I was competitive in my younger days.
In high school I was pretty good in track and cross country.
In college I was pretty good in track, cross country was harder in college , I wasn’t made for the longer distances.
And ok… I guess in high school I was kind of an ass. But I was young, so perhaps that gives me a pass.
Once as we were approaching the starting line of a cross country race I handed out cough drops to the other team. See, they must be tired of choking on my dust all the time, so I wanted to help them out.
Another race, before the race, I wanted to see if any runners wanted to carry a picture of me with them. See, I figured they were so used to only seeing me from behind, perhaps they want to remember what I look like.
*Side Note 1 – But I’m much more mature now.
My racing days are long gone, but I still enjoy coaching. I’ve coached at both levels of high school. I’ve coached with a team that competed for the state title in track every year, and I’ve coached teams that were beginning runners and had never run before.
I have found that, believe it or not, I enjoyed coaching the beginning runners more. It was actually more challenging than coaching experienced runners. The workouts had to be toned down and I also had to constantly try to keep them all motivated.
Besides coaching on those two levels, there were also 2 OTHER levels I coached at.
I coached at both a public school and a private Christian school.
So Jim, are there differences in coaching between the 2?
OH MY – THAT’S AN EMPHATIC YES !!!
I’d like to tell the story of what happened at a championship meet in a public school and also a private Christian School.
Public School 1st. It was the Conference Meet and we had expectations of winning the conference. But we needed everything to fall into place. We needed our runners, throwers and jumpers to perform well and score the points we expected and counted on, but we also hoped to snag a few points here and there.
One of my events to coach was the 4×800 (each runner running a ½ mile). I had 2 good runners, 1 solid runner as my #3 guy and my 4th runner did well at that role and also hung in there and always gave us his best. There was roughly 10 seconds between my 3rd and 4th runner.
Maybe an hour before the race, my #3 runner just wasn’t right. He was seriously distracted and just a mess. I pulled him aside to see what was going on. I figured it couldn’t be nerves, it had to be something else.
Well, it was. He told me what was going on and then we decided he just couldn’t run that day. He wasn’t up to it. He needed to pull out. In fact, I think he went off to the side and threw up.
UH OH !!! a bit of panic set in.
I had to replace my number 3 runner. We were seeded 3rd and we needed those points. We absolutely were counting on 3rd place points, and I had hopes of snagging 2nd place. But now I had to replace my #3 guy and there was already 10 second difference between my 3rd and 4th runner. Those 10 seconds were tough to make up, and now I might need to make up even more time.
Ok – time for some serious couching. After thinking about it. I approached our high jumper and triple jumper, Anthony Fountain. Great kid. Senior. Very focused on the high jump and a very good athlete. I spoke to him and he was in for it. AND – not only was he in for it – I rearranged my line up and I had him running my anchor leg, and this a guy that has never been in a running event.
WHAT?
ANCHOR LEG?
Isn’t that usually reserved for the strongest runner?
Well, sometimes.
When I ran the 4×800, I was often the strongest 800 runner and I liked to lead off and run 1st. There was a thrill to running anchor, but I preferred starting off.
So, I sat down with a sheet of paper. I needed a game plan.
I figured I’d have my 2nd fastest, a kid named Brett, lead off. I knew he’d keep us in the race. He was going to lead off anyway, so nothing new there.
I took my 4th fasted guy and I had him as the 2nd leg. In coaching him up, we stressed not to worry about anyone else around him. Run HIS race. Hit his 1st lap time and then just hang on. VERY important to not go out too fast. He usually ran 3rd and in running 2nd, the runners would be closer together, not a lot of separation yet, so way more pressure.
Here’s where I tried to win my coach of the year award. I took my best 800 meter guy and I put him 3rd. Usually the 3rd runner is your slowest runner. Also, the least experienced. His name was Paul Ecker. And I told him, he’s going to get the baton way down, but don’t worry about that. The other 3rd runners in the race are most likely very inexperienced and way slower than him, so when you get the baton, chase them down. They, being inexperienced, won’t know how to react, and will most likely over-react to you speeding up to and by them, by speeding up, which will probably destroy their race. And that’s EXACTKY what happened. Paul got the baton in 6th place but by his 2nd turn had pulled into 3rd or 4th and was now in the mix. As he came across his 1st 400, you could see the other #3 runners starting to tire and they still had a lap left, they were toast. Paul handed off the baton right up there in the mix with the top 3. Paul ran an extraordinary leg.
But why did I put this guy who had never run before as my anchor?
Well, I was hoping we’d be up there. I was counting on us being in the mix. And we were. I also know that Anthony was a senior. He was very athletic and very strong. And I knew he wouldn’t quit. I knew he’d give his teammates all he had. We were in the mix, it was us and two other teams. The 1st place team started to pull away, their anchor was pretty good. So now it was a race for 2nd place. And off the final turn, it was Anthony and another guy fighting it out. And as I knew he would, Anthony had no quit in him. Anthony hung on and they came in 2nd place. Not only did we score the points we needed, but we snagged a few more points too. I couldn’t have been more proud or happier.
Oh ….. so what happened to my 3rd runner?
Well, he told me that after the race he had to tell his parents that his girl friend was pregnant.
Yeah, I would have been a bit out of sorta too.
BIG difference in coaching in a Christian School.
It was the state cross country meet. Every school in the state at the starting line with 7 runners.
We sent our 7 guys to the starting line. We knew we weren’t going to win the state team title. Not in the cards. As I stressed to them – do what you can do. You can’t control anyone else, not in a field this big.
Great group of boys, but none had run before and I was thrilled that they were all running the best they had all year and I fully expected them all to run their best times, even on this difficult course.
Gun went off for the start.
I am rarely at the starting line in big race. I can’t coach at the start. I prefer to position myself somewhere on the course. I am also rarely at the finish. I go to a few places during the race, but I prefer to position myself maybe ¼ mile from the finish.
So, the gun went off and I’m in position just before the 1st mile, hundreds of kids go by and all of my runners are about where they should be. Everyone looked good and seemed good.
I always waited until my final runner had passed. My final runner was working just as hard as my first runner, so I always wanted them to know I appreciated their efforts.
After they went by me, they went into the woods for a mile long loop, and many runners had gone past me when I got to my next point, just past the 2-mile mark.
Looking for my runners going by, I saw 6 of my 7. But I didn’t see my 1st runner. Good kid. His name was Eben and I figured I either missed him (there were 100s of kids in the race) or he was running really good and was ahead of where I thought he might be. I saw the rest of my team go by, then I went to a place maybe ¼ mile away from the finish and watched a few of my runners go by to the finish.
I get to the finish line area and still no sign of Eben. I ask my team and no one had seen him. His younger brother, who was my 3rd of 4th guy, also hadn’t seen him. I’m looking around and his parents are there, and they ask where he is.
I have no idea.
I look around for a bit and he’s no where.
So I find the course marshal and I tell him I have a runner still out on the course. The last runner had finished and they were minutes away from starting the next race. So the course marshal sends a girl out in a golf cart into the woods to check out the loop. I take off for the woods too. I was looking for a bloody and broken legged Eben walking on the trail.
*Side Note 2 – remember now, I’m old and my running/racing days are behind me. But I’m a bit concerned, so here’s this old guy running down this trail in the woods, knowing I’m gonna fall and break my leg and the golf cart will have to pick me up too.
Up ahead, I see the golf cart that had gone out coming towards me. I can see the driver, and I can see another person in back and I see there’s a runner that they had picked up.
Phew – mystery solved.
They go by me and WAIT A MINUTE – IT WASN’T HIM.
They had picked up another runner that was stranded in the woods, but no sign of Eben,
Um…. Okay, now I’m a bit more concerned.
I run/jog back to the finish area and find the course marshal and I tell him that wasn’t my runner. His parents are there and I tell the marshaI I still have a runner on the course. The parents, while still calm, are now quite worried. As am I.
I tell them I’m gonna go back in the woods. So off I go. I’m about ½ way across this giant clearing that leads into the woods and I see Eben just coming out of the woods.
I keep jogging up to him.
I can see he’s not limping.
No blood running down his face.
No broken bones that I can see.
No visible sign of injury.
I get to him and say, “Dude. What happened? Where have you been?”
He just calmly says as we’re walking back to the scoring/finishing area, “Well, a runner running near me collapsed and I thought I should stay with him. So I stopped and prayed with him”.
State Meet.
My #1 runner.
AT THE STATE MEET.
I take a deep breath.
I close my eyes.
I clench both my face and my fists.
I look down at the ground to steady myself.
And I say….. “Way to go!!!”
Yes. It was killing me inside.
MY #1 RUNNER – AT THE STATE MEET.
But it is a Christian High School.
That type of good sportsmanship and Christian compassion is to be commended.
BUT SERIOUSLY – AT THE STATE MEET!!!
I think back to my big cross country races. And no, I would most definitely not have stopped and prayed for a fallen competitor.
Now, I wouldn’t have trampled on him. I would have made sure I either side stepped him or jumped over him.
And THAT is the difference between coaching at a public school and a private Christian school.
But seriously……
My #1 runner at the State Meet.
AT. THE. STATE. MEET.
My Take on Life and Events 