#387: Justin Anderson-Alabama State | Set Your GPS

No coach checking on him. No teammates waiting at practice. No guarantee that the work would pay off.

Justin Anderson kept training anyway.

In this episode of the Gill Connections Podcast, Alabama State University assistant coach Justin Anderson shares the remarkable journey that took him from Jacksonville, Florida, to a worn-down track in Great Bend, Kansas—and ultimately to the NCAA Division I Championships.

After two years at Barton Community College, Justin returned home without his associate degree. He worked full-time, paid his own tuition and continued training alone while finishing school. His destination never changed: he wanted to become a Division I student-athlete.

That discipline eventually carried him to Texas Southern University, the NCAA Championships and a coaching career built around helping athletes find a clearer path than the one he had to navigate.

🎯 Why every athlete and coach needs a destination programmed into their “GPS”

🏃 The reality of leaving Florida for junior college life in Great Bend, Kansas

💪 How Justin balanced full-time work, school and training without a team or coach

🏆 His journey from an unrecruited walk-on to the NCAA Division I Championships

🤝 Why his own difficult road inspired him to become the coach he once needed

📣 What recruiting teaches coaches about relationships, rejection and adapting to their environment

🎓 How mentors, trusted peers, clinics and speaking opportunities continue shaping his coaching

🔥 Why Justin is now “excited about getting them excited” at Alabama State

This is a powerful conversation about discipline, accountability, personal growth and refusing to lose sight of the destination—even when the road takes an unexpected turn.

Press PLAY and meet Coach Justin Anderson.

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