CHARLESTON, S.C. – This summer The Citadel Athletic Department is highlighting a number of our coaches in a series titled Coach's Corner. The videos will post each Wednesday morning throughout the summer and are intended to help Bulldog fans and supporters get to know our coaches away from competition. Each Coach's Corner episode features the coach reflecting on his or her background, goals and experiences, in addition to their attraction to The Citadel and coaching our cadet-athletes. Links to previous Coach's Corner posts can be found at the bottom of this article. This week we feature Kris Kut.
 
Rapid Fire
Last movie you saw in a theater: Sing
Favorite professional team: Oakland Raiders
Last book you read: A Table in the Presence
Favorite pregame song: The Final Countdown
Favorite meal: Pizza
Favorite musician: Rolling Stones
 

 
1. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Andover, New Jersey.
 
2. How many siblings do you have?
I have two brothers, one that is two years younger than me and one that is eight years younger.
 
3. What sports did you play growing up?
I played just about everything, football, basketball, baseball and I swam in the summertime.
 
4. What is your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory would be going into New York City at Christmas time and seeing the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.
 
5. How did you first get interested in your sport, was there a certain person who influenced you?
My baseball coach quit after my junior year in high school and my basketball coach asked if I would throw a javelin. I didn't know what it was but I gave it a try, my basketball coach was also the track coach, and stuck with it ever since.
 
6. What is the best concert you have ever been to?
The best concert I ever went to was the Rolling Stones with U2 as the backup band. It was at Giant Stadium and it was sold out and it was just an incredible experience.
 
7. Tell us about your most memorable vacation:
My most memorable vacation would be at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I was just away from everybody, no cell service, able to drive on the beach, surf fish every day and just relax.  
 
8. What is the best sporting even you've ever attended?
The best sporting event I ever attended was the 1996 Final Four at Nassau Coliseum in New York. I got to see George Washington, Florida and Maryland. It was just a great weekend.
 
9. What is something on your bucket list you haven't been able to check off yet?
Something on my bucket list I would love to do would be drive a Nascar car at a racetrack.
 
10. What is your favorite place in Charleston?
My favorite place in Charleston is Capers Island, off the Intracoastal Waterway. It is an island you can only get to by boat and it is just paradise, my happy place.
 
11. How did you get into coaching?
I got into coaching because Coach Huddleston was by himself my junior and senior years and I just really enjoyed helping him and helping other kids learn how to do their events and just be a part of watching them improve. And so after graduation there was an opportunity for me to be a graduate assistant and I just stayed and fell in love with it.
 
12. Was coaching always something you wanted to do?
I don't think coaching was always what I wanted to do. I always wanted to be involved in sports and when I was younger I always wanted to be a sports agent, kind of like Jerry Maguire, but decided that coaching was more suited for me.  
 
13. Do you have a pregame ritual?
We have a few different pregame rituals but one of my favorite ones from the past was, we have a cheesy, little move called "Little Giants" that we love watching clips from and basically just talking about how it only takes one time to do something remarkable and our kids watch that clip and then hopefully make it happen.
 
14. What attracted you to The Citadel?
My father was supposed to come to The Citadel when he was younger and he didn't get an opportunity to come here and he really wanted me to take a look at it. I came down and I was not quite sure it was a good fit for me but we decided to go for it and 20 years later I'm still here.
 
15. What do you enjoy most about the culture at The Citadel?
The Citadel is a special place. It is one of those places where there are so many different resources on campus and so many great employees that are here to make these kids successful and it is just a great opportunity for us to do our best and for the kids to do well academically, do well athletically and be prepared to do something after college. Everybody works together as a team and it is just a wonderful place to be from.
 
16. Tell us about your most memorable experience so far at The Citadel:
My most memorable experience so far here was going to the Olympic Trials with Capers Williamson. It was just one of those events that you just can't even describe. Oregon is an amazing place, the track is called Tracktown USA for a reason. Seeing a kid who had never done track before, throwing a javelin, going from mediocre at best to becoming a world class thrower, it was just a great experience.
 
17. What has been your favorite part about working at The Citadel?
My favorite part about working at The Citadel is the people I get to work with on a daily basis. Everyone comes from different places and they all seem to work together as a team and we do everything possible to make these kids successful after graduation, between the academic support center, strength and conditioning, the coaches, the administration here, everybody just does an amazing job giving these kids what they need to be successful, not only on the field but also in the classroom as well.
 
18. What is the best part about coaching?
The best part about coaching is seeing someone improve every day. And taking someone who wasn't real sure about themselves, giving them the confidence to do whatever they set their minds to and it's just been a real blessing here at The Citadel to develop the different athletes over the year and watch them go from being average, to a little bit above average to being an athlete of the year to an Olympic Trial qualifier to a conference champion, it is just remarkable. And sometimes it's not always the conference champions that really make you feel like you did something well, it's the person who had never done track before but became a competitive athlete.  
 
Coach's Corner Schedule
May 31 - Jody Huddleston
June 7 - Sandra Worman
June 14 - Chuck Kriese
June 21- Jack Marchant
June 28 - Lori Bonacci
July 5 - William Smith 
July 12 - Craig Mosqueda 
July 19 - Erin Leonard 
July 26 - Rob Hjerling 
Aug. 2 - Kris Kut 
Aug. 9 - Ciaran Traquair 
Aug. 16 - Stevi Robinson 
 
For more information on The Citadel Track and Field, follow @CitadelOlympic or visit CitadelSports.com.