Skip to main content

Loving the energy of cross country


“Are you the coach? My son dropped out of the race without finishing. He was sitting down rather discouraged when one of your boys, I don’t know which one, walked over to him and told him he did a good job. I meant a lot to my son. I thought it was pretty neat that someone from another team would go out of their way to compliment him.”

All through the races at our meet today, I watched my cross country team cheer on runners not only from their team, but from the other teams as well. When there were only one or two runners out on the course, some of my runners went out on the course to cheer them in. When a girl from another team was in last place struggling to finish due to an asthma attack, they walked on either side of her until she crossed the finish line safely. When a the crowd had been waiting minutes for the last runner in the boys’ race to come in, they went out to find him on the course and ran with him until he reached the stretch where the crowd was. At that point, they disappeared into the mass so the boy would get the cheers.

Meet after meet, practice after practice, I have watched this team go out of their way to show good sportsmanship. They do not do it with impressing others in mind. They do it because it is who they are. It is second nature to support one another – regardless of the team.

Leadership within the team is amazing. It is often the voice of each other they find to be the most powerful. Today it was the voice of an 8th grade boy. During the walk-through of the course, he talked to me about the boys not taking the meets seriously. The amount of respect he has from the boys is huge. Knowing this, I encouraged him to talk to them when the girls were running. He did. Whatever he said worked. For the first time this season, the boys finished a meet in first place. I believe it has everything to do with the way he brought them all together. I thanked him as he was packing up to go home. He gave me the most beautiful smile I have ever seen from him.

Beginning runners are gaining more and more confidence with each meet. I am really bad about giving them their times after each run. Yet each time they run, they are improving. Runners that used to finish in the last five are now finishing in the top 75% in each race. The smiles as they cross the finish line are what I bring home from each meet. The seasoned runners continue to improve, while mentoring the beginners.

So what is it that is making this team so amazing? Is it my coaching? I hardly think so. While I play a small part, so does the positive attitude that each one of them brings to anything we do, whether it be a practice spent running hills or a meet in 98 degree weather. The support of the parents plays a role as well. Parents provide rides to every practice and meet. They are there with cold towels and snacks. Between the three of us – runners, coaches, and parents – the positive energy is taking us to extraordinary places.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...
2 comments
Read more

Fiery Passion

It is 10:44am on Wednesday morning. I sit here in a darkened classroom with no power. During the last 24 hours I have walked a student down to the office with a big knot on her head as the result of a fight; counseled the other half of the fight on different choices she could have made; been an object of a discussion between two teachers; backed my car into a ditch; and restrained a girl. Oh, yeah, and I taught about Civil Rights a bit also. My life continues to be an adventure! Fast forward nine hours. My day at school has come to a close giving me a few moments to sit and reflect on the adventure of the last day and a half. I continue to contemplate what could be done to teach the girls how to embrace the fiery passion they have within rather than to let it out through fighting. Let’s take a walk back through time….. In every other school I have taught in, teachers have a lunch break. This is not the case at BMS. Teachers eat with the students, albeit at a separate table. We...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art of Being Thankful

Yup! This entry is going to be totally cliché. After all, it is that time of year where we stop and think about what we are thankful for in our lives. So here it is. My list of thankful. 1.    One less kid home for the holidays Sean won’t be coming home for the holidays this year. He has been with me every year at Christmas since 1988. I will miss him dreadfully. However, I am so very thankful that he will be spending the holidays honoring fallen soldiers. I am thankful for the man of repute he has become. Most of all, I am thankful he is not one of the fallen. 2.   Unemployment Tony does not have a typical job down here. A few days a week, he drives a rickshaw for tips only and substitutes whenever he gets the opportunity. While we never know what we can count on for the budget, I know I can count on him to be there for the girls; to clean the house; to get the vacuuming done; and so much more. I cannot even fathom how he could enjoy working inside the...
1 comment
Read more