DyeStatCal Girls Coach of the Week 10/7-10/11/02 - Doyle O'Regan (Piedmont) NCS

Coach O'Regan (far right top row) with his Stanford winners!!!

Each year there are coaches around the state who amaze with their abilities to secure the best results from what may be a limited size student body. With the different sports that there are that seem to funnel off so many athletes to other activities as students often times make their athletic choices far before coming to high school, someone at a smaller size school has a particular challenge nowadays. It is quite impressive when in the Division III-IV and V some of the same name schools come up again and again with top runners and teams. Such a program is that of Doyle O'Regan of Piedmont, with the small San Francisco Bay area school third in last year's State Meet in the Division IV Girls competition. At the Stanford Invitational in late September the Piedmont group, led by the Sparks twins, sophs Jehan and Naomi, scored 24 points in taking that division in that competition. Our honoree for this week's Girls Coach of the Week, Coach Doyle O'Regan of Piedmont has had groups of athletes all out of proportion to the size of the school, with a great group back this year, some great male groups in the past, with Doyle readily giving much credit to those who have worked with him as Assistants.

Congrats Doyle - best of luck rest of the year and in the future

Doyle - "Thanks for the honor. I alone certainly do not deserve it as I have been blessed with outstanding assistant coaches and very talented runners in my years at Piedmont High. Frankly they deserve the lion's share of the credit."

1) Briefly trace your team's season so far this fall

Practice for us began August 26th. Our first race was Sep 14th at the Ed Sias Invite where we took second place behind St Francis (Sacramento). Next up was the race at Stanford on the 28th - we had a great day running as all the girls PRed and our team took home first prize in Division IV.

We just started our league season with a dual meet last Thursday - the meet against our primary league rival (St. Mary's) takes place this Thursday (10/10). Then we head off to Clovis on Saturday (10/12)

2) Briefly discuss the success that your program has had in recent years

We've managed to win our fair share of league and section titles over the years - in recent years we have also been fortunate enough to bring home some plaques from State (boys in 1995 and 2000 and girls in 2001).

In addition to the team honors, we've had some kids go on to compete in college. Highlander alums currently running in college are: Tom Phelps (Cal Poly SLO), Crosby Freeman (Pomona), Alli Jolda (UC Davis), Mary Phelps (Colby) and Graeme Joeck (Mary Washington). A couple of our grads have gone on to compete at the national level as well.

3) What is your previous athletic and coaching background

I was a mediocre runner in high school. Qualifying for a league final in track was pretty much the one highlight in my athletic career.

As for my coaching career, that began in the mid 80's at Piedmont High when the principal asked me to coach track and cross-country. Aside from helping out with the track team during my student teaching year, I had no experience as a coach of anything. I was very green and had to learn the job as I went along.

Fortunately, I was assisted by some extremely talented coaches over the years - Steve Brower, Tom Craig, Tony Kauke, Robbie Earle, Dave Ponas and others. All of these folks know so much about training and running - much more than I'll ever be able to comprehend. Without their help, I never would have survived as a coach. 90% of our success can be attributed to their knowledge and expertise.

4) Generally, what type of training did you have your team do this summer?

I'm pretty much hands off during the summer - I give the kids a few guidelines, but after that, they decide on the quality and quantity of their summer running. Personally, I think it is beneficial for young adults to make some decisions about their training in the off-season. I also think it's good for their sanity to get away from me for a few weeks. Above all, I want them to have fun running each day.

Some of our kids followed a pretty structured training schedule this summer while others were more casual and ran "as they felt". For the most part, all were consistent in their training and came to our first practice quite fit.

5 ) How did you approach a race such as Stanford last weekend as a varsity group as far as strategy?

Actually we did not talk too much about the Stanford course or the competition. We just reminded the kids about getting to the line early to finish their warm-up and strides. We also talked a bit about how we wanted to approach the first mile. We are pretty much a "pace" team when it comes to racing - we like to establish an appropriate pace and rhythm at the outset. Aside from that, we left it to the kids to rely on their own racing instincts.

6 ) Who has influenced you the most along the way in your style of coaching?

As a student at Cal Hi (San Ramon)in the 70's [yes the polyester era], I had some great teachers and coaches - Tom Zechlin, Ed Noble, Mike McGinnis, Bob Benatar and Rick Moitoza are some who come to mind. Each was passionate about his subject/sport and all worked very well with kids. All were excellent role models and showed genuine interest in us as people. They set standards and asked us to live up to them. They made school a very enjoyable place.

They are the primary reason I chose to go into teaching and coaching.

7 ) If you had to bring up one thing that you center the core of your training program on, what would it be?

Our main goal is to have each of our athletes consistently working at a level that is appropriate to his/her current fitness, strength and ability. We are constantly assessing how our kids respond to workouts and constantly making adjustments (some kids recover in 24 hours while others need 72 hours). As the season builds, we try to gradually increase the load (quantity and/or quality). We feel that with consistency and progression we will steadily improve. It doesn't always work out that way, but we have been successful for the most part.

8 ) What advice would you have for a new coach just starting out working with a high school cross-country team?

First and foremost, remember that you are a teacher. You are a role model. Teach your kids the skills of your sport. More important, help them to become good people and responsible members of society. Teach them to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

Second, read books on training principles and talk to other coaches (even those in other sports). Go to coaching clinics.

Finally, take what you do seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.

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