Joe Bisignano, Northwest School's Head Cross Country Coach

Over my 25 years in education I have had the fun job of coaching soccer, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, even a bowling team but nothing is quite like coaching cross country. I had a great opportunity handed to me 7 years ago when our athletic director, Britt Atack gave me the chance to make cross country a part of our middle school PE program. Our HS and MS teams were struggling with low numbers at the time and, though patience is not one of my best virtues, it seemed like the right place to start a building process was with 6th graders.  I wasn’t sure if anyone would sign up. One of the realities of being an avid runner is thinking that you are a bit odd in that pursuit and thinking most athletes would much rather chase a ball. But Britt said I only needed 12 kids to be able to hang up my soccer whistle and start a team so I was thrilled when twice that many showed up.

Initially I expected running cross country to appeal to the fast runners. Certainly those kids did come out. I came home from my very first summer team gathering and told my daughter I had just met a kid who will be the fastest runner I may ever coach. Yes, our current three-time state champ was that good from day 1. But she was just one of a couple dozen, all of whom seemed to love our little runs through the trails chasing rabbits up in Woodland Park. I definitely did a lot of things to try to make it fun: capture the flag, treasure hunts, etc. but I never shied away from making it hard: hill repeats, intervals, etc.  Maybe it was the popsicles at the end but I never had a kid say they wanted to quit because the sport was too tough.  And I also never had a kid quit because they thought they were too slow. I don’t think I understood why I run until I started coaching other runners and I saw in them the deep sense of satisfaction and power that comes from getting stronger, getting faster. Even if that stronger and faster isn’t stronger or faster than most other kids in a race, most of the kids I have coached have been quick to see that they are getting stronger and faster than their former selves and they just like how that feels and enjoy pushing themselves hard to get that feeling.

That first group of 6th graders are now seniors and it feels like the foundation has been built for a long time to come because the other key to a successful running team is just numbers. Hard interval workouts only work well if you have someone else trying to hit the same splits. 8 and 10 mile long runs are fun if you have a few friends to talk longingly about what you are going to eat after you are finished. The bottom line is that the other runners are what make a cross country team work, much more than any coach (no slight at all to the incredible people I coach with). We can come up with a workout plan and we can push and cheer and console but that only goes so far. It is the other runners that get you out to summer practices, push you to hold pace during the last of a tough interval set and make those long bus rides something you look forward to.

So, I look at our huge group of freshman girls and know I owe a huge thanks to my senior girls who drew them out and are bringing them along. The same goes for my boys who have pushed themselves and each other as a group this year harder than any other team I have ever coached in any sport. I call them my pack of sled dogs cause they just can’t wait to run.  As I bumped around from group to group yesterday hitting hard hill repeats in the pouring rain, every kid giving their all, I could only think the same thing most of them were thinking,  how lucky I am to be a right here, right now, a part of this team.