Warsaw girls track coach Scott Erba is excelling in a big way in his return as a triathlete (File photo by Mike Deak)

WARSAW – Scott Erba is quickly proving that age is really just a number.

The 47-year old Warsaw girls track coach, after more than a decade away from competition, has returned with a fervor as an outstanding triathlete.

Erba, who stepped down in the Spring as the Warsaw girls cross country coach to have more time to pursue his love of triathlons, is enjoying some return to the sport he loves.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Erba about his return in a phone interview on Tuesday. “The first race in Elkhart this summer I felt a little nervous. But, once I started the swim is was like this is what I’m meant to do. It felt like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes.

“I’m feeling like an athlete again, like I did before when I was competing. I don’t feel like a 47 year old out there. I feel like Scott Erba the athlete and that’s a good feeling to see that the competitive fire is still there for me to train and compete.”

Erba, who has tremendous coaching success with both the track and cross country programs at WCHS,  had not competed in a triathlon prior to this summer since 2004. He has taken part in four events this summer and placed as the overall winner of all of them. He won the Ideal Beach Sprint Triathlon in Elkhart, along with the Fox Island Sprint Triathlon in Fort Wayne and the Warsaw Optimist Sprint Triathlon in Winona Lake in June. Erba then won the KPC Sprint Triathlon in Kendallville this past weekend.

“It’s kind of a bizarre thing to an older guy like me to do this well, but it’s been neat,” Erba related. “I think that it’s an inspiration to myself and others. It makes me feel good that people admire that an older guy like me can compete with the younger guys. I’m just trying to take in the whole experience.

“I’ve learned patience in the last year or two. It’s not going to come back overnight and I realize that. But I’ve seen huge improvements and that’s exciting to me.”

Erba, who is as organized and detailed a person as you will find, said that he spends anywhere from an hour to 2 1/2 hours per day training. That’s a far cry from the 3-6 hours per day that he used to devote to training when he was in his prime as a top-flight triathlete while living in California.

“I have a weekly plan and I try to incorporate training into my daily routine like running or biking to school,” remarked Erba, who is the Health/Physical Education Department Leader at WCHS. “The running and swimming are my strong suits, but the biking part of it is coming along. It’s a three-sport race and they all count. I look forward to all parts of it when I’m competing.”

Erba also wants to help others who want to get into competing in running and/or triathlon events.

“I have a strong interest in helping people who want to know how to train for these events,” added Erba. “It’s a way that I can give back to the sport.”

Erba has his sights now set on a couple more local triathlons that are coming up, including the Wawasee Kiwanis one in August. After that, he also plans to compete in a couple of marathons in the fall.

“My plan was to commit to this and see where things go with the triathlons,” noted Erba. “In the future, there may be bigger events and opportunities out there for me. There is still a little bit of me that wants to do the Ironman again.

“There are still question marks, but I know that I’m not fully there yet and that keeps me motivated.  We will see what happens.

“I will just continue my training and see how far I can go with this.”