Q&A: 4x1 with Assistant Coach Sean Brady

Assistant track and field coach Sean Brady goes through the Q&A 4x1. 
 
What were your initial thoughts in New Mexico when you first heard the cancellation of the NCAA Indoor Championships?
 
"That was a tough one.  Throughout the week the alerts were starting to ramp up so I expected there may be some changes in the format of the meet.  When they actually told us about the cancellation we were at the venue doing a pre-meet warm-up.  It was devastating.  I was just sick for the seniors and the men and women that worked so hard to get to that championship meet."
 
What is your favorite quarantine activity?
 
"I've been catching up on the hundreds of emails that I have in my inbox, but cooking would probably be my favorite quarantine activity.  I haven't had the opportunity to do that in some time and I'm getting pretty imaginative with it."
 
As a coach, how are you responding to the current situation— are you keeping in touch with your athletes via Zoom or sending at-home workouts?
 
"We've given the team some general strength and bodyweight circuit type of workouts to do.  In addition to that, we're trying to stay connected via Zoom and sending out audio files of some things we could do to make it more palatable and to stay in shape.  We did one yesterday on dietary concerns and some tips on things that you may want to avoid.  We're trying to stay connected as much as possible."
 
Working with an athlete with such a big personality like Tyra Gittens, what is your favorite Tyra moment or a funny story about Tyra?
 
"She's a pleasure to work with, she really is.  Her gregarious personality is just infectious.  She makes our whole group better because of the way she competes.  I look at Tyra as an entertainer.  Obviously she is a very good athlete but if she wasn't blessed with her athletic ability she would be entertaining in some way, I think track is just her medium to carry out those gifts that she has." 
 
"The first time she jumped 6'1" in the high jump was a very special moment.  She jumped off the pit and jumped up and clicked her heels together and just ran over to me and gave me a big hug.  It was a sweet moment."
 
"In between events she'll come underneath the stadium and have a dance party.  She has a playlist lined out and she tries to recruit as many people as possible to join in her dance party.  In the middle of a championship competition that's who she is and that's what makes her so special.  The moment is never too big for her, and rarely have I seen her shake under pressure."
 
"She is a terrible artist. I mean really bad. She will leave funny pictures on my desk, on the whiteboard.  She also sends pictures of her in her 8 am class and will usually make some funny faces.  Lastly, she will take pictures of me coaching and use some crazy app to distort and give me a big goofy face.  She has no problem posting these funny pics on our event group site in GroupMe."