FALL 2008 / Volume 8 - Issue 1
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Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick, '89, Orin Richburg, '70, A Kent State Reunion
BY SARAH COLVIN, KENT STATE PUBLIC RELATIONS STUDENT
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imberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick, ’89, and her former Kent State cross-country and track coach, Orin Richburg, ’70, have reunited twice while serving on coaching staffs of international track and field competitions. In August, they will work together again — this time, at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
“I have been very fortunate that Orin and I have been [selected for] three staffs together,” says Keenan-Kirkpatrick. “It is great to work with him.”
In 2004, they both were on the World Indoor track and field staff in Budapest, Hungary. She was the athlete liaison, and Richburg was the relay coach. In 2005, they were on the staff for the Outdoor World Championship in Helsinki, Finland. She was the women’s distance coach, and Richburg was the relay coach.
Richburg recalls recruiting Keenan-Kirkpatrick when she was a prospective student out of New Jersey. Although he was only her coach during her first year, they developed a close relationship, and she has kept in touch with him ever since.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to have one of your former athletes become a coach, and then to have someone come along and become a National Team Coach — it’s great to feel you have influenced them somewhat,” he says.
Richburg says he is proud of Keenan-Kirkpatrick’s accomplishments and has enjoyed being able to meet up with her periodically at various competitions.
In turn, Keenan-Kirkpatrick says Richburg has influenced her coaching style because he is a “people coach.”
“He was very caring and understanding with his athletes, and I have always believed that it is important to demand a lot — but treating athletes as people first is most important,” says Keenan-Kirkpatrick. “If they don’t know that you care about them, they won’t perform for you.”
psychology major, Keenan-Kirkpatrick says it was her positive experience as a student athlete that motivated her to think about working with college-level athletes as a career. After 12 years in the field, she now serves as a full-time athletic administrator at Seton Hall University. She also earned a law degree along the way, which has enhanced her perspective as an athletic administrator.
Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick, ’89, and her former Kent State cross-country and track coach, Orin Richburg, ’70, have reunited twice while serving on coaching staffs of international track and field competitions. In August, they will work together again — this time, at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
“I was excited and thrilled that the people who select the staffing felt that I was qualified and capable of handling the position,” Keenan-Kirkpatrick says. “I’m looking forward to being able to have a positive impact upon our U.S. athletes, and hope the work I do will contribute to their success.”
Richburg adds to her sentiments. “For Kim to have been chosen by her peers to be a National Team Coach, that’s to her credit, and for me to have the opportunity to work with her again now; well, you couldn’t ask for a better reunion than that,” he says.
For more information, visit www.kent.edu/magazine.
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