Meet Coach Richard Rucker of Fitness with the Quickness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Coach Richard Rucker.

With a career spanning over 30 years of experience in competing and coaching, Coach Rucker has developed elite athletes to state, national and championships to breaking world records. He currently is UCLA’s Head Coach in Club Track & Field and also the head coach at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, where he has been for over 15 years and started the first track team at Milken Community High School. His mission is to help people realize their full athletic potential which spills into all aspects of their lives, in addition to raising the awareness for track and field across the country as it’s the backbone of many sports. His mantra and words of inspiration is something all his athletes cherish and take to heart “a changed mind is a changed life,” “we don’t always get what we want, but we always get what we need. So need what you really want, and you’ll get it.” Coach Rucker was also Coach of the Year in 2007, LA Daily News Coach of the Year in 2011 as well as USATF Western Regional Coach of the Year.

Coach Rucker trained Jeshua Anderson while at Taft High School, who became the world record holder for High School 300m Hurdles in 2007 and then to be the most decorated NCAA 400m Hurdler in NCAA history at Washington State. Most recently, he worked with Laquon Treadwell, who is the #11 wide receiver in the Minnesota Vikings, as well as Billy Griffith Jr. of the Indiana Pacers.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I see challenges as hurdles in the journey that you can overcome. I was a hurdler myself and knew the perseverance, focus and discipline that is required to tap into your true potential which allows you to overcome obstacles. I train people to get over obstacles and challenges and always share my wisdom and knowledge to show them how it applies to their everyday lives to live life to the fullest.

For me, I love having my athletes reach their true potential despite hurdles and obstacles. However, I’ve learned over the years that I can’t run a race through an athlete. They must believe in themselves and want to be a champion, as they are the only ones that can take themselves as far as they want to go.

Being blessed with talent can be a hindrance at times rather than help, as certain athletes don’t train as hard because they are blessed with initial skill but fail to realize it’s important to nurture that talent to be the best they can be. Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fitness with the Quickness story. Tell us more about the business.
I have a hawklike demeanor for spotting talent, but I also has a knack of developing and nurturing champions. For me, it’s a “feeling and energy” that I have when in the presence of a developing people to fulfill their true potential in fitness, wellness and athletic ability. I also devote my time to empowering all skill levels and ages from athletes, industry leaders and executives to students and “special needs” students. These challenging times didn’t slow me down, instead I was inspired me to broaden my horizons. When everything shutdown, it changed my mind because the UCLA track was closed and it made me go from track coach to helping people with fitness. My athletes needed to stay fit, so we started training in parks and the beach, and people saw what we were doing and started joining to be a part and train with us.

During the global pandemic, I launched Fitness With the Quickness that touches on my expertise which is track & field as the sport gets people into shape quicker than most sports do. Fitness with the Quickness doesn’t mean you have to be a track athlete, it means that your going to get fitter quicker. We want to build community and focus on bringing wellness to like-minded people to help them be their best selves with our workout programs. We hold weekly socially responsible workouts with masks required combining drills from running sprints on the sand, reps of leg lifts or jumping mini-hurdles.

My plan is to help people around the world and educate them on an alternative to wellness. We will start zoom workouts and mindful workshops and send custom-tailored workouts along with mini-clinics and retreats once we are up and running again. I train my competing athletes to be instructors and help train and empower others through their first-hand training.

During this time, we also launched One Love Track Club with a mission to bring the awareness of track & field around the world with all skill levels and ages from youth to masters.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in God, my faith, myself and hard work. If something bad happened to me, I made a wrong decision. If something good happened, I made the right choice. I’ve learned to never judge a book by its cover – you have to always look beyond the surface because if you look deep enough in a person’s eyes, you can see their heart and their drive. I know from experience that anything is possible and you can do whatever you put your mind and energy to.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://fitnesswiththequickness.com/
• Phone: 818-457-0039
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitnesswiththequickness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RUCKFITT

Image Credit:
Andy Wong

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