspirations [laughs]. No, I was having a blast; I wasn't really looking and then what happened is, a guy that I owned a running camp with, who was a grad assistant at James Madison, then left, so that spot opened up, and the head coach called and asked if I was interested. That's what got me into college coaching.
Frierson: Having coached at every level there is, from middle school to places like USC and Georgia, has that journey helped you become a better coach?
Henner: That's interesting — I think it has. I've always looked at the job as, I'm an educator. For me, that's a big component of what I do. Secondly, I really love the developmental process. I'm not somebody who has to see the finished product right away. I like taking people from point A to point B, C, D, E, and watch them grow and mature and get better, as athletes, people and students.
Frierson: How would you describe yourself as a runner?
Henner: Mediocre [laughs]. I was somebody who probably was a little bit behind the curve on the developmental aspect. I could do things after college on minimal training that I couldn't really do in college off of a lot of training. I ran at Virginia Tech and we had some good teams; we had a great group of guys and it's been a very influential part of my life.
Frierson: Growing up, did you always focus on running, or did you play a lot of different sports?
Henner: I started out playing football and basketball. I grew up in a small on the Virginia-Tennessee border, Bristol, and we just had the major. They actually started a cross country team when I was in ninth grade, so I was running part-time. I played football through ninth grade and I played basketball through, I think, my sophomore year, and then I went full-time on cross country and track.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Henner: Bread and olive oil or bread and butter [laughs].
Frierson: It's funny, I've asked that question hundreds of times and you're the first person to give bread as their answer.
Henner: Yeah, I eat that all the time. So much so that I'll ruin my dinner because I ate too much bread [laughs].
Frierson: Do you still do a lot of running? How do you stay fit and active?
Henner: I try to run — obviously as I'm getting older I keep having these injury things, but I'll try to run four days a week, and if I'm in the right spot I'll get some bike rides in. I know Athens is known for mountain biking so once my mountain bike arrives maybe I'll try to get on the mountain biking trails.
Probably my biggest hobby or passion, outside of coaching, is rock climbing. I'm huge into that.
Frierson: How did you get started doing that?
Henner: One of my good friends from my hometown, he got into it before me, and actually right outside of (Washington) D.C. is Great Falls National Park, and there are thousands of climbs. And it's like five minutes outside of Washington, D.C., right on the Potomac River. It was a really good place to learn how to climb.
When I moved out West, when I was at USC I would go to Joshua Tree (National Park) a whole bunch of weekends in the winter when we didn't have meets. When I was at Arizona State, there's a lot of good climbing in Arizona. That's my thing.
Frierson: Is there one place you've climbed that was the most extraordinary? Or is there a bucket list place you still want to experience?
Henner: I've done a lot in the high country of Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, and if I had to say one place, that's probably my favorite place. It kind of combines the alpine nature in some approaches and then some big, moderate rock climbs. All of the Sierras, and I've climbed Mount Conness (in California) several times; I've climbed Bear Creek Spire (in the Sierra Nevada mountains) a couple of times. I did a really cool mountain in Colorado last summer called Crestone Traverse.
I know there are some places in Georgia and Alabama, a lot of climbing in North Carolina and Tennessee, so I've got a lot to explore.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
