Monday Miscellany

Alumni! How cool was it getting to watch a bunch of the 'old guys/gals' get their run on! Saturday's UCR invitational brought out Matt Cummins, Larissa Davis, Monika Valenzuela, Bekah Fairley and Carissa Bowman all running for their respective colleges. Very nice!
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So when is the weather going to change? I'm frankly done with the heat. Very done.
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With October happening officially on Wednesday, it's amazing to realize that with that month, we are officially into the final stretch of the season! October always flies by, and then it's November and Finals. Whew, where does the time go?
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It was almost a year ago now that we took what has become in my mind at least, the trip of a lifetime. It was mid-October that we headed off to Alabama for the Great American XC Festival and a look-see at the Martin Luther King/Civil Rights historic spots. What an amazing trip that was. Honestly, hardly a day goes by where I don't run a few of those memories through my mind and enjoy again what was really a very special experience.
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The next season of CBS's Amazing Race started last night. I would absolutely LOVE the chance to be on that show. I think Coach Peirce and I would make great partners, too!

Shared Sacrifice, Shared Glory

In the pre-dawn darkness this morning I was reminded again of an old truth; in shared sacrifice, there comes shared glory.

Nothing good comes in life without some kind of sacrifice. Want to make a million bucks? Better accept long hours at the office. Want a great marriage? Better learn to compromise. Want a nice car? Sign up for big monthly payments. You get the idea.

But here, today, in the dark, our team emerged from their beds to begin an early morning workout, before school. It was dark enough that the track needed illumination from a couple sets of headlights. Bed heads bobbed in the blackness, making their bodies move in unison, on pace with their goals.



By the time the sun rose, our spirits seemed to rise as well. As I watched and cheered, I realized that most if not all, were lifted on the winds of progress, and accomplishment, discovering that this sacrifice of sleep and tradition -- could and will bring great reward.

We are doing great things, of which the developing discipline is foremost. And it is that very chiseling of our character that will, when the time is right, bring great reward and glory, a destination of attainment that will be shared by all and made all the sweeter because we all made it happen in the twilight of sacrifice. And there, in the bright light of success we would do well to remember that in the darkness of morning you found the secret truth; great rewards are born in the sacrifices of many.

Well done, team!

Monday Miscellany #1

I had fun last night watching the end of the Yankee game of the last game to be played at Yankee stadium, ever. I'm not a Yankee fan, but I appreciate baseball history and East coast baseball seems far more rabid than the Left Coast version, so it was fun to be there at a distance. Now, Go Dodgers!!

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Monique Carrasco and Taylar Amiot were injured this past weekend, but did a great job helping out with the timing and record keeping. Great job girls!

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I'm excited about the BIG 8 meet on Wednesday. Something new! New teams, new format, tougher challenge than in the past, all good stuff.

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16:00! Yep, that's the amount of time our runners took OFF of their Mt. Carmel times from a year ago. Did we just stink last year, or are our guys just getting ALOT better. For the record, we didn't stink last year! But yea, 16 full minutes, all guys combined, faster than one year ago on the same course. Sweet! (the guuurls were 5:03 faster!)

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Fall is in the air! So, I know, it's like mid-80's, but it's downright chilly!! Today's the first day of Fall. I love this time of year!

Mt.Carmel Moments

Seaside Images

Some of the images from the day (and night!)...

Parent Power

In teaching and coaching, parents can be a blessing and a curse. Most of us teachers got into the profession to work with kids, and so the parents are kind of along for the ride. They can sometimes be that proverbial backseat driver, while at other times they can be an enjoyable passenger that makes the journey with their kids all the sweeter. Parents have the power to make coaching an awesome experience, and a hard one.

I've been thinking lately about how blessed we are to have the great parents we have in King XC. You folks are true servants to Leisha, Dan, Jim and myself. You've encouraged, helped, offered constructive criticism, and pitched in to help beyond measure.

It struck me last weekend when we asked for parents to help drive to Mt.SAC for practice on a Saturday morning that we had more parents volunteer than we actually needed! Our booster club meeting the other night packed out my classroom, almost 40 people were there! You've signed up to drive gear, organize banquets, plan fundraisers, coach our kids in the off season and drive your kids to practice at the ungodly early hours we train ... all without complaint.

Thank you. So much of any success we may enjoy this year is because of you!

We're All One

It was fun catching some of the Olympics last month. Did you get to see any of it? I thought NBC did a good job of covering the major events, and as one who’s done a few marathons in the past, I especially enjoyed watching every step of those two races.

The swimming was good too. The men’s 4x100 relay almost upstaged Michael Phelp’s historic medal haul. Remember it? The French team had talked smack going in, and it indeed looked like the US would finish in the silver with half a pool to go.

Until Jason Lezak of Irvine dug deep and pulled out a shocker. He covered the last leg of 100 meters in 46.06 seconds and nipped the Frenchman at the wall! Crazy!

The US Olympic coach said afterward, “That’s the kind of anchor you dream of. It shows what you can do when you don’t think about it, you just go.”

Just go. That’s good advice. But there was more to Lezak’s snatching victory from the mouth of defeat. It had to do with his and his teammate’s outlook. Despite training individually in different parts of the country, the foursome came together. Lezak said that before the race he got with the guys and said, “We’re not a 4-by-100 team. We’re all one.”

If you kids are wondering what makes me tick, what brings us coaches out to the sport, It’s that. There’s nothing more powerful than that attitude. We’re one. That’s why I’m a fan of team sports. That’s why I coach. That’s what brings me back every year … can we get that attitude this year? Can we achieve that unity? Can we see a bunch of individuals put selfish interests aside and work together for a common goal?

As I look back on 19 years of coaching XC, I can say with certainty that the one common denominator of the truly great teams I’ve been a part of was that they had that attitude. In some cases, their talent was secondary. They raced and trained as a unit. They weren’t a “seven-by-3 mile” team. They were one.