With five years under his belt as assistant track coach at SHSU, coaching both women and men to two Southland Conference Outdoor titles in 2005 and 2006, as well as two Southland Conference Indoor Championships in 2007 and 2008 and an Outdoor title in 2008, Self was chosen to take over the position previously held by Curtis Collier, starting fall 2009.

Though Self did not plan to make any major changes to the track and field program he had ideas from being a part of the program and serving as an assistant coach on what he would like to tweak and improve.

"Having been here has allowed me to see what the formula for success is, I hope to continue that success" Self said. "I plan to fine tune that and make small changes to continue to be successful.

"My goal is to always be preparing for what is ahead, whether that is recruiting for the fall or training for the spring we want to continue to set up for the future", he said.

According to Self, the fall was as good as any he could ask for, and said he mostly used the fall to focus on training and preparing for the spring outdoor season.

"This past fall gave us a chance to take a step back and evaluate our program from an administrative stand point," said Self. "As far as the students, we focused really hard on training and preparing them for the spring outdoor season. I hope to get back to the Southland Conference Championships this season and really work on recruiting athletes for our program in the fall."

While focusing on what is ahead and how he can improve Bearkat track, Self has had learn to adjust from being assistant to being head coach.

"I love being out on the field and every aspect of coaching. My main adjustment that I have had to make however is getting used to being behind a desk more often and doing the administrative work, " said Self. "Knowing that I am the final decision has been a wake up as well."

The Bearkats will start off their spring season Friday at the McNeese Invitational in Lake Charles, LA.