University of San Francisco Athletics

The University San Francisco track and cross country program is never far away from the heart and mind of alumnus Alex Nelson.
 
The 2009 USF graduate was one of head coach Helen Lehman-Winters' first recruits and became the first Don to compete at an NCAA regional event. In Nelson's 2008 junior season, he finished ninth in the 1,500 meter at the NCAA Regional Championships, and served as team captain for two seasons.
 
After graduating in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, the Sacramento native decided to stay on the Hilltop. He earned his masters in sport management two years later and served a stint on the USF coaching staff before exemplifying the NCAA saying of "going pro in something other than sports."
 
The senior consultant at Oracle didn't leave his Northern California roots behind, and still finds time to take in USF running events, and for the past few years has been a placement at that announcing table at the annual USF Cross Country Invitational.
 
USFDons.com caught up with him at that event to get his thoughts on his own college experience, and his impressions on the current state of the program:
 
What were some of the factors that influenced your decision to come to USF?
I was a Northern California kid and started running for Helen in 2005. I chose USF initially because I liked the small-school atmosphere, and I liked the personal treatment. I love the city – I love the environment, and I really was convinced that Helen was the right coach for me.
 
Once you got to campus, what are some of the things that hooked you on staying for nearly a decade?
I fell in love with the people here. The athletic department is really kind of a family. Everybody knows each other and everybody roots for each other. I loved the religious aspect of it – it wasn't something that I focused my decision on when I was in high school, but I love how it was always something that was prevalent on campus and something that I felt provided a different feel to a normal college experience.
 
You're not the only Nelson to graduate from USF. Who else in your family attended school here?
My sister Lisa, who is a year younger than me, went to USF. She's a nursing grad and went through the ROTC program. She loved it and loved the city. I loved being with her. She's putting both of her degrees to work and she's an Army nurse in Texas now at Fort Sam Houston. Just like I mentioned that USF is a big family, Helen always asks about Lisa and my parents every time we talk.
 
What was your planned career path after graduating from the sport management program?
I was actually planning on working in sports and competing. I was on the coaching staff for a little bit and that was part of the plan. When I stopped competing, I started looking at other options and consulting was one of them. It ended up working out, because I can still stay involved and cheer on the team and pursue other things.
 
How was your relationship with Lehman-Winters different as an assistant on her staff compared to as a runner in her program?
Not that different. We actually had a pretty mature professional relationship even when I was running for her. We were pretty grown up about my running career even when I was running for her so it wasn't that big of a change going from going to an athlete to the other side of the coin.
 
Do you still run?
I run about three times a week, just for old time's sake, but not at any competitive capacity. I do miss competing, just because it's a great time in your life being in college and being on a team. But I'm excited for the things I'm doing now, and I'm glad that we have a real good squad of kids competing and representing the school. It is something that I miss, but everything has to come to an end right?
 
What is something that you've learned over the years from Lehman-Winters?
Confidence, for sure. She knows what she's doing, and she's willing to fight to back it up. Athletics is not something that you can only go halfway. When you know what you're doing, you go 100 percent after it and you fight for it, and you fight for your athletes because you believe in them. I've never met somebody that believes in their athletes more than she does, and it really comes out in their performances. No athlete is always on 100 percent all the time, and when you go through those rough patches she's always there to pick you up, whether it's emotional or physical, injuries, academics, whatever – she's seen it all before and she's always there to get you back going on the right foot.
 
How have you seen the program progress since you were a student-athlete?
Pretty much every time I talk to Helen I always ask her about recruiting and what the future of the team is looking like. Without fail, she always tends to tell me she has a kid coming in that's better than any other kid she's had before. That's just the way that she runs this program. She constantly wants to get better from the day that I started with her, we've gotten better every year. A better quality of athlete, a better mentality. The women are competing on the national stage, the men are one of the best teams in the region every year now, breaking school records left and right. The train is rolling and there's no stopping it now.
 
What do you think is the future of USF track & field and cross country?
If when I came into the program and you told me that 10 years later, the program would be where it is now, I wouldn't have believed you. Helen definitely had a vision that this is where we would be and she continues to have vision to get better. It's quite remarkable the job that she's been able to do with this team and the athletes that she has. It's fun and it gets better every year.
 
Ten years in the future, we'll have a women's team on the podium, and we'll have a men's team competing for a podium. That's something that 10 years ago wasn't even on the radar. Ten years ago this was a team that was not even in the picture competing for a conference title and this is a program that is recognized by pretty much everybody in the country now. There's really no limit to where it can stop.