The William Weaver Head Coach Of Track And Field

VIGILANTE NAMED WILLIAM WEAVER HEAD COACH OF MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Does the name Ray Chernock ring any bells? 

How about it, all you track and field fans out there? 

No? Back in 1977, Chernock went from being an assistant coach with the Princeton men's track and field team to being the head coach at William & Mary. Before that, he had been a great sprinter at NYU and a legendary high school coach, first at Jamaica High and then at Oceanside High before coming to Princeton to coach under another former Jamaica High coach, Larry Ellis.

Chernock's biggest claim to fame, at least as far as Princeton is concerned, is that it was Chernock's departure that opened up a position on Ellis' staff. That position was filled by, of course, Fred Samara.

It's been awhile since anyone had to worry about taking Samara's place. In all of Princeton Athletics history, nobody has coached more athletes or won more championships than Fred Samara, who retired after this past season. 

That's 46 years at Princeton for Samara. 

Who would want to step into those shoes? Well, a lot of coaches would. 

Who is the one getting the chance? That would be Jason Vigilante. 

It was announced yesterday that Vigilante — Vig (pronounced "Vidge" to pretty much everyone — will be the new William Weaver Head Coach of Men's Track and Field at Princeton. The announcement was made by Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack, himself a men's track and field alum.

Vigilante is the ninth head coach in program history. It's a program, by the way, that dates to the’70s – the 1870s, or 1876 to be exact. That's what happens when you have one coach for 46 years, like Samara did. 

If Vigilante matches that longevity, he'll be coaching at Princeton until 2057.

Vig is no stranger to being a Princeton head coach. He already has five Ivy League Coach of the Year Awards and six Ivy League championships in his 12 years as the head coach of Tiger cross country.

He came to Princeton in 2012 as the cross country head man and Samara's assistant. Since then, he's been a part of 20 Ivy League titles, including four "Triple Crowns."

The idea of continuity in a program is very appealing, especially one with such a winning culture on the track and off of it. The man who takes over has been very much a part of building and maintaining that culture, and there is no athlete in the program or incoming freshman who doesn't know him well.

That, of course, only takes you so far. It's the success that Vig has directly had a hand in that is a much bigger indicator of why he got the job. 

His resume includes overwhelming success as a coach at both Texas and Virginia. Among those who speak highly of him is Colorado coach Mark Wetmore, who had this to say:

“Jason is among the very best coaches of Track and Field in the United States, if not the world. He has recruited and developed talent at every stop in his career. He and Princeton are a perfect match.” 

It is not easy to take over for a legendary coach, as TigerBlog mentioned when Samara retired. At the same time, it's also an extraordinary opportunity for Vigilante to follow Samara and put his own stamp on the program.

Vigilante brings confidence and passion with him in addition to his knowledge and coaching ability. He also has a strong big-picture focus, as you can tell by some of what he said in the story announcing his hiring, which TB linked to above.

Vig wouldn't have wanted the job had he been afraid of taking over for the man for whom he worked the past dozen years.

TigerBlog thought about writing this without ever mentioning Samara, but that is 1) impossible and 2) not necessary. Vigilante knows whose seat it's been for the last 46 years.

No matter who the coach is, eventually their time comes to an end and the page turns. It's happened with Hall of Fame coaches across the board at Princeton. No coach is bigger than the program itself. No coach owns that program, not Pete Carril, not Bill Tierney, not Fred Samara. 

They simply oversee it, lease it if you will, until it comes time to move on. 

That time is now. It's Jason Vigilante's lease now. 

TB sends him congratulations and wishes him all the best.