Northwestern University Athletics
Coaches Corner: 'A Havahla Haynes
8/6/2015 8:41:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
As the Wildcats turn their attention to the 2015-16 seasons, NUSports.com caught up with one of three new head coaches starting their first year at the helm, cross country's 'A Havahla Haynes. Haynes shares why she decided to coach, what she enjoys away from the office, and why she initially started a Twitter account in this edition of "Coaches Corner."
You have a very unique name, what does it mean?
It is a Hebrew name. "chava", in Hebrew, means love/life. It's also from Fiddler On The Roof. That was my mother's favorite movie and there was a daughter named 'Chava.' It is also a scriptural name, 'Havilah' is a river. My parents made a conjugation of it all and made my name: 'A Havahla.
Have you ever met anyone else with your name?
Not my full name, no.
Why did you start to run?
I grew up in a really small, rural town in northern Wisconsin [Phillips] and at that time there wasn't much to do, I wasn't very tall, so I decided against basketball and volleyball. We had a pretty good cross country program in my high school. So I joined the team. My brother had some previous success with running, I followed suit and it spiraled from there. It was a great thing for me academically and athletically.
What was the point where you realized you could get to the next level?
Probably my junior year of high school. I made the Wisconsin state track meet and then cross country as an individual. In my senior year I was like, "I am definitely going to go to college and do this somewhere." I loved it and didn't want to lose that part of my life.
When you entered the University of Wisconsin as a freshman, what did you think you wanted to study and pursue as a career?
Initially I thought that I was going to do psychology. I didn't love that. I did an internship for sociology with a social worker for a summer and I realized that I didn't think that I could handle the pressure that came along with it. I graduated with a sociology degree but in my senior year of college my coach said he thought that I would be a good coach on whatever level that I chose.
Do you know why he thought that?
I am still to this day not sure. I think that I'm personable. I think I did it right with my balance of athletics and academics and a lot of the time I had so much fun with it I thought I probably shouldn't stop doing it.
Is there a particular coach that has had the biggest impact on you as an individual?
I have had really good coaches my entire running career. My high school coach was phenomenal. I probably had one of the best in the history of coaching in the NCAA when I first started at Wisconsin, and then he left for Stanford and I got Jim Stintzi, and he is really the one that took me from being mediocre to being great. I have different things that I learned from each of them.
What appeals to you about coaching Northwestern student-athletes?
I think that Northwestern students are incredibly motivated. If a coach can learn each athlete individually I think the combination of those motivations with high academics and athletics is probably the biggest draw. I think Northwestern athletes have a drive and motivation that you don't see other places, not everyone has that kind of drive and motivation.
What are you most proud of in your coaching career thus far?
Overall, the development of my previous program. Going from irrelevant to incredibly relevant, that was a fun process. But now, coaching at Northwestern is probably the overall highlight of my career. I'm extremely excited about it!
What do you like to do away from work?
Travel. Granted, I already travel a lot [professionally] anyway, but traveling for me is probably my favorite thing to do. Abroad especially, I try to go somewhere where I have never been before each year.
Do you have a favorite vacation?
I traveled across Europe, a backpacking trip. I did five countries with my younger sister. We were really young, like 23 and 18. We went to England, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. It was awesome, with just a backpack and just a little bit of money, like not much money at all.
How many siblings do you have?
There are seven of us, I am second-to-last. Two are in Wisconsin, two in Chicago now that I have come back, one in Seattle and one in the San Diego area.
Was your family worried to let the two youngest siblings head off to backpack Europe?
Yeah, that's actually when I got my Twitter account, it's when Twitter first started. I didn't know how to contact them, I didn't have the cell phone with international calling because it cost a fortune at the time so I got a Twitter account and I think that my first tweet was, 'Mom, I arrived.'
What is the next city or country you want to cross off the list?
I would really like to go to Greece or Australia.
This job is a return to Evanston for you, what is your favorite thing about the city?
That it has a diverse culture but also you don't have the rush of downtown Chicago at all times. It's right there and you can visit it anytime the you want. You can have all the excitement and enrichment that Chicago offers but the constant rush is not there.
What is your first priority as you get started?
Getting the women on the same training plan and getting a sense of unity among the team, myself and (assistant coach) Audrey Huth, that's the most important thing. Outside of that it's probably getting training prepared so the stduent-athletes start progressing as individuals.
What is your favorite sport outside of cross country or track & field?
Probably tennis, I really admire Serena Williams and what she has done. I also really like watching men's tennis, Roger Federer is amazing.
What is your favorite thing about Chicago?
The beach in the summer.
You have a very unique name, what does it mean?
It is a Hebrew name. "chava", in Hebrew, means love/life. It's also from Fiddler On The Roof. That was my mother's favorite movie and there was a daughter named 'Chava.' It is also a scriptural name, 'Havilah' is a river. My parents made a conjugation of it all and made my name: 'A Havahla.
Have you ever met anyone else with your name?
Not my full name, no.
Why did you start to run?
I grew up in a really small, rural town in northern Wisconsin [Phillips] and at that time there wasn't much to do, I wasn't very tall, so I decided against basketball and volleyball. We had a pretty good cross country program in my high school. So I joined the team. My brother had some previous success with running, I followed suit and it spiraled from there. It was a great thing for me academically and athletically.
What was the point where you realized you could get to the next level?
Probably my junior year of high school. I made the Wisconsin state track meet and then cross country as an individual. In my senior year I was like, "I am definitely going to go to college and do this somewhere." I loved it and didn't want to lose that part of my life.
When you entered the University of Wisconsin as a freshman, what did you think you wanted to study and pursue as a career?
Initially I thought that I was going to do psychology. I didn't love that. I did an internship for sociology with a social worker for a summer and I realized that I didn't think that I could handle the pressure that came along with it. I graduated with a sociology degree but in my senior year of college my coach said he thought that I would be a good coach on whatever level that I chose.
Do you know why he thought that?
I am still to this day not sure. I think that I'm personable. I think I did it right with my balance of athletics and academics and a lot of the time I had so much fun with it I thought I probably shouldn't stop doing it.
Is there a particular coach that has had the biggest impact on you as an individual?
I have had really good coaches my entire running career. My high school coach was phenomenal. I probably had one of the best in the history of coaching in the NCAA when I first started at Wisconsin, and then he left for Stanford and I got Jim Stintzi, and he is really the one that took me from being mediocre to being great. I have different things that I learned from each of them.
What appeals to you about coaching Northwestern student-athletes?
I think that Northwestern students are incredibly motivated. If a coach can learn each athlete individually I think the combination of those motivations with high academics and athletics is probably the biggest draw. I think Northwestern athletes have a drive and motivation that you don't see other places, not everyone has that kind of drive and motivation.
What are you most proud of in your coaching career thus far?
Overall, the development of my previous program. Going from irrelevant to incredibly relevant, that was a fun process. But now, coaching at Northwestern is probably the overall highlight of my career. I'm extremely excited about it!
What do you like to do away from work?
Travel. Granted, I already travel a lot [professionally] anyway, but traveling for me is probably my favorite thing to do. Abroad especially, I try to go somewhere where I have never been before each year.
Do you have a favorite vacation?
I traveled across Europe, a backpacking trip. I did five countries with my younger sister. We were really young, like 23 and 18. We went to England, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. It was awesome, with just a backpack and just a little bit of money, like not much money at all.
How many siblings do you have?
There are seven of us, I am second-to-last. Two are in Wisconsin, two in Chicago now that I have come back, one in Seattle and one in the San Diego area.
Was your family worried to let the two youngest siblings head off to backpack Europe?
Yeah, that's actually when I got my Twitter account, it's when Twitter first started. I didn't know how to contact them, I didn't have the cell phone with international calling because it cost a fortune at the time so I got a Twitter account and I think that my first tweet was, 'Mom, I arrived.'
What is the next city or country you want to cross off the list?
I would really like to go to Greece or Australia.
This job is a return to Evanston for you, what is your favorite thing about the city?
That it has a diverse culture but also you don't have the rush of downtown Chicago at all times. It's right there and you can visit it anytime the you want. You can have all the excitement and enrichment that Chicago offers but the constant rush is not there.
What is your first priority as you get started?
Getting the women on the same training plan and getting a sense of unity among the team, myself and (assistant coach) Audrey Huth, that's the most important thing. Outside of that it's probably getting training prepared so the stduent-athletes start progressing as individuals.
What is your favorite sport outside of cross country or track & field?
Probably tennis, I really admire Serena Williams and what she has done. I also really like watching men's tennis, Roger Federer is amazing.
What is your favorite thing about Chicago?
The beach in the summer.
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