Coach Ted Van Arsdale - UCSD Anyone know him?

1. Friendly

2. Anal

3. Generally an odd bird

4. Seems to get solid results from his distance kids

Coach Van Arsdale has produced two DIII 5000 champions (UCSD is now DII) at a school that cuts no academic slack for its athletes and used to give minimal financial support to its athletic programs. If you ask his athletes, a lot of them will say the he has been like a second father to them. He takes the time to individualize his training for his athletes and seems to get a lot out of a modest talent pool. Bottom line is he's a good coach and a good guy to run for, but he expects you to make a commitment to running as your highest priority after academics.

I agree with the above. ODD BIRD, ANAL. But is a character of high moral value which is very difficult to locate in NCAA sports, unless you go to Oregon of course. He gets average athletes to achieve a lot more then one would think they are capable of. I suggest running for him if you can stand the school.

Ted is a great coach and an even better person. He expects alot from his runners but that should be expected from a program that is looking to be successful. As for those that say odd bird, I would argue that Ted's personality is what makes him fun. He has an incredible amount of running knowledge and I know that I'm a better runner and more importantly a better person for having trained under him for 4 years.

I would definately recommend UCSD -- you can't find a nicer place to spend your college years.

Anybody up for "Upper and Lower Loops" at Torrey Pines?

Here is an article where some of his former runners talk about him.

Ted was an awesome coach and an awesome friend. I'd run for him over and again.

Worked with Ted for many years, and both odd bird and anal describe him well, but so does intellegent, thoughtful, friendly and personable. Good coach, great guy, UCSD is a great place to spend a few years of your life as well. Tony Salerno is an even stranger bird, but also a great guy and good coach/organizer.

I both ran for Ted for my 5 years at UCSD and now have been his assistant for the past 3 seasons. If you have any specific questions that you would like answered please feel free to email me and I'd be happy to answer them as well as I can.

I have never met the guy, however , many times while I was waiting to run with a group of masters at the track over at UCSD I would observe the coaches and athletes. Everytime time I observed the interplay between coach and runner I was impressed and thought something very special was happening ...if he is a odd ball we need more like him..I hope my kids are lucky enough to have a person and staff of that caliber..

Great friend/coach, but getting to go for a ride with him makes it even better, and who can't like his hat.

Not to mention that once upon a time long long ago he had the 5k record for PLNU in the low 14s, so he knows as a personal level what it takes to run at that level.

TEN GALLON TED!

Great school. Great Coach. Rumored to be moving on soon.