If there's one thing Jerry Clayton knows, it's collegiate athletics.
As the assistant track coach prepares to enter his 28th year of training field-event athletes, Auburn throwers say his expertise in the subject is immediately evident.
"(Clayton is) very meticulous with technique," said Stephen Saenz, redshirt freshman in throws. "In our event, there's a lot of technical things in terms of what positions your body has to be in, in the circle. I think he has mastered those things, so for every throw we take, there's always very specific feedback."
Clayton began his athletic career at Northern Illinois University, where he competed as a thrower.
He then transferred to the University of Illinois, where he was a multiple NCAA Championship qualifier.
"I graduated from the University of Illinois and became an assistant at the University of Illinois for nine years," Clayton said. "From there, I was head coach at Southwest Texas State University. After that I was an assistant at the University of Florida, and then I came to Auburn. I came here in 1998 and have been here ever since."
As head coach at Southwest Texas State, Clayton led his team to four Southland Conference Championships.
At Florida, he produced 13 NCAA qualifiers and eight All-Americans.
Since arriving at Auburn, Clayton led the women's team to a national championship in 2006 and has coached 10 individual NCAA champions.
Despite his coaching success, Clayton said his favorite part of the job is working with athletes on an individual basis.
"It's nice when they win the championships and things," Clayton said. "But I enjoy the journey of developing them and getting them to that level and getting them to be able to perform at the highest level meets."
For Clayton, athletics runs in the family.
His wife, Becky, was a three-time All-American in college as a sprinter and long jumper.
His oldest son is Zach Clayton, senior defensive lineman for the football team, while his youngest son is in his second year at the United States Air Force Academy.
Clayton said his family is now firmly rooted in Auburn, and he doesn't anticipate another coaching move.
"We've been here going on 13 years," Clayton said. "Both of my sons have been through the high schools here. With the success and facilities, I'm comfortable right here.
"It's a really good administration to work for here, a good academic university, and we really like living in this part of the country."
Senior thrower Eric Werskey said Clayton pushes his athletes to succeed in all aspects of college life.
"He wants us to succeed at a high level, so what we do isn't easy," Werskey said. "He always backs you up, whether it's training, schooling or throwing. He's very knowledgeable about the collegiate system, and he's a great guy to learn from. A lot of people have come back through the system to work with him trying to accomplish Olympic-type dreams."
Clayton said he's optimistic about the upcoming season, with athletes like Saenz and Werskey anchoring a solid field corps.
"We've had pretty good throwers in the years since I've been here," Clayton said. "We try to get where we can score in two or three events at the conference level and then hopefully perform and score at the national level. Hopefully we'll have another top-10 finish."
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