Tuscaloosa News Profiles My Dad

The Tuscaloosa News writes about my dad this morning. I’ve corrected a few mistakes with this version.

By Ashley Boyd, Staff Writer

Before leading the Tuscaloosa Academy track team to the national championships, Don McDaniel was building swimming pools and working odd jobs to keep his family afloat.

McDaniel’s son, Brian McDaniel, said his father has always coached, regardless of pay. Brian said that despite economic hardships, his father somehow always found time to volunteer as a coach.

‘He’s been coaching since before I was born. He started coaching in 1961 with the Oakdale Raiders and started coaching with the Boys Club as a volunteer in the ’60s,’ Brian McDaniel said.

After going back to school and getting his masters in history and physical education, McDaniel was offered his first paid coaching position at Tuscaloosa Academy.

‘The Academy job was really his first real coaching position that he was paid to do. I think he just loves helping and working with kids. He loves working and teaching and passing along skills,’ Brian said.

In his time at Tuscaloosa Academy, McDaniel has led the track team to five state championships. McDaniel’s former student Jennifer Killeffer went on to become the state record holder for the 400-meter track and field event.

Before his current position as the cross country and track and field coach, McDaniel also helped coach football.

‘When I started in my career, I coached both football and track and field. I enjoy coaching because it’s a way to help people stay in shape. I particularly liked track because it crossed sports,’ McDaniel said.

But after a heart attack on the football field in 1993, McDaniel said he had to re-evaluate his lifestyle. Losing weight did more than improve his overall health. It also inspired him to start the school’s first cross country team.

‘He had his heart attack on my 18th birthday, August 23, 1993. It was at football practice when it happened. He quit smoking immediately and began cooking healthier right away,’ Lee McDaniel said.

McDaniel said that improving his health has benefitted him and his students and enabled him to be a positive role model.

‘What I seek is to help my students develop and accomplish things that they thought they couldn’t do but can. I had one young lady who doubted she could run cross country. She’s now the No. 1 cross country runner in our state,’ McDaniel said.

Paul Crook, associate director of the Oklahoma Shakespearian Festival, was a former Tuscaloosa Academy student and served as an assistant football coach under McDaniel for a number of years.

‘Even 20 years later, what sticks out in my mind the most about him is his sense of humor. He has this wonderful sense of humor that he uses in the classroom and on the athletics field. He puts people at ease, and it helps them perform at their best,’ Crook said.

Crook adds that in addition to coaching, McDaniel was also a great history teacher and influenced his decision to go into his area of study.

‘I learned a lot in his classes. I enjoyed history before I ever took a class. I learned to appreciate it so much more and gained such knowledge,’ Crook said.

Over his many years of teaching, McDaniel has coached more than 380 state champions. That number continues to grow.

‘I still have an enthusiasm for what I do. I love to get up and come to work to coach my kids,’ McDaniel said.

While McDaniel has enjoyed a successful tenure as a coach, his real success is his influence.

‘Most people measure success by awards and accolades. I think you’d measure my dad’s success by the number of people he’s influenced and affected over the years,’ Brian McDaniel said. ‘You know that when people always ask me how my dad is, that says something.’