Also Contributed by: Brianna Kirk, McCoy Wegner, Mauricio Munoz, and Kaitlyn Valdez
Tom Schwoegler is not only a coach to his riders … he is a father figure. Despite the increase in gas prices from when Schwoegler first began his involvement with Indiana University’s Little 500 bike race, Schwoegler is still just as eager to make the commute from his home in Chicago to IU’s campus for frequent training.
Throughout his 47 year coaching journey, Schwoegler has claimed 6 victories, 8 of his bikers and himself have been inducted into the Little 500 Hall of Fame. From the death of one rider to the unexpected pregnancy of another, Schwoegler has gained much more than just trophies.
“I keep in touch with virtually all of my former riders … They’re like the kids I didn’t have,” Schwoegler said.
Schwoegler developed close-knit relationships with all of his riders while at IU, and he follows them into their adult lives. The Little 500 is not just a day in April. To Tom Schwoegler, it is an experience that engenders success after life at IU and provides riders and coaches with life long friends.
“I drove to one of my former rider’s house the other day,” Schwoegler said.
He enthusiastically made the long journey to a former rider’s home to deliver a new bike for her daughter’s 11th birthday. Schwoegler’s actions constantly demonstrate the love he has for his riders.
“I would take a bullet for them,” Schwoegler said.
The relationships that Schwoegler has developed with his riders over the years stem from a unique coaching strategy that has been compared to that of Bob Knight’s. Schwoegler demands that his riders to be confident, persistent, and prepared.
“The key is not the will to win … everybody has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that is important,” Schwoegler quoted Knight.
Schwoegler emphasizes that confidence in your hard work and preparation will lead to success. The will to prepare has led to various victories for Schwoegler’s teams in the Little 500. More importantly he believes that the skills developed by participating an event like the bike race gives participants the tools to succeed in life.
“In order to be good at something, you have to get out of your comfort zone,” explained Schwoegler.
After years of instilling confidence, commitment and dedication into each of his teams over his numerous years of coaching Schwoegler was inducted into the Little 500 Hall of Fame. Having been proud of his victories, he is more impressed by how his riders have fared after they left the grounds of IU.
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