Matt Costenso-Segura, better known as “Chinch,” is in his fifth year as the associate director of sports at Simpson College. From skateboarding around campus to walking barefoot through the weight room, many recognize Chinch as a friendly face and a positive role model.
He wakes up at 4:15 every morning and gets ready to begin his long day of setting up racks, writing training plans and creating an encouraging environment for student-athletes. He said he does this all out of love for the job and the people he works with. He trains with the men’s wrestling, soccer, track and field and softball teams.
“I love my sports, I love all my teams, they’re just full of good kids,” he said.
Before coming to Simpson, he worked in the athletic department at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and Western Illinois University. He said Simpson is a much better fit compared to larger schools.
“What comes with getting paid on scholarships is a little sense of entitlement,” he said. “Kids here play the sport because they love the sport. They want to play, they want to get better, they want to work hard and they know they won’t be able to play their sport for the rest of their life, so they’re going to give it their all now. I love that.”
What he doesn’t love, however, is shoes.
“I have never liked shoes,” he said.
Chinch explained how he has hammer toes next to his big toes, and the ligaments underneath those toes are short, which pulls his toes down toward his feet, and causes him to walk on his toenails all day.
He had surgery in the seventh grade to correct the problem, but it led to nerve damage, so the doctor told him to go barefoot for a while.
“I just went overboard with it,” Chinch said. “And I’ve done it ever since.”
Part of his barefoot lifestyle comes from a sense of mindfulness.
“It’s about being where your feet are,” he said, as he explained that being barefoot makes him feel grounded and more connected to the earth.
Simpson junior softball player, Abby Rouse, traveled to Minnesota with Chinch last year for a regional softball tournament. She spoke on Chinch’s character.
“Chinch is one of the most supportive people I have met since coming to Simpson,” Rouse said. She explained how knowing the hard work Chinch commits himself to makes her want to work hard for him.
“Seeing Chinch outside of the weight room in Minnesota when he was just hanging out with the team and making sure everyone had water at dinner opened my eyes to everything he does for us, even when he’s not working,” Rouse said.
On the trip, Rouse woke up one morning early to climb a bluff with some of her teammates. She mentioned the group she was with complained about the bluff being hard to climb. Then, they looked over and saw Chinch running up it, barefoot.
“We were shocked,” Rouse said. “To make things better, he even told us that he was gonna run down the mountain so he could run up it again before we left for the games that day.”
Rouse said seeing Chinch do the workouts he plans for her team, and watching him run up the bluff she was walking, made her respect him even more.
Respect is something Chinch has earned from the athletes he trains, but also from athletes on different sports around campus. Junior track and field athlete Hannah McGraw is someone who recognizes his hard work.
“I don’t even train under Chinch, and I can see how hard he works,” she said.
She mentioned how she often has to wake up at 6 a.m. to cross-train for her sport, and typically sees Chinch outside working with his athletes.
“I hate getting up to workout, I can’t imagine getting up early to watch other people work out,” McGraw said.
Being so involved in his athletes’ lives is one of the reasons his athletes respect him.
“I feel like I could name every single kid on every roster, and for the most part, where they’re from and what they want to do with their lives,” Chinch said.
As students walk through the halls, Chinch will greet nearly every student who passes by, which is a reminder of the connection to be made with the friendly associate director of sports.
