In June, beloved men’s track and field coach John Copeland announced his retirement after 39 years at URI. Under Copeland, the team secured 25 A-10 titles. But more important to Copeland was his impact on the students he coached.

It is difficult to measure the effect one person can have on another. It is nearly impossible to measure the effect that coach John Copeland had at URI over the last four decades. In addition to the championships—there were many—his legacy at URI is reflected in the thousands of student-athletes he coached.

“Cope” was tough in every manner of the word. But he was committed to taking time with the members of his team outside of practice. I can hardly remember a time when his office door was closed. Many of my teammates can talk for hours about what they learned from Cope just sitting in that office and listening to stories about track and life.

“He drilled into our heads lessons like the five Ps: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.”

After a rough freshman year, I asked him if he would allow me to transfer. Per NCAA regulations, I was required to get his approval or forfeit a year of eligibility. While he was under no obligation to do so, he said, “Of course,” and promptly picked up the phone, called the coach at the school I wanted to transfer to, and gave me the release. Luckily, I was not accepted to that school and remained in Kingston, where I completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I eventually found my stride at URI and a few years later I was mulling my plans for after I graduated. Naturally, I was considering coaching and asked Cope why he was still coaching all these years later. He told me that coaching at the collegiate level gave him the opportunity to shape boys into men, men who were ready to tackle the world.
Now 31, and coaching, I understand what he meant. He drilled into our heads lessons like the five Ps: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. He demanded we give maximum effort in the classroom and on the track. He was never the “rah-rah” kind of coach, but he expected his teams to support one another at practice and on meet days with passion. The five years that I spent under his tutelage in Kingston helped shape me into who I am today. On behalf of the men’s track and field alumni, I want to thank him for everything he did for us while at URI. •

—Steve McKenna II ’13, M.A. ’15

Author’s note: This story could be from any of the thousands of athletes Copeland coached. Cope meant a lot to me. More importantly, he meant a lot to all the Men’s Track & Field alumni from the last 39 years.

Read more about coach Copeland’s retirement and his time at URI.

Photos: Michael Scott; Tirza Van Dijk