While on a workout trip to Michigan, we caught up with Oak Park (MI) girls head coach Brandon Jiles. We got to ride along with him to find out about the Oak Park program, his history coaching there, and how he got his own start in track and field as both an athlete and coach.
Oak Park is a high school just outside of Detroit, on the city's northwest side. Jiles attended high school just down the road at Mumford High School. Mumford is also where he got his start as a coach after attending college at Eastern Michigan University.
Jiles attributes his love for track and field to his own high school coach Robert Lynch. Lynch is a longtime coaching legend in the Detroit area with Mumford and Motor City Track Club. Lynch now also coaches Oak Park as the boys head coach alongside Jiles, who heads the girls program. Jiles strives to help give his athletes the same experiences which coach Lynch gave him as a high schooler. He tries to provide them with experiences like competing in national level meets and traveling with the Moter City Track Club. Many of his athletes attend college on track and field scholarships.
It was a cold and snowy day in April when we visited Oak Park for their workout. The team was getting in a pre-meet shake out which entailed hurdle work and handoffs. They have come a long way since this workout was filmed, and recently won their fourth state title in five years. This weekend they are set to compete at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in individual events as well as relays. For the past several years they have been contenders for national titles in all the major relays, and this year shouldn't be any different.
Watch our ridealong workout above and catch some of the post workout interviews with his athletes by clicking through the slideshow.
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