Murrieta Valley, Cont.

We also spend 5 days every summer up in the local mountains at 7400 ft. camping in tents and running twice a day. The down time between runs is filled with activities and time for teammates to get to know each other better. We always come down from the mountains a much stronger team than when we leave. I have a great group of parents as well who offer up their homes for barbecues; pasta feeds, and pool parties for the kids to unwind. These little things can make a great difference to the kids.

Creating a Team

Taking a group of individuals and turning them into a powerful team is the toughest challenge any coach faces. Every year there seems to be new obstacles thrown your way to impede this process. From personality differences, to illness, injury, boyfriends, girlfriends, family lives, schoolwork, school life, etc. all conspire to break apart a true team. A basic challenge for me, since we typically do not get any age group runners or kids who are familiar with running long distances, is first motivating the athletes to see their own worth first. Finding out what one is capable of is vital to one's development in any field. Once this confidence is gained, the coach can begin teaching the individuals how they can be even stronger by committing themselves to the team and its goals. Sometimes this is much easier to do than others. I have tried hard-handed and soft-handed approaches with my teams. I have succeeded greatly and failed miserably in my attempts to create the kind of squad that chomps at the bit to meet a new challenge and sets high goals and expectations for themselves. When this happens it is truly magical. When it does not, you make the best of it you can.

Racing as a team

I love breaking down races to come up with strategies that best fit the group of runners I have. Typically, however, I train my teams to get out strong, push through the middle of the race, and then take it over (when possible) in the last mile. I don't believe in being overly tactical. I take a page from John Wooden who never worried about the competition. His philosophy is that if his team was adequately prepared and executed its game, they could beat any team. I try to train my athletes to handle any course terrain and race situation. From there, they just go out and give it the best they have that day. Most of the time we fail, but when we do we take pride if our effort was true. When we succeed there is great pride in a job well done. Our goal is always to run our fastest on that given day. If we win in the effort that is a plus.