Run for the Dream - Dragila 4.37, Mack 5.49
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:25 pm
http://www.fresnobee.com/513/story/1120809.html
Fraley's rep still a draw for Dragila, other stars
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009
By Ken Robison / The Fresno Bee
The phone rang at the Fraley home last week and the resulting conversation validated all the hard work Bob Fraley has given to track and field through the years.
On the other end was Stacy Dragila, former Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder. Sure, she told Fraley, I'll come to Fresno for your Jan. 19 Run for the Dream indoor meet.
"Best phone call I ever got," Fraley said. "She said, 'Coach, for all you and your community have done, the way you guys supported me in [the 1999 street vault in] Clovis ...'
"It was awesome. She told me, 'I'm coming, coach, all I need is a room. I'll do interviews, if you need me to get up at 5 a.m. to talk to a radio station, I'll do it.' "
That was sweet music to Fraley, who is feeling the pinch in these lean times. He retired last spring after 28 seasons coaching at Fresno State, and Run for the Dream is his full-time project.
But even a track and field legend is finding fundraising difficult. Many of his sponsors the past couple of years were farmers, and they're struggling with a down economy and water shortages.
"I'm spending endless hours on this thing," Fraley said the other day. "Oh, boy, is it a hard deal. I have what you'd call a recession budget this year. Getting sponsorships is not as easy these days."
Fraley can't offer transportation to Fresno, and there's no prize money available for the elite athletes in his Martin Luther King Jr. Day meet. But what he can give is a room at the University Inn and a short walk across Shaw Avenue to the Save Mart Center to compete.
That -- and Fraley's stature in track and field -- has been enough to draw world-class athletes such as Dragila, 2004 Olympic pole vault gold medalist Tim Mack, four-time Olympic high jumper Amy Acuff and several other Olympians.
Reached by phone at her home in San Diego on Saturday, Dragila recalled her visit to the Clovis street vault.
"Ten thousand people showed up. They touch you like you're a rock star -- it was electrifying. How could you not perform in such an awesome setting?"
So it was a no-brainer when Fraley asked her to come back.
"Coach Fraley has such passion for the sport," Dragila said. "Every time he talks he touches me."
Even in retirement, Fraley remains a revered figure in collegiate sports. In October he was invited to a track and field awards banquet at perennial Division II powerhouse Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.
He related how, as a young man, he couldn't afford a ticket to the West Coast Relays in Fresno. "But the next year," he told them, "Abilene Christian was coming, so I made sure I got a ticket."
He let the athletes know that Abilene Christian "was the most feared team in the land" in the days of world champions such as Bobby Morrow.
"I emphasized, 'You have great heritage, don't take it for granted,' " Fraley said.
Heritage. Few people have established one as powerful as Fraley's.
Fraley's rep still a draw for Dragila, other stars
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009
By Ken Robison / The Fresno Bee
The phone rang at the Fraley home last week and the resulting conversation validated all the hard work Bob Fraley has given to track and field through the years.
On the other end was Stacy Dragila, former Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder. Sure, she told Fraley, I'll come to Fresno for your Jan. 19 Run for the Dream indoor meet.
"Best phone call I ever got," Fraley said. "She said, 'Coach, for all you and your community have done, the way you guys supported me in [the 1999 street vault in] Clovis ...'
"It was awesome. She told me, 'I'm coming, coach, all I need is a room. I'll do interviews, if you need me to get up at 5 a.m. to talk to a radio station, I'll do it.' "
That was sweet music to Fraley, who is feeling the pinch in these lean times. He retired last spring after 28 seasons coaching at Fresno State, and Run for the Dream is his full-time project.
But even a track and field legend is finding fundraising difficult. Many of his sponsors the past couple of years were farmers, and they're struggling with a down economy and water shortages.
"I'm spending endless hours on this thing," Fraley said the other day. "Oh, boy, is it a hard deal. I have what you'd call a recession budget this year. Getting sponsorships is not as easy these days."
Fraley can't offer transportation to Fresno, and there's no prize money available for the elite athletes in his Martin Luther King Jr. Day meet. But what he can give is a room at the University Inn and a short walk across Shaw Avenue to the Save Mart Center to compete.
That -- and Fraley's stature in track and field -- has been enough to draw world-class athletes such as Dragila, 2004 Olympic pole vault gold medalist Tim Mack, four-time Olympic high jumper Amy Acuff and several other Olympians.
Reached by phone at her home in San Diego on Saturday, Dragila recalled her visit to the Clovis street vault.
"Ten thousand people showed up. They touch you like you're a rock star -- it was electrifying. How could you not perform in such an awesome setting?"
So it was a no-brainer when Fraley asked her to come back.
"Coach Fraley has such passion for the sport," Dragila said. "Every time he talks he touches me."
Even in retirement, Fraley remains a revered figure in collegiate sports. In October he was invited to a track and field awards banquet at perennial Division II powerhouse Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.
He related how, as a young man, he couldn't afford a ticket to the West Coast Relays in Fresno. "But the next year," he told them, "Abilene Christian was coming, so I made sure I got a ticket."
He let the athletes know that Abilene Christian "was the most feared team in the land" in the days of world champions such as Bobby Morrow.
"I emphasized, 'You have great heritage, don't take it for granted,' " Fraley said.
Heritage. Few people have established one as powerful as Fraley's.