|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Week of September 11th-15th,
2007 The Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine is the early season test for top Southern California squads. Held a couple weeks into the season on the flat course that goes out from Woodbridge HS in Orange County, the meet entries over the years just kept piling in to the point where the meet date became longer and longer, coupled with a wise desire to shut the racing down for a time in the mid-day heat, and the meet stretched into the evening. Coach George Varvas and crew at Woodbridge analyzed the situation and decided to try to bring in portable lighting for parts of the course that are in the dark, and night cross-country was the result. The late Saturday evening Sweepstakes events, held before thousands under cool conditions are kind of a “bust-out” time for runners, much akin to the distance races at a meet like Arcadia, where the season has gone along for a short time, with the heat of the summer and early fall escaped for an evening here, with an an electricity in the air and on the course that just seems to lift folks along to stunning performances. Sometimes there is a team that as a group puts it all together and there have been some amazing runs during the years by different squads. This is pancake flat three miling, but still team times for the Boys Team Sweeps that have the fourteenth place team averaging 15:24 for its top five or Girls Sweeps contest that has the top seven teams averaging under 18:00 for its scoring five are kind of mind-blowing efforts. With the early season still “washing-out” and one still gaining a sense of which teams have had their summer work really pan out there is often one squad that moves up and through the pack, with the 2007 team upsetting the form charts and moving to an impressive win on one side, and a fine third on the other is that of this week’s DyeStatCal Coach of the Week, Steve Chavez and his Murrieta Valley HS team. Steve is one of a group of successful coaches in the state who have to be saluted for the open communication about their programs, with clinics he speaks at and holds one of the most important factors in raising the quality of our sport. Young coaches may not appreciate this attitude enough, as it has provided them with a wealth of information that has not always been there, with a few decades back distance running information usually coming from Olympic level coaches who were working with athletes at least in their mid-20's who were in a whole different life situation and physical maturity zone as far as handling work. Back at Woodbridge Steve’s Girls team raced to an impressive third, with the Boys’ squad really upsetting the form charts with their win that rankings guru, Rich Gonzalez, rated as one of the finest team performances he can recall in recent history. Rich did an interview with Steve Chavez at the Woodbridge Meet, and we asked Steve a few more questions which we have added at the end here. Rich’s interview: Video of the Interview (broadband needed) RG - Coach Chavez your reaction to your team’s performances? RG - Of the two races was there one that was more surprising over
the other? RG - Behind David you had your number five finish in thirty-ninth
and your number seven in the top seventy-five. What was going through
your head when you saw all those Nighthawks in very good position? RG - Congratulations and the biggest shock in some time. Congratulations to Steve Chavez and the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks. We asked Steve if he would answer a few more questions for us which he did a few days later: 1) Without going into a whole lot of detail describe the summer training program you go through with your team and is phases (again, very briefly if you could). SC - Over the summer we expect the returning kids to come in with a good mileage base (averaging up to 40mpw coming in) so that we can get right to some serious training. Our varsity squads get quickly to 4x2 mile threshold workouts (3 min rest) on Mondays. This summer we did a 4-mile cut down run every Thursday; however, the big thing over the past two years has been emphasizing pace of training everyday. I want my varsity boys doing everything at 6:30 pace or better and the varsity girls at 7:30 or better. This has significantly helped our improvement. Boys average 50-70 mpw over the summer and girls 40-60 mpw. 2) What were some of the track bests last spring of the members of your 2007 Varsities, especially some of the Boys, who seem to have made some special improvements since last spring? SC - David McCutcheon ran 9:26 and 4:25; Angel Sigeti ran 1:59 and 4:30; Ian Pearce ran 9:57 and 4:42; Daniel Knauer ran 9:50 and 4:40; Chris Kincade ran 9:58 and 4:35; Anthony Sanchez ran 10:10 and 4:45; Jon Sanchez (10th grade) ran 10:20. Most of these guys have been JV runners until this year. Taryn Pastoor ran 10:58 and 5:07; Kylee Martin ran 5:20; Paige
Mobley ran 11:11 and 5:11; Kendall Dye ran 5:38; Anna Schwab ran
11:45; Kylee is running her first XC season (this was her first
3 mile race) and most did not have great track seasons. However,
they have worked very hard over the summer to improve. 3) Different teams have different personalities, and how would you describe the personality(ies) of your 2007 Varsity or Varsities (Boys and Girls)? SC - Boys: This is an interesting group. Since most were JV before this year they are just excited to get their varsity shot. 5 seniors in the group who have worked very hard over the years and seem ready to finally “pop”. In general, they get along very well and work very hard as a group. My toughest challenge is keeping them in a championship mentality without getting too far ahead of themselves. If they keep their focus they will be tough down the stretch. Girls: This is one of my favorite groups of girls. They are very
neat kids who get along and motivate each other constantly. Taryn
Pastoor is our leader and simply will not allow a let down. We
have a lot of young girls on the team and the upperclassmen do
a great job of teaching and motivating them. They have a strong
desire to achieve at a high level, but also pass down their legacy
and tradition. 4) What advice would you have to a new coach who is maybe starting out with a high school program that has not had much success? SC - First thing is learn all you can. The coach who stops learning is the coach who stops improving. Go to the LA 84 clinics and soak in as much as you can. Second, do not be afraid to challenge yourself or your athletes. Give yourself and your athletes the credit you deserve and push your limitations every day. Too many coaches are afraid of turning athletes away with hard work. The true athletes will want to work hard and as long as you show you care for your athletes they will do what you ask. Never limit the expectations of your team. There is no reason why any coach cannot produce an elite level team with the right training program and a lot of hard work. Thanks Steve
|
