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Week of September 4th-8th, 2007 This past weekend there were a number of teams who
performed at a very impressive and high level during the first
serious week of Invitational action around the state. With
some decent sized meets there was one school that stood way out
from the pack with a stunning 1-5 "out of Section" contest result
when they headed north from their Central Section base to the Sac
Joaquin area. With heat a huge factor statewide during about
every competition in the last week, with the Granite Bay contest
that this team performed at on the Boys' side a heat-shortened
two from three miles, it made the performance even more impressive,
as it showed a special resilience of all the squad's scorers on
the way to their perfect total over the other fourteen teams in
the race. Running, like life, being the competitive situation
that it is, has few groups or individuals that escape unscathed
from a season, with the measure of both areas (life and on the
course)
kind of
set up by how individuals and squads decide to come back from
the less than pleasing periods, with the job of a Coach, Teacher,
Parent, or those working with young people probably tested most
when the results read-out does not go as planned. This
squad was one that went through real frustration to finish its
2006 Fall Cross Country
season, finishing one place out of moving on to the state meet
with a school record performance in a very competitive area. From
the interview that follows, one realizes that with the lead of
their experienced coaches, they obviously went back to the drawing
board, pulled the boot-straps up, and went to work on the next
campaign,
with
a lead-in
result
like this showing consistent preparation and continued belief in
your cause can bring some very pleasing results. One senses
a very careful attention to "team-building" and consistent hard
work in the program described below by our Coach honoree. We
may not see another perfect score in a fifteen school invitational
contest this
fall
in our sport. Kind of setting the tone for our 2007 season
is our DyeStatCal Coach of the Week Jim Farmer from Clovis East
High School, who is quick to share credit for the honor with fellow
mentor, Dustin
Marzolf, with the above story about their team from last weekend's
Granite Bay Invite and kind of things over the last year for the
Timberwolf Boys' team. In a school and district of super-successful
programs, an area that can match themselves with any in the United
States as far as general athletic success, the Clovis East Boys
Cross-Country team under Coaches Farmer and Marzolf have told a
recent tale worthy of this Coaching honor. Congratulations
and best of luck
Coach Farmer - First of all, let me start off by saying that in everything that I do, the glory goes to God, the credit goes to the hard working kids, and the pleasure was all mine. Secondly, the Clovis East Cross Country Team is really coached by two head coaches, Dustin Marzolf (4th year) and myself (9th year). Without acknowledging Dustin contribution to our team, would be a mistake on my part. DyeStatCal - Granite Bay was a good multi-school meet with the course shortened due to the heat. Did you expect a special performance from your team and felt they were really ready to go, or were you a bit surprised at their success with a 1-5 sweep? Coach Farmer - We choose to go to the Granite Bay Invitational two years ago because we wanted to compete against some of the best teams in their section. Here in Fresno we are used to running in 100 degree heat. As far as going 1-5, it was a nice surprise. We had a great summer of workouts, the kids worded really hard and it was nice to see all of that hard work pay off. It was a great life lesson, put in the work and you will reap the rewards. DyeStatCal - 2006 Cross Country had to have a bit of a frustrating end with a third in the Central Section and sitting home for the State Meet. Howe did the team handle that situation and go on into track and their 2007 Cross Country preparation? Coach Farmer - Being third in our section in 2006 and not qualifying for the CIF was tough. As a team, we ran great at our section meet, we set our school record for our best team time. But you have to give credit where credit is due. Madera and Buchanan just ran better. All you can do is tip your hat and say great job. It’s my job as the coach to regroup the kids and either accept being third, or go back to practice and work harder for next year. DyeStatCal - What kind of a summer 2007 program did you have for your team and what percentage of daily participation from your eventual 2007 varsity did you have at practices? Coach Farmer - We get after it during the summer. We practice Monday – Saturday from 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM. We get our morning run in, we lift weights and normally end with a team game. We also have a PM practice two nights a week, which is usually done in the pool. We always have a great turn out for summer practices. We also understand that we need to be flexible with family vacations, but the kids still get in their mileage when that are gone. DyeStatCal - Do you do any special “team-building” activities during the summer or after track and field from cross country? Coach Farmer - Our whole summer program is built around “team bonding”. Team games, team parties, we also love to go bowling and to the movies with the team. Two of the major team building activities that we do over the summer are our varsity team camp in Santa Cruz (ending with the running of the Wharf to Wharf) and our week long team camp that we spend in San Francisco. DyeStatCal - What adjustments do you make for the warm weather during the summer and early fall with your workouts in the Fresno area? Coach Farmer - We always have to make adjustments for the heat. We do not cut our mileage, but what we do is give them water @ strategically placed spots during their run. We believe if you are going to race in the heat, we need to practice in the heat. DyeStatCal - Care to share roughly what you guys did Monday through Thursday practices prior to Granite Bay? Coach Farmer: DyeStatCal - What are the personality and “team” characteristics of the 2007 Clovis East Varsity Cross Country squad that make it special? Coach Farmer - Our kids understand the meaning of hard work. They are not afraid to get after it. We believe that the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed on the battlefield. DyeStatCal - What is your personal educational or athletic background and experience in coaching leading up to this season, and what do you teach at CE? Coach Farmer - I am a graduate of Clovis West High School and Fresno State University. In high school I ran cross country, played basketball and ran track. At Fresno State I ran hurdles for their track team. I have coached cross country for 10 years and track for 15 years, all at the high school level. I also teach physical education at Clovis East. DyeStatCal - Who has most influenced your philosophy of coaching the cross country team, and what did you learn from them? Coach Farmer - My father has been the biggest influence on my coaching philosophy. My dad (Jim Farmer Sr.) was my high school cross country and track coach at Clovis West. He is a great resource to bounce ideas off of and his wealth of experience in coaching has been a huge blessing in my life. DyeStatCal - Clovis East has been very successful in athletics (defeat of LB Poly in Football a few years back, Section track title last year and numerous other championships). Did the school just hit the ground running successfully with its first senior class, or was there a period of attempting to establish your school with the other successful teams in the Clovis district? Coach Farmer - When we first opened our doors in 1999, it was very hard for us athletically. Being the new school our district (which is very competitive), we had a lot of our kids transfer to our sister schools. We (coaches) had to learn to play with the cards we were dealt and compete the best we could. The first few years of our school were tough. Wins did not come easy. But we have learned to work hard, make no excuses and we have been fortunate to have won a few section championships last year. DyeStatCal - What are some of the bigger races in the near future you are looking forward to for your team? Coach Farmer - We are going to compete in the Woodbridge Invitational, Stanford Invitational and Mt. Sac Invitational. We look forward running against some of the best teams in the state, if not the nation. |
