I recently went one-on-one with former TEAM USA Coach Devon Martin. A former college star, Devon is a member of the Columbia University Hall of Fame and served as the Men’s Mid-Distance and Distance Coach for TEAM USA at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here?
Devon: Over the years, I have held many jobs and worn many hats – a Scholar-Athlete, Lawyer, Sports Agent, Marketer, Administrator, Meet Director, Fundraiser, and Team USA Coach. All of these have led me to the current job title as the Executive Director & Head Coach of two sports non-profits: Atalanta NYC and Central Park Track Club. Atalanta NYC is a nonprofit pro women’s running team that empowers female pro runners to chase their Olympic dreams, while employing them to coach & mentor youth athletes in underserved communities. Central Park Track Club is also a nonprofit running team that develops athletes for national and international competitions in track, cross country, and road racing.
What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Devon: In 1990, when I was at Columbia University, I had a female head coach that got me to NCAA Nationals but I later realized that Columbia was the exception – there were few female head coaches in track & field and even fewer females coaching pro athletes. And at both the college level and the pro level, women rarely coached male runners. (In fact, almost the whole running industry was led by men). This lack of female leadership influenced my career to promote female coaches and steer more women into leadership roles throughout the industry. I am proud to say we’ve focused on hiring female coaches at both CPTC and Atalanta, and I’m excited to work with LaunchBreak to help continue to grow opportunities for women in coaching and leadership.
Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from your career running track?
Devon: Building a nonprofit is just like running – you need short-term goals and long-term goals and lots of discipline! As athletes, we know that you have to put in the work day after day, and I’ve spent 25 years at CPTC. Over that time, we’ve been able to double in size, and we’ve had over 90 Olympic and National Qualifiers. I always tell my athletes that you can’t win a race in the first lap, and that’s true in the non-profit & work world as well. It took us years and years of work to get to where we are now.
Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned from leading non-profit organizations?
Devon: Praise your staff and volunteers for all their hard work. Make tough decisions and take a stance when it is in the best interest of the company. Build relationships both within the non-profit and with your outside donors and partners so you can bring people along with your vision.
Adam: What are your best tips for fellow leaders of non-profit organizations?
Devon: Surround yourself with an amazing team and empower them to take initiatives.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Devon: Vision, inspiration, communication, organization, accountability, adaptability, growth, and improvement.
How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Devon: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you or have more expertise than you. Never stop learning so you can advance to the next level. For me, that meant taking a leap of faith and leaving a successful law career after 10 years to devote myself to full-time coaching and non-profit work. When I left my firm, I couldn’t be sure that this level of success would follow, but I wanted to live my passion every single day and to learn from others who shared that passion.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Devon:
- Make decisions promptly. Why wait?
- Solve problems. Ignore the chatter.
- Hire people quickly because good people get snatched up!
Adam: What are your best tips on the topic of mentorship?
Devon: For me, successful mentoring is about connecting people, especially helping mentees find a new job or opportunity through my network. But mentoring can be so much more than that, and for us on Atalanta, we are using mentoring to address real problems in women’s sports:
- Change the model of pro runners to include community service and mentoring as part of an athlete’s job. Through this high school mentorship, we’ve been able to inspire girls to pursue sports as a lifelong activity.
- Empower female pro runners to become the next generation of female coaches and leaders in the sports industry. Atalanta’s mentorship of our pro athletes includes weekly business meetings, coaching education and hands-on experience to provide them with business and career skills so that they can excel in the workforce after they retire from pro sports.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Devon: Dream big.
