Creating Coaches: From ‘Average at Best’ Jumper to Division I Coach

Bob Thurnhoffer cheers on his athletes during a meet.It was the summer of 1992 in Lombard, Illinois. Bob Thurnhoffer — Loyola’s track and field and cross country coach — was 11 years old, and the Summer Olympics were in session. He said he found himself in front of the TV, obsessed with the rivalry between American athletes Carl Lewis and Mike Powell — who had just set the long jump record of 29-4 1/2. Thurnhoffer said it was the focal point of the Olympics that year.

He said he was amazed by the idea of a human jumping 29 feet, likening it to something seen in a comic book.

He said he begged his mom to take him to a hardware store to buy a tape measure. Then, he said he went in the backyard,…