University Southern California Trojans
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/ Track & Field
Photo by: John McGillen
Getting To Know Zach Shinnick
November 07, 2017 | Track & Field, Features
Zach Shinnick will begin his first season with USC Trojans track & field this upcoming season. Shinnick enters SC after an exciting summer. He became a member of the Junior USA team and broke the Junior World record for the 400m in the Pan American championship meet. Zach is thrilled to join the SC Trojans Track & Field team and cannot wait for the upcoming season. Read on to learn more about Zach Shinnick.
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Q:Â Why did you choose SC?
ZS:Â I was looking for a good balance between athletics and academics and I found that here. The academics are hard, but with the amount of support we get, it is easy to balance it out. I knew a lot of people on the team already and they were happy with the way they were running. I met a lot of good friends and felt like I could be a part of a family here.
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Q:Â What about SC's track team appealed to you most?
ZS:Â They are very hard workers and you can see that from watching the meets. Being here, I get to see it firsthand, how hard everyone works. It doesn't matter if you're an All-American or not, everybody works equally as hard and they are trying to get better. That's what I wanted to surround myself with, especially in my first year. I wanted to be around people who were going to work as hard as I was, and push me to be better. I felt I could get that here.
Â
Q:Â How are you handling the transition from running track in high school to college?
ZS:Â It's certainly different. I do a lot of stuff on my own. I have to really be on top of myself. I like it more because it gives me more freedom in my everyday life and that makes it so much more real. It's almost as if you're a professional to an extent. In high school, I had good people to work out with, but now I have some of the best people in the world to workout/train with. They are also here to help me with any struggles I have in my first year because they've been through those same struggles.
Â
Q:Â This summer something exciting happened for you. Tell me about that experience and how did you prepare?
ZS:Â It was an awesome summer. I was injured for most of my last high school season. But I finally got to start running during CIF and State. I knew that with each race that I could keep dropping time. I was able to run fast enough to make the Junior USA team for the Pan-American championships. That was a great experience in itself. I met a lot of awesome people and coaches and I really learned a lot. It was my first big stage appearance. We were lucky enough to break the World Junior record. So that was super fun. Those are memories and experiences that will be with me forever. I will never forget that.
Â
Q:Â What are some of your personal and team goals for the upcoming season?
ZS:Â For me this year, I would like to break Michael's [Norman] freshman 400m record. Individually, I came here to help the team win, so this first year I don't look at things I do. I look at the team as a whole because we have a great team. Our goal, of course, is to win a National championship. But our biggest goal is to win the 4x400m and break the national record. So if I don't accomplish any individual goals and we just do that, I'll think the year was a success. That's how we all are feeling going into the year.
Â
Q:Â Who inspires you?
ZS:Â My parents for sure. My parents were both athletes in college, so they instilled in me how much working hard really matters. You can only get away with so much on talent alone, you have to work hard. Â Also, my high school coach, Eric Coleman. He's a very big inspiration in my life. Even though I'm in college, we still keep in touch. He's had an interesting life journey and it's been interesting seeing where he's come from. He instilled those same beliefs of hard work that has inspired me to be a better person today.
Â
Q:Â Before and during meets, how do you stay focused?
ZS:Â I try to stay as light and less stressed as possible; music helps and talking to my teammates. I try not to get too isolated. Although I wanted to be isolated, I feel, sometimes, that it's a hindrance to me. I've found that I always run my best times when I've been loose and talkative with my teammates beforehand. Whenever I can get in a mode like that it really helps.
Â
Q:Â With this being your first year, what would you share with a new recruit?
ZS:Â We have a great group of athletes here, along with a great coaching staff that really drives us to be better. Although you may think the workouts are hard, we're all in this together. We are all pushing each other. When you're in high school, sometimes, it's just you doing things by yourself. But here everybody is running together, we're all running hard, so it's easier to get into the cycle quicker. You have upperclassman that help push you. You have mentors like Ricky Morgan, Jr. and Michael Norman who help get you through workouts and tell you what is good and not good to do before workouts. Having people like that on the team helps, as well as the coaches instilling hard work.
Â
Â
Q:Â Why did you choose SC?
ZS:Â I was looking for a good balance between athletics and academics and I found that here. The academics are hard, but with the amount of support we get, it is easy to balance it out. I knew a lot of people on the team already and they were happy with the way they were running. I met a lot of good friends and felt like I could be a part of a family here.
Â
Q:Â What about SC's track team appealed to you most?
ZS:Â They are very hard workers and you can see that from watching the meets. Being here, I get to see it firsthand, how hard everyone works. It doesn't matter if you're an All-American or not, everybody works equally as hard and they are trying to get better. That's what I wanted to surround myself with, especially in my first year. I wanted to be around people who were going to work as hard as I was, and push me to be better. I felt I could get that here.
Â
Q:Â How are you handling the transition from running track in high school to college?
ZS:Â It's certainly different. I do a lot of stuff on my own. I have to really be on top of myself. I like it more because it gives me more freedom in my everyday life and that makes it so much more real. It's almost as if you're a professional to an extent. In high school, I had good people to work out with, but now I have some of the best people in the world to workout/train with. They are also here to help me with any struggles I have in my first year because they've been through those same struggles.
Â
Q:Â This summer something exciting happened for you. Tell me about that experience and how did you prepare?
ZS:Â It was an awesome summer. I was injured for most of my last high school season. But I finally got to start running during CIF and State. I knew that with each race that I could keep dropping time. I was able to run fast enough to make the Junior USA team for the Pan-American championships. That was a great experience in itself. I met a lot of awesome people and coaches and I really learned a lot. It was my first big stage appearance. We were lucky enough to break the World Junior record. So that was super fun. Those are memories and experiences that will be with me forever. I will never forget that.
Â
Q:Â What are some of your personal and team goals for the upcoming season?
ZS:Â For me this year, I would like to break Michael's [Norman] freshman 400m record. Individually, I came here to help the team win, so this first year I don't look at things I do. I look at the team as a whole because we have a great team. Our goal, of course, is to win a National championship. But our biggest goal is to win the 4x400m and break the national record. So if I don't accomplish any individual goals and we just do that, I'll think the year was a success. That's how we all are feeling going into the year.
Â
Q:Â Who inspires you?
ZS:Â My parents for sure. My parents were both athletes in college, so they instilled in me how much working hard really matters. You can only get away with so much on talent alone, you have to work hard. Â Also, my high school coach, Eric Coleman. He's a very big inspiration in my life. Even though I'm in college, we still keep in touch. He's had an interesting life journey and it's been interesting seeing where he's come from. He instilled those same beliefs of hard work that has inspired me to be a better person today.
Â
Q:Â Before and during meets, how do you stay focused?
ZS:Â I try to stay as light and less stressed as possible; music helps and talking to my teammates. I try not to get too isolated. Although I wanted to be isolated, I feel, sometimes, that it's a hindrance to me. I've found that I always run my best times when I've been loose and talkative with my teammates beforehand. Whenever I can get in a mode like that it really helps.
Â
Q:Â With this being your first year, what would you share with a new recruit?
ZS:Â We have a great group of athletes here, along with a great coaching staff that really drives us to be better. Although you may think the workouts are hard, we're all in this together. We are all pushing each other. When you're in high school, sometimes, it's just you doing things by yourself. But here everybody is running together, we're all running hard, so it's easier to get into the cycle quicker. You have upperclassman that help push you. You have mentors like Ricky Morgan, Jr. and Michael Norman who help get you through workouts and tell you what is good and not good to do before workouts. Having people like that on the team helps, as well as the coaches instilling hard work.
Â
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