Live a Story...Leave a Legacy: The opening chapters...

Live a Story...Leave a Legacy: The opening chapters...


It would seem the appropriate time for me to finally get some thoughts out on the blog. Having been through team camp, August and now a couple of meets our seasons story lines have become far clearer than they were when I last sat down and attempted to write.

I've always been into the stories that our Cross Country seasons create for both the program (plot driven) and for the individual student athletes that drive it (character driven). It often makes for the perfect storm of the characters (you all) reacting to events of the season and changing along the way. Usually a good recipe for interesting stories.

 It is in "story" that we sometimes find answers to our own deep questions in life and develop meaning from our past and purpose for our future. Over the years I have seen many student athletes live out incredibly meaningful team and individual stories within the sport of distance running over a year or four and sometimes beyond. This year is no different of course in the sense that we will do our training, run some races, go to some team dinners and enjoy the season as we always do and live out the general story of the season together each of us playing our part.

Except that somehow it FEELS different this year. It feels stronger and more intense to me. No question the feeling of things is driven by this coaching thing being my world. The intensity and depth of feeling this year coming directly from my own personal story being so interwoven with the Dakota Ridge Cross Country Track and Field program. The team IS my life.

 Without question my perspective on the program and it's story as well as the student-athletes in it may seem over dramatic for sure. Yet when you consider the depth to which I have lived out my own life for the program hopefully you can for a brief moment feel just a little bit of what I feel for us as a team and the student athletes.

Since team camp, the larger general story of the team this year feels unlike anything I have coached in my life. It is by far the most challenging beginning to a season in my career.

 Certainly context has a lot to do with that. It is not often we have come roaring off one of the greatest boys seasons in a lot of histories (personal, school, county, state). It goes without saying that aspect alone creates an enormously large backdrop for this year (A backdrop all of us are proud to have to be clear). However, what a previous season such as that creates is expectation, and "expectation" is an ocean that can churn you up and drown you if you are not careful. I started this year swimming in that ocean and I drowned in it this weekend. However my expectations are not limited to performance in racing and training. My expectations are also attached to how we "operate" as a team with each other and others. To start the year we have had some good and some bad in this aspect as a team. I hope the bad is not indicative of a team losing it's grip on the high level of character expectation I have. Likewise I hope the good is a sign that we indeed will maintain the high level of character I expect. We will see.

One of the most challenging aspects to the start of the year is the vastly different places our boys and girls programs are currently living out. A youthful and new ladies team working to rebuild the historically competitive level we have been at and the older senior led boys trying to maintain a level so high that there is not much oxygen at the top.

The girls story thus far:


Three words to describe us: Young, Learning, Unsure.

Young: 
Our youth is fun and exciting. Most of the team will be with us 2-3 more years here and our staff has enjoyed the opportunity to build and create something new alongside them. We have seen some really great improvement thus far and in the coming weeks, if we can get our process better and better we think we can take some big steps toward competitive relevance in our league and region this year and next.

Learning:
It has been interesting to go back to basics as a coaching staff. It is a new thing to not have a depth of senior leadership to help us teach the team the way we do things. It really is on us as a staff and me in-particular to keep teaching our girls what it takes to improve in the sport. Right now we are in a process of learning how to run and perform to our best ability for each other. The opening weeks have highlighted some things we will need to coach and teach in the coming weeks. I feel like we have a group of ladies that are really eager to learn and really hungry to succeed. Two traits that will serve us well as we teach and coach them.

Unsure:
One of the things we need to work on is our uncertainty and lack of confidence. I see a ton of potential right now. Especially after Alamosa. However we are still very timid in our racing and training. One of the things we will need to work on a ton is being "in-race tough" and "in-training tough" If we can get our mindset to incorporate the truth that running a faster 5k is going to hurt for a bit but feel incredible afterward, we will become something truly special. As the weeks go by I see us improving a vast amount in this aspect.

Highlights thus far: 

Annie Whipple---becoming a steady and strong contributor to the success of the program. Annie has started the season very well and her story to this point has been fun to watch unfold. So far her hard work and competitiveness has carried us through the opening weeks.

Lilia and Christina at Arapahoe----

So far one of the most exciting results was to see Lilia and Christiana finish their first 5k race. Watching their respective stories thus far has put a smile on our faces and reminded us that heart and courage are not reserved for the fastest kids. We love coaching these ladies and are excited to see them keep inspiring us this year.

Freshman rising and sophomore stability...

Watching our freshman, Mia and Eva push the competitive level up and seeing Lauren, Maddie,  Wakinyela, Haylie improve thus far has been further bright spots through the opening weeks of the season.


The boys story thus far:

With 60 plus boys running this year including a bunch of seniors and a great group of freshman, there are obviously some very different stories within the larger story this year. All summer and to start the year we have had a bunch of guys training to have great seasons. So far they have delivered on their work and as yet have not done so while having their best training and race preparation. This creates a nice anticipation of whats to come and gives us plenty to work on in the coming weeks.

A couple storylines to watch for in the coming weeks...

How many can we get under 20 minutes? Under 19 Minutes? Under 18 Minutes? Under 16 Minutes? Under 15 minutes?

The school record for most guys under 20 minutes for 5k in a season is 22. As of Saturday we already have 22 guys under 20 minutes. With another 11-13 guys having a very real chance at getting under 20 minutes this might be by FAR the "fastest" team in school history. League should be a tour de force for sure but we have to earn it in the coming weeks by improving our training and race preparation.

How high can we place in the JV races at Dave Sanders in 2 weeks?

It will be really interesting to see what we can do with our JV B and C teams in a big meet like Dave Sanders with the depth we have. Last year we were 2nd in the B race and 5th in the C race...We certainly will look to win both this year.


Where do we go from here?

It was very kind to be ranked top 10 nationally in pre season polls to start the year. I was certainly hopeful we had gained the needed improvement across the top guys on the team to warrant the ranking. Saturday, the glass bowl of expectation shattered into a million pieces. As we start practice on Monday, we begin operating in the old world again.... Mountain Vista once again is the power house. Fort Collins looks incredible. Rock Canyon has vastly improved from last year. What we are and who we are in the state race is anyones guess. We are learning the hard way what it means to maintain a high level of success. Everyone must seek to be their best selves for the team. It requires a series of personal sacrifice and dedication to the cause. It requires not participating in activities that drain your energy, risk injury and leave us short of the ability needed to run great. It requires doing the little things that enhance our chances at racing into personal breakthroughs. Going to sleep early, with homework done, eating the right foods at the right time in order to have the right fuel. Fighting through tough workouts at the right time or stopping the workout and backing off at the right time. Finding the fun in the process with the team. It requires thinking in terms of "what helps the team" as much as what will help me? It sometimes requires sacrificing personal goals outside the team, or at minimum putting them off. Winning state titles, qualifying for nationals these things are earned through immense hard work and sacrifice as well as trust in the process.

We know where we at now. We know everyone has to find a way to improve. Physically, Mentally, Emotionally... we all have to find a way to improve what we are doing daily. We have to dive into the process and enjoy it for the challenge that it is.

Boys highlights thus far:

As mentioned above we have a ton of guys running way better than a year ago and have a chance to set some school records for the number of guys under 15-20 minutes this year.

Zach Liles--Playing a football game the night before, driving into the night to get to Alamosa so he can get up and set a huge personal best at 18:44, Zach deserves to heralded for the mental tenacity he is showing being our first football-cross country athlete.

Kyle Johnson---Starting to figure it out this guy has been a revelation as as sophomore. Great form, strong mind, Kyle is on his way to creating his own great story within the team.

Chance Heisler and the Fabulous Freshman...The eagerness and hunger to get better is so much fun to coach. I just just love these guys. Chance had a tremendous Alamosa race moving into some varsity contention throughout the season.

  Connor Ohlson and Ben Morrin.. These guys have been doing the job upfront and in training. Connor's brilliant win at Alamosa and Ben's Third place at Mountain Vista 2 mile stand out as their best races thus far.









There is a long way to go in our stories. I will enjoy seeing how we mature, change and answer the challenges we face in the coming weeks before the final chapters are written. Lets have some great training and focus on doing the little things right that will equal some great performances the rest of the year.