Story by Keenan Hall
Staff writer
Alan Lollar inherited the Murray State rifle program in 2007, and wasted no time in continuing to build on the illustrious legacy that has defined it since its inception in 1956.
Lollar is currently in his 12th season as head coach for the highly-decorated rifle program. Before he took the position, the Racers had already won eight OVC titles and two NCAA championships, but Lollar produced a third-place NCAA finish in 2017. The Racers have won six OVC championships since Lollar took over. Most recently, the team won the OVC title on Feb. 3, with a 4685 score.
He has also been voted OVC Coach of the Year seven times, and was named the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2016. Lollar has coached 22 All-Americans and eight OVC Rifle Athletes of the Year.
The seasoned coach is quick to credit his success to his phenomenal athletes, but while athletes have come and gone, the prestigious level in which Murray State rifle holds itself to has remained the same.
Lollar did not always envision himself as a collegiate rifle coach, but he knew he would be the right man for the job. He has been part of the Racer family since the early 1990s as an athletic trainer for former rifle Head Coach Elvis Green.
“I started helping him with the championships since I was already there as an athletic trainer,” Lollar said. “That’s where I started to learn about the sport, through him, the athletes and from the other coaches.”
Despite the prestigious accomplishments, he had no idea that he would be the head coach 20 years later. The knowledge Lollar gained as an athletic trainer gave him a unique perspective into the sport. His past experience with coaching made his transition from trainer to head coach seamless.
“I’ve always coached,” Lollar said. “I coached summer baseball when I was in college, and I helped with high school basketball as well. I had the vocabulary, but there was a lot of stuff I had to learn and I am still learning every day.”
Since joining the team in the summer of 2007, Lollar continued to be an athletic trainer, but now for his own team.
“I was an athletic trainer for 30 years; I still am,” Lollar said. “I take care of our team and I really enjoy doing that. I have been at Murray State for 25 years. I love this school, I care about the community.”
When Lollar joined, he went from a former athletic trainer to becoming the head coach of a sport he had no experience in. Lollar had experience shooting rifles, but a collegiate rifle match was a whole different ball game.
Fortunately, the coaching philosophies he developed coaching baseball, as well as the instruction he acquired as a trainer, helped ease the transition.
“Coaching was not a big jump,” Lollar said. “I have always done that, and shooting wasn’t a big jump because I’ve always enjoyed that. The two coming together isn’t as strange as it might seem to some folks.”
Entering the coaching ranks, Lollar combined three things he loved to do: train, mentor and shoot. His background tailored to sports has helped him enjoy what he does every day.
“Every now and then it’s nice to have a change of pace,” Lollar said. “It’s even better when you change to something you really enjoy. Before coaching I knew about a different type of shooting, so it was an easy transition for me.”
Racer rifle has been dominant all season and has parlayed their consistent shooting all the way to the NCAA Championships. Murray State has gotten outscored by highly-ranked opponents in only three of its 15 matches this season.
Lollar credits that the team’s perennial success to the relationships he has forged with his athletes. The Racers are preparing to contend for their third NCAA championship.
“It’s great to show up every morning with a bunch of people that are committed to working hard and trying to do things in the right way, and are working together to accomplish a common goal,” Lollar said.
This year’s group of seniors have achieved a slew of success at Murray State under Lollar. Racer seniors Alathea Sellars, Eric Sloan and Barbara Schläpfer said they couldn’t have asked for a better person to have guided them through this phase in their lives.
“He’s a great person,” Sellars said. “He tries really hard to individually coach us and not just have a blanket statement that fits everyone. He works really hard with us in everything from mental states to our positions. He’s really a great coach.”
Sellars said Lollar makes the team feel comfortable before matches and attempts to help get rid of pre-match jitters.
“When I was a freshman I got really frustrated one match,” Sellars said. “Coach Lollar just walked up to me and he said shooting 10s is like chasing cats. I looked at him like he was crazy, and I laughed, and then everything was better.”
Sloan said he knew Lollar was a great person when he first met him. He said Lollar was a mastermind at helping him prepare mentally for his matches.
“He made me feel welcomed,” Sloan said. “His pre-match jokes and quotes he would use to try to make us forget about being nervous were really helpful.”
Lollar gives a lot of credit to his team and his leaders who showed up every day. No matter the outcome of the NCAA Rifle Championships in March, or any match in the future, Lollar will always find his identity and purpose in the effect he has on his athletes.
“They’re some truly special young people, and I am just waiting to see what’s the last chapter they write,” Lollar said. “When they call and tell you they got their first job, or have their first child and you know that they’re OK is the best part about being a coach. Knowing that they have grown and matured and are ready to go out to the ‘real world’ probably is as good a memory you could have.”
