{"id":522,"date":"2024-08-07T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T19:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/magazine-2023\/?p=522"},"modified":"2024-08-07T15:37:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T19:37:00","slug":"athletes-and-leaders-for-a-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/magazine-2023\/2024\/08\/athletes-and-leaders-for-a-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletes and Leaders for a Lifetime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The past 20 years have seen significant developments in the world of NCAA sports. But three things have remained constant for The Citadel\u2019s track and field team\u2014Jody Huddleston, Kris Kut and dedicated student-athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The director of the cross country and track and field program, Huddleston has been coaching the sport since 1986. Part of an Air Force family, Huddleston started running track in high school. \u201cI was cut from the basketball team, so I went out for track,\u201d said Huddleston, \u201cand I just stuck with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kut, track and field\u2019s head coach and an Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, has been with The Citadel in some form since 1996, when he matriculated with the Class of 2000. In his cadet career, Kut was a four-year letter winner. After graduating with a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science, he continued his education at The Citadel, earning his master\u2019s degree in health, exercise and sport science in 2003. \u201cI got an opportunity to stay on and help, and basically never left,\u201d said the former college javelin record holder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both coaches believe that what makes track and field at The Citadel unique is not only the military mission, but the mission of the team. \u201cOur goal is not just to throw them to the curb after four years,\u201d said Kut. \u201cWe want them to be part of this family forever. You\u2019ll see a lot of these kids come back to visit and watch practice. It is a commitment for a lifetime. We\u2019re a family here.\u201d A silver picture frame on the end of Huddleston\u2019s desk shows Kut is not exaggerating. In the photo that dates back to 2000, the two stand in front of an orange track. Kut, a graduate student, is dressed out in his shiny Citadel blue uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This student-family approach is not just a wish from the coaching staff. Tatiana Corso, CGC \u201923, said the track and field team filled a void in her life. A native of Verona, Italy, the master\u2019s of sport management graduate knew she wanted to continue competing as a thrower while she pursued her next level of education. After completing her undergraduate degree in exercise science in Italy, the then-redshirt junior set her sights on the United States. \u201cBack home we don\u2019t have college sports, so if you want to study and play, the two have to be separate. It\u2019s hard to work with the schedule, so I started looking to the U.S.\u2014sports here are very different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corso came to The Citadel on a track and field scholarship and throws everything but the javelin. She earned first place in shot put at the Liberty Open and third at the Southern Conference Outdoor Championship in 2022. As much as she loves competing and pushing her physical limits, Corso sees the biggest value in the camaraderie of being a Citadel athlete. \u201cWe just cheer for each other. It doesn\u2019t matter if someone\u2019s jumping or running, you just see The Citadel on their shirt and you scream for them. It makes a difference in competition.\u201d Corso also worked on campus, up to 20 hours per week, while balancing class and training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a smaller program can also make a difference. \u201cWe have the time to spend with the athletes, whereas big schools are worried about getting their All-Americans qualifying for nationals,\u201d said Kut. \u201cWe can take walk-ons and develop them, but it doesn\u2019t happen overnight. A lot of these kids don\u2019t do much their freshman year, but by the time they\u2019re seniors, they are All-Conference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal is to churn out not just great athletes, but leaders for a lifetime,\u201d said Huddleston. \u201cWe want these kids to excel academically, athletically and in the Corps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kut agreed, adding that 50% of the 2022-2023 team was contracted to enter the military after graduation. \u201cWe always tell our kids that we\u2019re going to teach you to be professional in something other than sports,\u201d said Kut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond earning more than their fair share of Gold Stars and cadet rank, the team also puts in time serving the community by volunteering at local races, holding food drives and teaching kids the fundamentals of track. \u201cUltimately, it is about making good citizens,\u201d said Kut. \u201cWe stress that you are not just here to be an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Corso, coming to The Citadel has been more than just a chance to keep competing. \u201cCoach Kut gave me the best opportunity of my life, and I\u2019ll be forever thankful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The past 20 years have seen significant developments in the world of NCAA sports. But three things have remained constant for The Citadel\u2019s track and field team\u2014Jody Huddleston, Kris Kut and dedicated student-athletes. The director of the cross country and track and field program, Huddleston has been coaching the sport since 1986. Part of an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":694,"featured_media":465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-pillars"],"yoast_head":"\nAthletes and Leaders for a Lifetime - The Citadel Magazine 2023<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/magazine-2023\/2024\/08\/athletes-and-leaders-for-a-lifetime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Athletes and Leaders for a Lifetime\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The past 20 years have seen significant developments in the world of NCAA sports. 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