|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
DyeStatCal Boys
|
|
||
| DyeStatCal Boys Another team that has started out super in the Golden State this fall and rocketed to near the top of local, state, and national rankings has been Trabuco Hills HS. Their up-front strength has been very impressive in the bigger meets they have run at this Fall, with huge efforts at the Don Bosco Tech Invite and the Woodbridge Invitational, then they headed off to Idaho where they captured that multi-state affair! This week's honoree as State Boys Coach of the Week is Liam Clemons, who describes below the efforts his group has put in their steady climb to the elite level as a program. There is going to be some great racing later in the Fall and expect the Trabuco crew to be in the middle of it! Congrats - good luck 1) What is your personal background in sports as you grew up? I have been an athlete my whole life. I started competing in gymnastics
in the second grade and continued until I started high school.
My freshman year, the cross country coach recruited me and I have
been a runner ever since. In high school I helped lead my team,
Del Campo High School, to our first Div. 1 state title in 1995.
After high school I ran XC and track for American River College
and Humboldt State University. I mostly steeple chased in college
and dabbled in the 1500 and 10k, but a serious foot injury basically
ended my career in 1998. I think my love for the sport is what drew me to coaching. No matter how hurt I was or how hard running became after my injury, I couldn’t walk away from this sport. I also always heard horror stories about coaches who were just “warm bodies” and I hated to see them wasting their athletes’ time. I had an excellent set of coaches at ARC, Jean Snuggs and Rick Andersen, they both inspired me to not only challenge myself as a runner, but to study the sport and learn everything I can to bring the most out of runners. As far as teaching goes, when I met Jack Recla at THHS in 2003 and he gave me the opportunity to be his assistant, I knew right away that I had found my niche. I have been a journalist, artist, photographer, and warehouse supervisor, but there is nothing I enjoy more than helping kids achieve their goals. Being in a classroom for me just feels natural. I honestly never imagined myself there, but I know it is where I belong. Teaching Biology is exciting and challenging. I live for those “aha!” moments when my students finally grasp a new concept. I have to say that having a wife that supports me makes it easier for me to do everything that I do. My wife, Melissa, is a runner herself and is now our girls’ assistant coach. Having her and our seven-month old son at practice everyday makes the long hours that much easier. 3) Super job the first couple of big meets so far this Fall (Bosco Tech and Woodbridge). What kind of sacrifices did your varsity squad make during the summer to step it up to the level that they have? This team is the kind that I think every coach dreams of working with at least once in their career. We started workouts in July and from day one, this varsity group has showed that they are committed to taking the program to a new level. None of the top five runners took a vacation this summer and they showed up ready to work everyday. They have embraced running as not just their sport, but as a lifestyle and I think that has made a huge difference. However, the biggest sacrifice they have made collectively this year that has not been their in the past is their willingness to forget their egos and learn. 4) What kind of an organized program for workouts did you have this summer? We practiced six days a week from 7am to 10 am as part of our annual conditioning camp. Runners are not required to be there, but we had 50+ on most days.
This is a mature group of runners. They understand that they not only have to motivate themselves everyday, but their teammates as well. This is the first season in my three years as the head coach that we have not had an underclassman make the varsity squad. The senior and junior leaders have helped me set the tone since day one. We would not have anywhere near the caliber of team without their leadership.
The challenges I foresee are continuing to build up their self-confidence, closing the gap between our 4th and 5th runners, and keeping things positive. I think my team gained a lot of confidence from the first two races this year. They also saw the truth behind that old saying “No matter how good you think you are, there is always somebody better.” To smash the team-time record at Woodbridge and still get beat was an interesting experience. Our biggest challenge is to find a response and work collectively to give Royal a challenge come CIF championships.
We kept with our normal schedule of running long on Mondays. The varsity group ran 12 miles at 6:00 to 6:30 pace.
The most important thing I have picked up from coaches that know a lot more than me is what you do as a coach is important, but it is how you do it that matters most. Know your personnel and coach “your” team, not the sport.
|
For questions or comments about content, contact the editors: Rich
Gonzalez and Doug Speck
DyeStat is published by Student
Sports ©1998-2006
is published by 