UNC Coach Pete Watson - background and coming to Chapel Hill

You are doing awesome Pete! Keep it up!

Wow good for you Pete, long way from windsor ave. Keep up the good work

Donald

Great interview. That Watson family is just top-notch.

Tax dollars aren't funding UNC Athletic Scholarships.So before you spout off like you know how scholarships are acquired and dispursed, you should check your facts. It doesn't affect you anyway so why put the post up.

his wife lived there. that was more or less their home base.

Great coach

The debate over foreign athletes always makes me laugh. There are 330 Division I schools. There are hundreds of other Division II, Division III, NAIA and JC schools. There is LITERALLY a team out there (and often also scholarship money) for athletes of all abilities and accomplishments.

If running is that important to you, go to a school that fits your needs/ability.

I have to agree UNC Chapel Hill is a great school and the town is awesome. When i went there for a track meet in high school, i reallt like it. The town was a good mixture of a big city and a small town. Really liked the town and the surrounding.

this was an awesome interview! he was so entertaining, seems a like a great coach!

Wow, can you all please get a lesson in grammar? Please figure out the correct uses of "you're" versus "your" and "they're" versus "their". Ugh.

That being said, I enjoyed the videos of Pete Watson last year and wish him and the UNC program lots of luck, and really do hope they do it with US talent. I'm curious - why don't we already have a video of him doing the 100 push up challenge?

Your an idiot. If you want to beat out a foreigner for a track scholarship then train smarter and harder...

And you sir are a rude, low class juvenile who resorts to name calling instead of reasoning and debating skills. Poor you!

They don't get paid to "develop" American runners. The get paid to WIN! If all the top American kids decide they want to walk on at Stanford or Oregon and HOPE someday to make the travel squad then more power to them. But that when those two schools are consitently raking in the majority of top quality American kids it leaves pretty slim pickings for the rest of the college coaches. So you can decide to take a chance on a 9:20 two-miler developing after 3 or 4 years to maybe be all-confrence and have a outside shot at All-American, or you can first see if there are Stanford and Oregon type talent overseas and recruit there first, then fill out your team with the 9:20 two-milers.
But don't fool yourself. Those schools that just grab a bunch of American 9:20 two-milers aren't doing so because they feel an ethical need to "develop" Americans. They are doing it because they can't get the best American kids AND they can't get any foreigners.

I don't care how bad American Runners are, I would like to see us (colleges) develope them to best of their ability. One or two foreigners is ok but not 80% of the team. Oh well, each their own.

Pete's younger brother is Rob Watson. Rob represented Canada in Berlin this summer in the steeplechase, and has been on flotrack many times.

He reminds me of the guy from scrubs Zach Braff...

I hope he recruits the best no matter where their from.

Your an idiot. If you want to beat out a foreigner for a track scholarship then train smarter and harder. Taxpayer dollars are not funding the UNC track program so they are free to recruit whomever they want.

Why were you lving in Buffalo, NY after College?

Why did Watson have so many injuries? Did he not eat well and keep his body strong? As a young runner I look at things like like........

I thought Shalane Flanagan moved to Oregon and the OTC.

Right, I def agree. It wouldn't surprise me if he brought in 1 or 2 top level foreign guys to go along with the elite Americans though. It would be a shame for UNC to hit the map in mens xc through the UTEP, Alabama, Auburn route. However, I doubt that will happen. Can't wait to see how he turns the program around.

UNC has a lot more draw for american kids than Auburn...i dont think he'll be hardpressed for recruits and need to look internationally when US runners will seek out the school as opposed to the coach needing to actively seek out the runners.

I agree give US kids the chance to run. How is is it being a great coach is recruiting Kenyans? And PLEASE don't start the racist comments. They are more than welcome to come but I don't think they should be at the expense of United States citizens.
And it's nothing impressive on the coaches part by bringing foreigners in and all of a sudden having a team. Develop the students on your team, now that's impressive.

Give us a bird call

Dang, kinda makes you want to go to UNC now, huh?

Watson seems like a great guy (and there's no disputing he IS a great coach), but hopefully he doesn't make UNC the new "Kenyan connection" school. Lets see what he can do with some solid US kids first!

he is canadian

Name drop much?

Go Pete! UNC will be a powerhouse in the near future.

Sounds Canadian to me. And given the WVU connection, he must be.

Shalane Flanagan - Volunteer Coach

I bet it helps to have her around

cool interview, wish i could go there

what kind of accent does he have?

Great interview. Love his enthusiasm and energy. UNC will have a very bright future this him!

welcome to chapel hill pete. love the enthusiasm

Get down and give us 100 pushups!