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By Ernesto ValdésTrying to instill an appreciationof sports in some people is akinto instilling an appreciation ofopera in others. Yet athletes andartists often wander into eachother’s sphere with abandon.Two of the famous Three Tenorsdreamed of being professionalsoccer players: the late LucianoPavarotti and Placido Domingo.Moreover, the 1990 World CupPlayoffs in Rome featured thetrio’s celebrated performanceviewed by a television audienceestimated at 800 million. Anotherlittle known performancemixing sports and culture tookplace January 30, 2009, withthe Super Bowl Gospel Celebrationsung by the NFL Players’All-Star Choir that includedmore than thirty-two active andThat You May Win:Tom Tellez Teaches UH Athletes toGo for the Goldretired football players with inspirational messages from thelikes of John Elway, Tony Dungy, Jerry Rice, Chris Carter, KurtWarner, and Dion Sanders. 1Finally, on closer inspection, sports and the performingarts share striking similarities: dedication to the discipline anddevelopment of innate talent, stamina to practice and endurerepetitious routines, and an irrepressible desire to achieveperfection. The legendary choreographer George Balanchine,noted, “I don’t want people who want to dance, I want peoplewho have to dance.” 2 Thus, in both endeavors, talent constitutesonly one dimension of greatness; it must be molded long beforethe encores or the medals are won. Rarely do athletes stand inthe winner’s circle alone – somewhere in the wings stands thecoach who saw a diamond in the raw stone. This story concernsone of those coaches, Tom Tellez of the University of Houston.In many other countries, fans closely follow track and field,but in the United States, high school and collegiate track meetsdraw only half-filled stadiums. But every four years, Americantrack and field athletes join those of other countries in theOlympic Games, which thousands of spectators watch on site,and millions more around the world view on television. Duringhis tenure at the University of Houston, Tom Tellez coachedseveral Cougar athletes in national and international competitions.Many reached the Olympic Games where they left theirmarks on the record books. Names such as Kirk Batiste, JoeDeLoach, and LeRoy Burrell are still remembered for their14 Vol. 6, No. 3–SportsTom Tellez explaining track and field fundamentals at the InternationalTrack and Field Symposium at the Hilton University of Houston Hoteland Conference Center.All photos courtesy of UH Athletics, unless otherwise noted.accomplishments performedin national and internationalvenues. Without listing conferenceand preliminary competitionsduring the interim ofthe Olympic Games, Tellez’sathletes achieved an impressivearray of victories. Batiste tookthe silver medal in the 200 metersin 1984; Joe DeLoach ranin the 1988 Summer Olympicsand took the gold medal in the200 meters; LeRoy Burrell heldthe world’s record twice for the100-meter dash, with one ofthe records coming in his goldmedal performance in the 1992Olympics. By far, though, CarlLewis stands as Tellez’s bestknown athlete. He won fourgold medals in the 1984 LosAngeles Olympic Games, a featthat equaled Jesse Owens’ recordset in 1936 for the highestnumber of gold medals won bya track and field athlete in a single Olympics. In his career, Lewiswon nine gold medals and one silver while competing in fourOlympic Games: Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, and Atlanta. 3The Tellez coaching philosophy that guided these giftedathletes began when he came to understand the esoteric worldof “biomechanics,” a philosophy that emerged in the 1960’sand 1970’s. According to Tellez, that philosophy taps into theknowledge of the human body and incorporates the works ofJoe DeLoach, Coach Tellez, and Carl Lewis at the Seoul OlympicGames in 1988. DeLoach won the gold medal in the 200 meters, andLewis won silver in the 200 meters and gold in the 100 meters andlong jump.