Bob McCarter of the Thousand Oaks Flyers was coaching youth track 30 years ago.
McCarter hasn't slowed down, coaching five days a week with the Flyers and the Thousand Oaks High hurdlers.
"What amazes me, he is working with the Thousand Oaks High team hurdlers. He's first in and the last one to leave with the Flyers," said Tom Bailey, one of the Flyers coaches.
"He's a great motivator with a kind heart," said Bailey.
But McCarter, 72, is no pushover.
"There's tough love," said Bailey. "There's always a girl there to take a place and that impresses me."
Henry Wolf of Thousand Oaks has coached with McCarter for 19 years.
"He's consistently good with the kids and he gets the best out of them," said Wolf.
McCarter isn't concerned about an athlete's ability, just to go out and have fun.
"He does it better than most coaches," said Wolf.
"He's keeping kids off the street and developing self-esteem," said Wolf.
Jamie Smith, 14, a distance runner for the Flyers, has been learning from McCarter for two years.
"He's awesome," said Smith. "He treats you like an individual."
Maddie Lynch, 13, said McCarter stresses having fun and being positive.
"Just talking to him, he's the nicest person," said Lynch, who will attend La Reina High in 2007-08.
McCarter was the founding father of the American Youth Soccer Organization in Thousand Oaks in 1968.
"We started with four boys' teams," he said.
At the end of the 1970 season, McCarter's daughter, Nancy, wanted to play soccer and he formed an all-star team to play at Granada Hills. In 1971, Thousand Oaks had four AYSO girls' teams.
McCarter's two oldest boys Joe, 52, and Daniel, 51, played soccer. His other children were athletes too, competing in soccer, track and cross country. They are John, 47, now a Simi Valley teacher; David, 34, a New York City teacher; and Paul, 36, a Dos Vientos Recreation Center worker. Thomas was 42 when he passed away five years ago.
McCarter and his wife, Anna, were married in 1954. They are high school sweethearts from Milwaukie, Ore.
McCarter said he started coaching youth track at Newbury Park in 1975 when Oxnard, Ventura and Ojai competed in the Valley Conference featuring San Fernando Valley track clubs. Newbury Park also competed in cross country in those days.
McCarter said he used the United Soccer Club's insurance policy when the Thousand Oaks Flyers were formed for the 1981 youth season.
McCarter said he played junior varsity and suited up for varsity football in high school. The recreational tennis player said he has enjoyed coaching over the years.
"Sharon Manship was one of the best athletes out of the group," he said of the 1987 Thousand Oaks High graduate. McCarter said Manship was at UCLA when Jackie Joyner-Kersee was a budding star and Manship moved on to the University of Arizona where she honed her heptathlon skills.
Distance running star Kim Mortensen and hurdles record setter Morgan Altizer are considered among the best athletes McCarter has coached.
McCarter said Mortensen always worked harder if she didn't win a race.
"This year, Caitlin Turner, a seventh grader, was the most outstanding in the 1,600 and 800 races," he said.
Dulce Pineda was one of the Flyers who made McCarter smile the most.
"She had never done any sports before," he said.
"She was a hard worker in the 400, 200 and shot put," he said of the 16-year-old intermediate girl.
McCarter knows something about coaching and parents.
"A lot of a parents push their kids beyond their capabilities," he said. "They need to back off a little and not make the mistake."
McCarter said in his younger days, he pushed kids.
Now, he encourages them and said self-motivation will carry them through the rest of their lives.
McCarter, who was a draftsman, retired six years ago and enjoys his role as coach.
