Covington native Chris Woods returned to his hometown last Thursday to speak to the Kiwanis Club of Covington about a plethora of topics.

Most notably, Woods discussed how important it is to elevate the youth and assist people transitioning into adulthood and how he has used his role to do just that. 

Woods, who was born and raised in Covington, graduated from Mississippi State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in clinical exercise physiology. Present day, Woods now serves as the head track and field coach for the Bulldogs.

Woods spoke about his time post-graduation and how he faced many questions during that time in his life.

“For me personally, I graduated college and was like, ‘What am I going to do now?’” Woods said. “We were just told to graduate, then figure it out. I graduated from Mississippi State and went on to Georgia State. There was a nine month period where I had no guidance, no structure. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was 23-years-old trying to figure life out. I think that is why it is important to have people like myself and people like you all to help guide the young adult into true adulthood.”

According to Woods, the early 20’s are a pivotal time in every young adult’s life in regards to shaping their future. He also spoke to the upside of assisting those individuals and the benefit he has received from his time as a coach.

“I think it is important for us to work diligently on bridging the gap between the age of 20 to the age of 25. Those are a really important five years,” Woods said. “Some may ask, ‘Coach, what is the joy in that? What benefit do I get from helping someone else eventually take my job or my position.’ Here is what I tell you. What you get out of that or what I have gotten out of that at Mississippi State during my time there because I have had the opportunity to shape an adult life. Not to say it is not important to shape a young person’s life, but when you shape an adult’s life, it really changes who they are as a person.

“What you get out of your work in supporting young adults into true adulthood is peace of mind, or at least that is what I have experienced. I have experienced peace of mind because I know I have positively impacted someone’s life.”

Woods’ passion for Thursday’s discussion came from his own experiences. He recalled a specific mentor he had that shaped his life and paved the way for him to find his calling.

“My high school coach, Eric Bowen, was so influential in my life,” Woods said. “I really feel like he saved my life. I just wanted to do the same thing that he did for me, I wanted to do that for other kids. 

“He [Bowen] was my club coach, he was my high school coach, he was like my uncle, brother, fiend. He was old enough for me to look up to but just young enough to be hip. I am so blessed that he came into my life because he was able to keep me head on my shoulders in a very volatile time in my life. 15, 16, 17 are very fragile ages for young men and he was able to coach me not just through the track and field tryouts, but through the challenges of high school and the challenges of society.

Throughout his career, Woods has seen success as an athlete and a coach.

From 2005-08, Woods competed as a middle-distance athlete for the Bulldogs. During his time as an athlete, Woods was a two-time All-American and was named All-SEC four times.

Prior to coaching at Mississippi State, Woods coached at Abilene Christian University. There, Woods coached the team to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championships in men’s track and field.

Woods began to serve as the interim head coach of his alma-mater in September 2018. 

In July 2019, the “interim” tag was removed as Woods was named as the official head coach. That season, the team secured its third-highest point total in program history and second-best mark since 1982.

Since 2019, Woods’ team has replaced multiple program records and have sent multiple athletes to the NCAA Championships and the Olympic Games.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Woods served as an assistant coach for Team Canada — the second time that he has served in this role. As part of Team Canada’s staff, Woods oversaw Marco Arop, a Bulldogs’ sprinter that went on to claim a silver medal for Team Canada.

As someone who has been involved with the sport in many different capacities, Woods shared what has changed the most during his time.

“Technology has come into this sport and absolutely exploded. Not just Ipads [or] computer device technology,” Woods said. “The technology that they are putting in the shoe now is boosting the athletes quite a bit. The technology they have found in supplements has been benefiting athletes. That is one way that the sport has evolved. Another way the sport has evolved is the fans. I have seen more US fans get more involved in track and field over the last two decades. That is really important and special. Track and field is the most highly participated sport across the country and throughout the world, but it is not just viewed as one of the most exciting.”

As the sport continues to evolve and change, the desire to boost the young adults in the program is a constant for Woods.

“I tell the young adults that I work with that we are all on this floating rock spinning around in this thing we call space and we have no direction of where it is we are going to end up,” Woods said. “We are all on the same floating rock, so I believe while we are here we must pour into each other, we must continue to pour into young adults and young people so we can continue to survive this floating rock and enjoy people’s time.”

Although his athletic and coaching careers have taken him far away from his hometown, Covington has always held a place in Woods’ heart.

“Covington is a very special place to me,” Woods said. “I know I don’t get to come back as much as I’m sure my mom likes me to do, but that is life. It keeps us really busy. This is a special place to me, it is near and dear to my heart. It was my first home and It is always going to be home for me. I love Covington because it is extremely diverse, warm, welcoming and it is always a special place to come back and to be able to speak to this group.”