Olympic Track Athlete Randolph Ross Heads To The University Of Tennessee After His Dad Is Named Coach

Randolph Ross competes in the men's 4x400-meter relay at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Aug. 6, 2021 in Tokyo.

Getting that time together as a family is something the patriarch of the family considers a privilege.

“Seeing your children grow every day, seeing them develop, that’s been a bigger blessing than their performances any day,” Duane shared.

“A lot of parents who send their kids off to college only see them on holidays. I see them every day. Watching Randolph become a young man has been one of the joys of my life.”

For his son, the feelings of admiration are mutual.

“The best thing about having my dad as my coach is that he’s been through everything I’ve dreamed of doing: Olympic team, running pro,” Randolph admitted. “Everything that we aspire to be, he’s already been through and knows how to prepare for it.”

Duane competed internationally for nearly a decade and participated in multiple IAAF World Championships. A native of North Carolina, he became an NCAA champion hurdler and seven-time All-American at Clemson in the ‘90s and eventually transitioned into coaching.

Coaching a team, which includes two of your children, is a challenge that Duane said he is getting better at managing.

 “The challenge is that I can be a little harder on my kids than I am anyone else on the team. And sometimes I have to pull back,” Duane admitted. “I never want my team to think that my own children are receiving any favoritism.”

That message became abundantly clear when he threw Randolph out of practice his first year at North Carolina A&T, the first and only time he had seen him lose his cool. It happened after Randolph talked back.

“Yeah, I tossed his behind right up out of there,” Duane said about his son he claims is usually cooler than a fan. “He came back and apologized and gave me a hug. I reminded him that he’s always going to be my son, and I want the best for him.”

For Duane, that means having tough conversations. At one time, he discussed whether he was the best coaching choice for his kids.

“When they were coming out of high school to go into college, as much as it pained me, I tried to send them somewhere else,” he said. “They took their visits to other schools. I pushed them to talk to other coaches.

“In the end, both of them decided that they wanted to stay with their father. But it was something I struggled with, and sometimes still do.”

Randolph is happy with his decision, revealing that having his dad as his coach pushes him to do better.

“The hardest thing about having my dad as my coach is that practice is just as high an expectation — if not higher than at a meet — because you never want to let a parent down. But if you look at it right, it’s a positive because it pushes you to do better. Even on your worse days.”

And when that day comes when he is ready to close the chapter on his career, he said, “Hopefully, my dad will be right there along with me.”