|
DyeStatCal California
Coach of the Week 11/04-11/08 Lalo Diaz (Loyola, LA)
Off to a super start this Fall is the Loyola HS Team coached by Lalo
Diaz. The school sits right near downtown Los Angeles, with some obvious
training difficulties created by that situation. Champions find a way
to overcome obstacles, and that development probably makes them tougher
in the end. Read below of speed work in the cemetery and groups of athletes
who are asked to make some real serious time commitments to getting to
early in the day practices that have brought about one of the State's
top teams this year. As Coach Diaz indicates below, this is the best team
in Loyola history, a program with a fine tradition through the years--
Congrats - Best of continued luck Coach Diaz - Doug Speck - DyeStatCal
Briefly trace your team's season so far this Fall -
We have had just a great year; winning the Bosco Tech, Bell.-Jeff.
Invitationals. We performed well at the Mt. Carmel Invitational (beating
Canyon CC was the highlight). But without question our best performance
was at the Mt. S.A.C. Invitational. We broke our school record ( at
S.A.C.) and Soph. Mark Matusak ran the fastest time ever on that course
by
a Cub.
...Success...in recent years...
We seem to be improving [each year]; last year we finished 7th in Div.
I
Two years ago we missed going to the State Meet by 6 tenth of a second!
We
feel our program has finally arrived.
Personal (academic background)
B.A. - U.C. Riverside (History)
M.A. - Cal State L.A. (Education)
M.A. - Cal State L.A. (History)
Ph.D. - History
Personal (athletic background) ...
I ran for Cathedral High ('67-'71)... Cross Country and Track
Best marks 800 (1:58) 1600 (4:23) 3200 (9:33)
Cross Country.. Won Mt. S.A.C. in 1970
Ran at U.C. Riverside (for Coach Chris Rinne)
Coaching...
Began coaching in 1976...
Cathedral
Cantwell High 1977 - 1982 Best : Joe Avila (9:07) Luis Sanz (9:09)
Serra High School - 1982-1986
Loyola High School - 1987-Present
Challenges ...
Running around Loyola is a real challenge. We are surrounded by cement
and
asphalt, no grass and certainly no hills!
We must therefore be creative. Speed-work is done around the cemetery
across the street from the school. Long distance runs are directed towards
the beach and hill repeats are done on weekends at various parks ( mostly
Elysian Park).
Our students come to us from all over the city. Some from the S.F. Valley,
some from the West Side and many from Pasadena.
Having practice in the mornings is tough because they will often need
to
get-up at around 5:00 a.m. to get here on time.
Summer...
We train six days-a-week.. mornings at 6:30 a.m. (before summer classes).
We begin the third week of June and continue up until September when we
return in the Fall. We keep a yearly training camp up at Mammoth each
August (for two weeks). Average mileage approx. 60-70 miles per week for
the entire summer.
Mt. S.A.C. ...(week of...)
We simply came into this race trying to measure Division I for C.I.F.
Finals purposes... We knew that L.B. Poly would be the "team to beat",
so
we would (now) know just how close we would come to their "power"
limits.
...also... We believe that this race would also establish our Div. I
"reputation"; other schools now know we exist...and they will
now "hunt
for us".
I have always followed by high school coach's program ( Bro. Gerald Frank
), with modifications/influences made by Coach Rinne (UCR) and
cut-and-pasting from Arthur Lydiard's L.S.D. training.
Center core of training program...
L.S.D. base... I believe you can not reach sustained success unless you
have a strong mileage base. Speed-work and/or hill-repeats can not be
on-going unless you have incorporated a strong mileage base.
Advice for the new coach....
Hunt around your school for "bodies"... your program needs numbers!!
When I stared at Loyola (35 runners)...today (105 runners)
Make Cross Country fun for everyone. Take the time to talk to every runner
during the week. Give them some personal attention...Important, know each
runner's name and their time!!! Make them feel special.
Also... tell them why you do certain things at practice... teach the
sport... Let them get to know their sport.
DyeStatCal News
|
is published
by 