Lawyer Pursues New Career as a Track Coach

Sports enthusiast Brock Drazen says he never really enjoyed law practice as a criminal defense lawyer.

Drazen, 44, made about $50,000 a year and says he could have earned more if he had the drive to do so. "I didn't get a lot of pleasure out of my work, because it was a very serious, drab, adversarial environment," he told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). "I did enough to live comfortably but not to kill myself working."

The Wall Street Journal’s profile of Drazen explains how he made the transition to a career he really loves—coaching track. He’s single with a cat, so it was easy to follow his dreams, even if it meant a cut in pay. He went back to school and earned a master of science degree in sports science, landing a part-time job as a track coach at a California community college.

Drazen is hoping for full-time employment, which would give him benefits and raise his salary to a level beyond what he'd earned as a lawyer. In the meantime, he’s helping his student athletes with more than just track pointers.

Student Koleon Prescott told the newspaper that Drazen helped him with school work and family issues, and even represented him in a legal matter. Prescott said he could tell that Drazen prefers to be on the track field.

“He's happy when he's coaching,” Prescott said. “When we're at the courthouse, he's all sad and droopy and tells me repeatedly that he doesn't want to be there."