Wanting to stay busy during his summer break from middle-school teaching and coaching, Dave Belcher ’83 asked Peter Slovenski, director of the Bates Track and Field Camp, if he had any coaching openings. Little did Belcher know what Slovenski, son of the late, great Bates track coach Walter Slovenski, had in mind.

By late June, Belcher was coaching the high jump with Dick Fosbury, whose "Fosbury Flop" jumping technique revolutionized the event in the 1960s, particularly after he won the Olympic gold with a leap of 7-4 1/4 at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Belcher had seen Fosbury at a meet in the 1970s. "I remember how I felt when my father said, 'That's Dick Fosbury,' I felt like the same 13-year old kid when I found out I’d be working with him."

Belcher, who teaches history and coaches track and field at The Bement School in Deerfield, Mass., quickly adjusted to working with a legend.

"The greatest thing about Dick is his unassuming attitude," says Belcher, who was a member of Walt Slovenski's Bates track teams as a student. "He has positive energy with every kid here."

That unassuming attitude is obvious to any casual observer. When several campers asked Fosbury a question during a practice session, he joked, "You need proper supervision, and that's obviously not me."

Fosbury works just one track camp each year, and 2003 marks the 12th consecutive summer he's chosen Bates. "It's a working vacation," he says. A civil engineer in Ketchum, Idaho, Fosbury has worked with many other Olympians over the years, but none of the other marquee names returns to Bates quite so often.

"I like it here in Maine," he says. "The kids have a good attitude. I like the foundation of the camp: It's not just track and field. In the evenings we have trivia contests, canoe races, and talent shows. It’s a great chance for the kids to socialize with each other."

For Belcher, who has run his own day track camp for several years, the opportunity both to work with Fosbury and return to his alma mater was a double blessing.

"I wasn't able to attend my 20th Reunion because of commencement at my school," Belcher says. "But being back here right now is amazing. The best experiences I had at Bates were with the track team. There's something about the rhythm of athletic life, and it's great to feel that here again."