University of Georgia Athletics
Getting To Know Track & Field’s Bailey Lear
February 06, 2024 | Track & Field
By Will Bennett
Georgia track and field assistant Bailey Lear, who also is the team's Operations Coordinator, is in her first year working with the Bulldogs following a star-studded career at Southern California. The First Team All-American in the 400-meter dash at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships was a part of four Trojan 4x400m relay teams that won Pac-12 titles and seven relay teams that scored with top-eight finishes at Nationals between 2019-23. For the 2023-24 academic year, Lear joined up with her former collegiate coach and current UGA head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert.
Here is a look at who Bailey Lear is . . .
Q: What was growing up in Frisco, Texas, like?
A: Frisco is like an up-and-coming town. It's almost becoming one of those big cities like L.A. Having the Dallas Cowboys play at The Star (Dallas Cowboys headquarters and practice facility) and having some football games there increases its attractiveness. Also, with all the new shopping places and Universal Studios coming to town, Frisco is becoming one of those places where you want to be.
Q: What was your athletic experience like at Southern California?
A: Amazing, something I wouldn't ever change and would love to do over if I ever had the chance. Something that I tell our student-athletes is that having the athletic college experience is something you will never forget. Being an athlete helped me learn so many different life skills such as time management, meal prepping and adapting to new perspectives. We got to learn things that the average student doesn't have to go through and learn yet, which is one of the best reasons student-athletes stand out on resume because of the importance of knowing how to work on a team.
Q: What did you like about the Pacific Coast?
A: The weather was the best until my last year, it rained quite often. California cold is 60ish degrees, so almost weather that was perfect for training. I'm a huge shopper so definitely the variety of places to shop. I'm also a huge foodie so the fusion of all the different types of food to try was always an awesome touch.
Q: What got you into coaching?
A: I think the last couple months I reflected, and I didn't want to leave that college environment. Graduating this past fall, I am still close to that experience. I enjoyed traveling, the rush of being at the meets and having the opportunity to come back the next week and do it all again. Being able to take the experiences I learned in college and share that to the athletes is awesome, I feel can be such a positive impact to navigating the life of a student-athlete. Although I have only been coaching for a couple of months, I am falling in love with the process.
Q: How has Athens been so far?
A: Honestly, it's an amazing place. I tell this to everybody, it's definitely not what I expected. I look at Athens not like a city but more of a college town. Like Texas Tech and Lubbock. Asking people in Dallas, they would say that there are tumbleweeds (in Lubbock) and not really the "place to be" so you don't really know what your getting into. Going into Athens, that's kind of what I thought having not toured or visited here before so I had no idea what to expect. I think it's an awesome place for an athlete, it has the right amount of everything to be successful. Everything here is a better slow placed than I was used to in LA but it is in a good way. Athens has some really good places to eat and everything is like "Mom and Pop" type places, which I find to be great. It reminds me of USC with the environment like the Trojan Family. In Athens, "Go Dawgs" is everywhere, and everyone is super welcoming. You feel like you are supported everywhere you go. Love Athens so far.
Q: Why do you choose to coach at UGA?
A: I was presented with the amazing opportunity to be a coach at an SEC school, which I felt could be a great learning position for what I want to do and where I want to see my future go. It also goes back to Coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) hiring her former athletes who were on her teams, and how much she wants to help her athletes succeed after college. I think that it is the perfect place because I can share my experiences with the athletes just being graduated from college, while also seeing the other side of being a coach and watching these athletes train hard and see them get the results they deserve.
Q: What have you most enjoyed about coaching so far?
A: Being able to just see the athletes get the results that they train so hard for. I help coach the 400 meter group with Coach Karim (Abdel Wahab) and get to learn what drives them to be better athletes, and share with them my own personal experiences and how I overcame them. I think that's the fun part that I didn't have going in as a freshman and thinking the coaches are too old or didn't understand, however that really isn't the case.
Q: How is coaching different than being an athlete?
A: I get to see different perspectives that you don't see as an athlete. As an athlete, you don't really get why some things happen, however as I coach I get to see the process, the bigger picture. This definitely makes me more appreciative of all the meetings and ways the coaches are always finding the best ways the make the athletes excel. I think that it is cool to see both perspectives. Neither is worse.
Q: What was your best college moment?
A: I think my sophomore year when I got a (personal record) in the 400m. At the MPSF meet, I won with a 51.60 and after the race, Coach Caryl gave me a big hug. That was the moment when it really clicked, and I understood how to run the 400m .
Q: What got you into track?
A: You must play two sports in middle school in Texas. I tried everything and nothing worked out. I did cross country then track when the season came. After that I never stopped doing track.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of track?
A: Shopping is my favorite hobby. I like to cook. I don't have any crazy talents though I really wish I could juggle.
Q: What your favorite thing to cook?
A: The college me would say firecracker chicken because I would make that for my teammates on the daily. However, if your asking me now I would say my favorite thing to cook is salmon with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli because it's the easiest thing that I have perfected over the years.
Q: What's your favorite thing about Coach Caryl?
A: My favorite thing is her passion not just for the sport but the person that you are. She is such a great influence on everyone, and I think I admire her for it. Especially wanting the best of people and wanting the best they can do. She has taught me a lot and continues to be one of my biggest mentors.
Q: How has she changed from you being an athlete to a coach?
A: It hasn't changed much, she expects the best of us as an athlete and I think that it sets you up for a lot of things. Having her as a coach set me up for many things in life and I believe being a coach was one of those things. She sees so much potential in people and holds you to a standard to ensure that you will succeed.
Georgia track and field assistant Bailey Lear, who also is the team's Operations Coordinator, is in her first year working with the Bulldogs following a star-studded career at Southern California. The First Team All-American in the 400-meter dash at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships was a part of four Trojan 4x400m relay teams that won Pac-12 titles and seven relay teams that scored with top-eight finishes at Nationals between 2019-23. For the 2023-24 academic year, Lear joined up with her former collegiate coach and current UGA head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert.
Here is a look at who Bailey Lear is . . .
Q: What was growing up in Frisco, Texas, like?
A: Frisco is like an up-and-coming town. It's almost becoming one of those big cities like L.A. Having the Dallas Cowboys play at The Star (Dallas Cowboys headquarters and practice facility) and having some football games there increases its attractiveness. Also, with all the new shopping places and Universal Studios coming to town, Frisco is becoming one of those places where you want to be.
Q: What was your athletic experience like at Southern California?
A: Amazing, something I wouldn't ever change and would love to do over if I ever had the chance. Something that I tell our student-athletes is that having the athletic college experience is something you will never forget. Being an athlete helped me learn so many different life skills such as time management, meal prepping and adapting to new perspectives. We got to learn things that the average student doesn't have to go through and learn yet, which is one of the best reasons student-athletes stand out on resume because of the importance of knowing how to work on a team.
Q: What did you like about the Pacific Coast?
A: The weather was the best until my last year, it rained quite often. California cold is 60ish degrees, so almost weather that was perfect for training. I'm a huge shopper so definitely the variety of places to shop. I'm also a huge foodie so the fusion of all the different types of food to try was always an awesome touch.
Q: What got you into coaching?
A: I think the last couple months I reflected, and I didn't want to leave that college environment. Graduating this past fall, I am still close to that experience. I enjoyed traveling, the rush of being at the meets and having the opportunity to come back the next week and do it all again. Being able to take the experiences I learned in college and share that to the athletes is awesome, I feel can be such a positive impact to navigating the life of a student-athlete. Although I have only been coaching for a couple of months, I am falling in love with the process.
Q: How has Athens been so far?
A: Honestly, it's an amazing place. I tell this to everybody, it's definitely not what I expected. I look at Athens not like a city but more of a college town. Like Texas Tech and Lubbock. Asking people in Dallas, they would say that there are tumbleweeds (in Lubbock) and not really the "place to be" so you don't really know what your getting into. Going into Athens, that's kind of what I thought having not toured or visited here before so I had no idea what to expect. I think it's an awesome place for an athlete, it has the right amount of everything to be successful. Everything here is a better slow placed than I was used to in LA but it is in a good way. Athens has some really good places to eat and everything is like "Mom and Pop" type places, which I find to be great. It reminds me of USC with the environment like the Trojan Family. In Athens, "Go Dawgs" is everywhere, and everyone is super welcoming. You feel like you are supported everywhere you go. Love Athens so far.
Q: Why do you choose to coach at UGA?
A: I was presented with the amazing opportunity to be a coach at an SEC school, which I felt could be a great learning position for what I want to do and where I want to see my future go. It also goes back to Coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) hiring her former athletes who were on her teams, and how much she wants to help her athletes succeed after college. I think that it is the perfect place because I can share my experiences with the athletes just being graduated from college, while also seeing the other side of being a coach and watching these athletes train hard and see them get the results they deserve.
Q: What have you most enjoyed about coaching so far?
A: Being able to just see the athletes get the results that they train so hard for. I help coach the 400 meter group with Coach Karim (Abdel Wahab) and get to learn what drives them to be better athletes, and share with them my own personal experiences and how I overcame them. I think that's the fun part that I didn't have going in as a freshman and thinking the coaches are too old or didn't understand, however that really isn't the case.
Q: How is coaching different than being an athlete?
A: I get to see different perspectives that you don't see as an athlete. As an athlete, you don't really get why some things happen, however as I coach I get to see the process, the bigger picture. This definitely makes me more appreciative of all the meetings and ways the coaches are always finding the best ways the make the athletes excel. I think that it is cool to see both perspectives. Neither is worse.
Q: What was your best college moment?
A: I think my sophomore year when I got a (personal record) in the 400m. At the MPSF meet, I won with a 51.60 and after the race, Coach Caryl gave me a big hug. That was the moment when it really clicked, and I understood how to run the 400m .
Q: What got you into track?
A: You must play two sports in middle school in Texas. I tried everything and nothing worked out. I did cross country then track when the season came. After that I never stopped doing track.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of track?
A: Shopping is my favorite hobby. I like to cook. I don't have any crazy talents though I really wish I could juggle.
Q: What your favorite thing to cook?
A: The college me would say firecracker chicken because I would make that for my teammates on the daily. However, if your asking me now I would say my favorite thing to cook is salmon with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli because it's the easiest thing that I have perfected over the years.
Q: What's your favorite thing about Coach Caryl?
A: My favorite thing is her passion not just for the sport but the person that you are. She is such a great influence on everyone, and I think I admire her for it. Especially wanting the best of people and wanting the best they can do. She has taught me a lot and continues to be one of my biggest mentors.
Q: How has she changed from you being an athlete to a coach?
A: It hasn't changed much, she expects the best of us as an athlete and I think that it sets you up for a lot of things. Having her as a coach set me up for many things in life and I believe being a coach was one of those things. She sees so much potential in people and holds you to a standard to ensure that you will succeed.
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