AUBURN, Ala. – In a career spanning 25 years and thousands of throws, Auburn assistant coach Pat Ebel never felt more nervous before or thrilled after the hammer throw that qualified his son for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
After narrowly missing the cut as a junior in 2022, Erik Ebel joined Auburn teammates Kyle Moison and Kyle Brown at NCAAs last week in Austin, Texas, the first time in program history three Tigers had competed in the same field event at NCAA outdoors.
Moison threw a personal best at NCAAs and all three Tigers earned honorable mention All-America recognition.
Erik Ebel qualified for NCAAs with a season high on his final attempt at Prelims, earning honorable mention All-America recognition
A wrestler, baseball and football player as a boy, Erik Ebel gave track a try as a fifth grader in Wisconsin at his dad's urging, incentivized by the promise of a new skateboard.
"I always figured track would be his thing," says Pat Ebel. "Sure enough, he enters the Badger State Games and wins both the shot put and discus. That helped him get interested and he also got a skateboard on top of it. That was his introduction to track and field."
"It was a Darkstar," says Erik, recalling the skateboard as if he'd ridden it to practice minutes earlier. "We went to the shop. I picked out the board, the trucks, the wheels and all that."
Rewards continued in the form of ice cream each time Erik set a personal record as he continued in the sport.
"It seemed like food was a good incentive," Pat said with a smile.
Unlike more subjective sports, track and field's bottom-line nature protected the elder Ebel from any accusations of favoritism while coaching his son.
"Track and field is a very measurable sport," Pat said. "You throw a distance, you run a time or you jump a height. There's no gray area. It's black and white."
To earn a spot on Auburn's travel roster, Erik knew he needed to be in the top three in his event, a feat he accomplished all four seasons on the Plains.
"Every kid on this team realizes they have to meet the standard and he's no different," Pat said. "I try to treat him the same as I do any of my kids I've coached here at Auburn."
What Erik lacked in length, he made up for with strength.
"He's not the biggest guy out there," Pat said. "His strength levels and his athletic ability are top-notch. He's overcome the height disparity by using all that athleticism.
"That's impressed me a lot, how he's been able to develop himself into being one of the better hammer throwers in America. He's a hard worker. He does everything I ask of him. Most days, he loves doing what he does."
'He cares about his athletes': Pat Ebel coached Erik for four seasons on the Plains
Work ethic, it seems, runs in the family. From Wisconsin-Oshkosh to Penn State to Auburn, Pat has coached conference champions, an Olympian, All-Americans and NCAA qualifiers, a list Erik joined by throwing a season-best 68.09 meters on his final attempt at NCAA East Preliminaries May 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.
"He's a very hard worker," Erik said of his dad. "When it comes to track, it never stops. He's always thinking about ways to better us and get us to that next level. He cares about his athletes and really loves the sport."
On Father's Day, Pat Ebel won't ask for a necktie. Instead, he reflects on the ties between father and son, forged over the past four years spent grinding in the throws area of Auburn's Hutsell-Rosen Track, and how it all started more than a decade ago with the promise of a skateboard.
"I get to spend a lot of time with him," Pat said. "I get to travel with him, see him compete, coach him, and at the same time, let him do his own thing. I'm there when he needs me and I step back when he doesn't need me. It's worked out really well.
"As a son, he makes me proud. He's a hard-working person, not just in track and field but in school and any job he's assigned. He's caring and he's willing to help other people. He's always there for people.
"As a father, we all want our kids to be a better version of ourselves and he's definitely done that."
'He makes me proud'
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
