2007 BLOOD:WATER MISSION Project Update

Many of you can remember the season of 2007 in which we participated in a couple of community service projects, one of which was raising over $2,000 for BloodWater:Mission, an organization that works to dig drinking water wells in Africa. Their organization also works to provide AIDS relief across the continent.

Some exciting national news has come out of the organization, and by extension, our fundraising efforts as well.

Recently a documentary has been released called, SONS OF LWALA. "It tells the story of Vanderbilt University Medical School students Milton and Fred Ochieng’, two brothers from Kenya whose village sent them to America to become doctors. After losing both parents to AIDS, they are left with the heartbreaking task of returning home to finish the health clinic their father started before getting sick. Unable to raise enough money on their own, the brothers are joined by students, politicians and rock musicians who put on fundraising drives throughout the United States through Blood:Water Mission's support. SONS OF LWALA follows Milton and Fred on their incredible journey as they find a way, despite all odds, to open their village’s first hospital." - (bloodwatermission.org)

Here's the trailer to the film, and below it a link to the ABC News story


The brothers will be featured on ABC's World News with Charlie Gibson tonight, January 30 at 6:45PM (PST) as the program's "Persons of the Week."

Click here to read the ABC News story.

All State Honors

For the first time in King High's 10 year history, the cross country teams notched three All-State Selections in a single season. The most previously was in 2006 when Kelsi Tippets and Carissa Bowman earned the distinction.

Congratulations to Lane Werley, Devin Becerra and Kelsi Tippets for working their way to the top of their individual grade levels in the entire state of California!

Read what dyestatcal.com had to say about each:

Kelsi Tippets (ML King, Riverside-SS) - Kelsi had a couple of super efforts when it counted, with a fifth in the tough Section Division I Finals and top 25 finish at the State Meet.

Lane Werley (King HS, Riverside-SS) -- A convert from basketball the sensational youngster revealed great promise for the future with multiple quality races, including a fine 15:56 at the Clovis Invitational.

Devin Becerra (ML King, Riverside-SS) -- While teammate Lane Werley caught our eye early in 2008, Devin moved into the frame by late season too. His 16:44 run at the early-season Mt. Carmel Invitational showed promise, with a 16:32 run on the state meet course fulfilling those views.

We Have Only Our Bodies

Three days after Martin Luther King heard the call to carry on, the local KKK threw a bomb on the porch of King's home, exploding and ripping a hole in the front wall. Fortunately no one was injured in the blast, but the gauntlet had been thrown down.

Calling or not, the message was clear: You and your kind are not wanted.

A crowd of angry protesters assembled on the lawn that night, armed and dangerous, seeking retribution. Above the shouts and expletives, King's voice rose and called for calm. He asked the throng to put away their guns, love their enemies, turn the other cheek. "We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory voilence" he said as a cocktail of dynamite and vengence stirred the night air. "We must meet violence with non violence. Remember the words of Jesus: 'He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.'" Then, like throwing moral salt into the open wounds, he finished with "We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: 'Love your enemies; bless them that curse you ...' This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love."

His message was clear: Me and my kind will not be moved.

As a student of Gandhi, a nonviolent approach to segregation had been percolating in King's mind for some time, but the radical call to withhold the counter strike met one of its first real tests that ugly night. As the splinters and dust settled and by the time the crowd deflated and dispersed, a movement unlike any other was born. The foot soldiers would carry only their bodies into battle. Evil would be met with love. Fists with faces. Teeth with legs. Though history has shown that revolutions are fought with guns, and fire is fought with more fire, this one would be different ... and very difficult. It would be an "Anti-Revolution" and King was betting that despite the difficulties it would ultimately prevail.

When tested and tired, King returned to his home. While accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he recalled that reference point, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. "When the years have rolled past" King said, "and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvelous age in which we live, men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization, because these humble children of God were willing to 'suffer for righteousness sake.'"

All of that sounds well and good until you get to the "suffering" part. Most of us don't like to suffer, most of all me. Why else do we have pills and air conditioning? Truth is, that part was a hard sell for King too. Though many signed on to suffer with him for righteousness, many gagged on it or balked. In a tense meeting with the double-crossing mayor of Chicago who reneged on a promise to let them march, King explained the weariness that comes in doing the hard thing:

"Let me say that if you are tired of demonstrations, I am tired of demonstrating. I am tired of the threat of death. I want to live, I don't want to be a martyr. ...I am tired of getting hit, tired of being beaten, tired of going to jail. " But then, pulling out his ultimate weapon, he said,"Now gentlemen, you know we don't have much. We don't have much money. We don't really have much education, and we don't have political power. We have only our bodies and you are asking us to give up the one thing that we have when you say, 'don't march.'"

Ouch. Moved, the mayor changed course and the bodies marched. Score one for the unarmed foot soldiers.

It is difficult (perhaps impossible) for those of us in 21st Century Southern California to really imagine the plight of African Americans who lived in the South in the middle of the last century. The violence perpetrated by racists is sick enough to leave unmentioned here. The KKK was given by local governments "free passes" to do as they pleased to demonstrators prior to the police moving in. The FBI, like so many holders of power then, was bent. Even President Kennedy, with his own secrets to hide, was made to realize it'd be in his best interests to stall a civil rights bill King had personally pleaded with him to enact. The Sixties were stained with the sins of pride and racism. To be in the trenches of that fight was to sign up for suffering. Some survived, some didn't.

But the movement King led did survive, and perhaps it's life was best summed up in a speech King gave on the steps of the State Capitol building in Montgomery, after one of the largest and most brutal marches recorded. 25,000 folks were tired, not just of the march, but of marching. Yet it was again the hope of victory, the assurance of victory that Martin Luther King offered them that lifted their spirits. He finished his thoughts this way:

"I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" Somebody’s asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?" ...Somebody’s asking, ... How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?"

I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because "truth crushed to earth will rise again."
How long? Not long, because "no lie can live forever."
How long? Not long, because "you shall reap what you sow."
How long? Not long: Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above his own.
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. How long? Not long, because 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant my feet! Our God is marching on.

Glory, hallelujah!
Glory, hallelujah!
Glory, hallelujah!
Glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on."

Had the crowd not already been on it's feet, it would have stood. Tired and sore marchers were reminded that the God of the moral universe marched with them. A banner of truth unfurled and flapped in the Southern breeze.

Carry on!

A Kitchen Table Calling

In her great, recent work titled Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin paints a glowing portrait of her subject, Abraham Lincoln. Lately the book has attracted a large national audience as President Elect Obama has been observed creating with inspiration his own "team of rivals" for his cabinet.

Lincoln is described in Team as a man of relentless ambition. In a letter written to the folks of Sangamon County during his first-ever campaign Lincoln wrote, "Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. ...I can say for one that I have no other ambition so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition, is yet to be developed." Sadly the youthful Lincoln wondered if he had missed his moment, he "worried that 'the field of glory' had been harvested by the founding fathers, that nothing had been left for his generation but modest ambitions." Despite that dour outlook, his ambition to make something of himself carried him. Once, while in a severe depression that left Lincoln bedridden and others wondering if he should perish, he was able to muster on, for "I had done nothing to make any human being remember that I have lived."

Of course the history of the 1850's and '60's had different ideas for the politician. That old fear of Old Abe's was proven unfounded as that ambition would catapult him to the nation's highest office. In the midst of America's darkest hour, marked by Blue and Grey and Black, he would claim for his own the light of America's greatest achievement.

In August of 1963, Martin Luther King stood in the literal and figurative shadow of Lincoln's esteem to deliver his epic I have a Dream speech. With the soaring granite memorial to the Great Emancipator behind him, Dr. King's soaring eloquence spoke of a legacy and a dream, of a past and a future, of undeniable ideals left unfulfilled. Though the echoes of Lincoln reverberated in King's magisterial speech, the journey King took to reach that pinnacle could not have been more unlike Lincoln's. Where Lincoln was driven to great heights, King was called.

Martin Luther King Jr's desire had always been to simply preach just as his father and grandfather had done in Georgia. It was in his genes. While in his early twenties, the younger Martin moved to the North to attend seminary, met the beautiful Coretta, and was soon married. Only a dissertation short of graduation, an opportunity came to hold his own pulpit in Alabama and given the "stodgy wealth" of the Dexter Avenue Baptist congregation, he figured there would be a number of nice fringe benefits to go along with the gig. He took the job and quickly settled into writing sermons and church budgets.

Of course the history of the 1950's and '60's had different ideas for the preacher. That comfortable, promising career of young Martin vanished in the midst of another dark hour marked by tear gas, gunfire and German Shepherds. But it was through that fiery trial that Martin Luther King Jr. would be catapulted to heights of his own, and in so doing he ushered in the light of America's new morning. The daybreak of equality was cracking through the darkness of history.

All sunrises begin in the dark of night and it was no different for King. While leading the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956 -- a responsibility he accepted reluctantly -- the weight of death threats and the fear of what could happen to his infant daughter and wife shoved King to the cliff of capitulation. It was still early in the movement, but he frankly had enough and the comforts of preaching to a well-clad and receptive audience each Sunday at Dexter Ave. was alluring. Unable to sleep, he arose, poured some coffee, and sat at his kitchen table running through a mental Rolodex of options. King described what happened that night:

"And I sat at that table thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me any minute. And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was over there asleep. … And I got to the point that I couldn't take it anymore. I was weak. … And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee. I never will forget it. … I prayed a prayer, and I prayed out loud that night. I said, "Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. I think I'm right. I think the cause that we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now. I'm faltering. I'm losing my courage." … And it seemed at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo I will be with you, even until the end of the world." … I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone."

King's rise to greatness would not be a Lincolnian quest to live a life worthy of history's esteem. Rather, as darkness swirled about him, it would be a still small voice that jarred him into accepting his new reality. In the coming years, as despair would creep in, it would be that call of God that compelled him to deny himself and take up the cross of someone larger than himself. It would be an anchor through the storms of the civil rights movement that not only held him firm, but changed the nation as well.

Today, if you visit the Rosa Parks Institute in Montgomery, there is a sizable display in the museum to the "kitchen table" moment in Martin Luther King's life. Gazing upon it, one is confronted with how simple and serene it looks. It is not a grand stage or platform from which momentous events are launched. Absent are the trappings of power, prestige or office. It is a humble place. It is quiet.

But from the solitude of that little room came big things. Over a cooling cup of coffee, at a little kitchen table, a theological template for political action had been born. The voice of redemption was heard. America owes a debt of gratitude to the Call young Martin heard that night and to the courage he showed to follow it's voice.

Mileage Kings and Queens

We've been preaching for a decade now how success in distance running is almost always connected to the amount of miles one trains. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, the axiom "more is better" is more often than not, true.

So to that end we started asking our runners to record their miles all year. The calendar clicks on, their running should as well. The reward, other than tremendous improvement in the sport, would be a patch for their letter-jackets should they reach pleateaus arbitrarly set at round numbers above 700.

This season's "long milers" are:
Brandon Rogers: 1000
Devin Becerra: 900
Charlie Alvarez: 900
Jared Nocella: 900
Rebecca Asplund: 800
Derek Nelson: 800
Carrie Soholt: 700

And in a strange coincidental way, this is this blog's 100th post! (Ok, it isn't that strange)

AP XC

Last night at the Awards presentation, I was struck again by the number of scholar athletes we enjoy as kind of a "fringe benefit" of cross country. It's pretty standard fare, actually, as motivated and disciplined students tend to get drawn toward extra curricular activities of similar virtues. The Big 8 League has a new honor, a "scholar athlete" certificate, given to the top 8 "scholars" at the varsity level by the end of the season. Jason Schupp, Derek Nelson and Katrina Graham were in that elite 8. Mr. Masi, our Athletic Director, informed me that a 4.4 gpa "wasn't good enough" to make the list on the girls' side. It didn't surprise me, for that's what cross country kids are like! Duh!

Since I take my teaching job as seriously as I take my coaching, it's fun on occassion to have some of our runners in my classes. This year, in my AP (Advanced Placement) US History course, it seems the room is overrun with runners! While Dylan Gallagher is the lone Wolf in my first period class, period 4 has six runners enrolled and doing well. Sean, Derek, Jarod, Brad, Kelsi and Brandon are on pace and hitting their stride.

I love it especially because an AP class is alot like cross country: Only the strong survive. It's a challenging course, very fast paced, and with the National Exam awaiting them in May, there's a victorious finish line up ahead that draws the students on.

Today we got neck-deep in a theoretical workout on the ramifications of Abraham Lincoln's "redefinition of the word freedom" during the Civil War. We first chewed on an 1864 racist illustration of Southern fears of emancipation, then followed that up with a Lincoln piece from 1863 that gave an explanation to his critics for why the Emancipation Proclamation was not only legal (some considered it illegal), but also both militarily and socially necessary. The lesson then finished with a disection of Lincoln's masterpiece, The Gettysburg Address. Thrown into the mix, just to see if the kids were paying attention, were connections to the colonial period and the Revolutionary War. Oh yea, Barack Obama wiggled his way into the topic as well. Whew!

It was a bit like mental intervals, with very short rest, and by the time we got to "a new birth of freedom" it was hammer time. I looked into the eyes of these young scholars as they were obviously tracking with the topic, hanging on the pace, and waiting for that exhausted moment when every runner -- scratch that -- every scholar knows they nailed it. What I saw this morning, I've seen many times in practice ... this is hard, but I'm gettin' it.

I know, that realization may not have happened neatly today or even this evening. But rest assuredly, just as it does with running, that point of success ... that great aah ha! moment ... will proclaim itself victorious when these young historians cross that finish line in May... that finish line otherwise known as the AP US History exam.

Keep on keepin' on, scholars!

The Beauty of the State Meet

Where Will Running Take You?

Look at that photo! As a self-confessed lover of bright lights and big cities and tall buildings, I must say, I'm jealous! That's Carissa Bowman on the left along with her Biola University cross country teammates at the top of the John Hancock building in Chicago. It was a fun, extra excursion the team took after competing at the NAIA Cross Country Nationals held just north of Chicago in Kenosha Wisconsin.

Marv Alvarez talks about how "running discovers us." It's true. Few kids get into cross country "to become a runner." Usually it's to get in shape for another sport, or to be with their friends. But for many, somewhere along the way, running discovers them. Carissa was no different. She came out five years ago to get in shape for soccer and discovered that she had talent in running. Surprise! Since then, she's traveled all over the country and the state to compete, has seen places and people she'd never have otherwise. What a treat! Running discovered her and has given her experiences unimaginable before.

And she's not alone. Our cross country program has been a lot of places over the years; Alabama, San Diego, Mammoth Lakes, Fresno, San Francisco to name a few. I remember driving into San Francisco with a group a number of years ago, and one of the boys in my car had never been there before. As soon as the famed city came into view, he said from the back seat, "Whoaaaa!" That young man would later use his running to land him acceptance at Houghton College in New York. Nestled near Niagara Falls, he lived for four years in a part of the country that he would never have otherwise, had it not been for running. Two other alums are running and competing in Virginia. Their talent, in part, got them there.

So where will running take you? Keep at it. Don't give up. You just might find yourself looking down on the bright lights of a big city you never thought imaginable. If you don't believe me, just ask Carissa.

Getting what you need, not what you want

I'm a big fan of Ryan Hall, America's top marathoner, and record holder of both the marathon and half marathon distances. Maybe it's because he's a local product, (Big Bear HS, class of '02), but mostly it's because he's got a great perspective on life and running.

Check out what I found online from his journal. You can read the unedited version here. It was posted just a few weeks ago, after he had some time to digest his Olympic "disappointment" -- he finished in 10th in the marathon, a race he and many others thought he could win.

I've highlighted some parts that really caught me. Here it is: (it's lengthy, but read it all!)

"As crazy as the summer and fall have been it has been exactly what the doctor ordered. After the Olympics I was fighting a bit of a post-Olympic letdown. I had invested so much into that one race and I wanted so badly to make everyone proud, to honor all that they had invested in me. I felt like August 24 was my moment to shine, and it was. Yet from day one of my training it was like I was butting my head against a wall.

The very first day back after taking a break from the London Marathon (last April) I ... had to hobble through a run as my patella tendons on both legs were badly inflamed. It was a problem that plagued me for my entire Olympic buildup and even in the race itself. .... I really poured myself into my workouts, yet they never improved to the level I had previously been able to get to.

Maybe this was precisely my problem—that I was trying too hard. There is something interesting about paradoxes in life. ...one must lose one’s life to gain it, there are paradoxes everywhere and running is no exception. From the moment I ran through the tunnel into the Olympic stadium I knew that the Olympics wasn’t everything I wanted but it was everything I needed.

I had dreamt of winning for so long but by losing I would develop a whole lot of character and my running career would have a lot different direction compared to if I had won. I could see it being somewhat difficult to stay motivated after accomplishing something as big as winning a gold medal. I am not sure but I would think there have been plenty of athletes whose careers took a turn for the worse after winning it all.

... This reality (that placing 10th was perhaps just what the doctor ordered) didn’t keep me from being disappointed at the time. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that if the Olympics had gone how I wanted them to it would have been bad for me in the long run and even in my day to day life. There is something very healthy about not having everything we want, ... a lot of joy can come from not getting everything we want.

Let me explain. After the Olympics what I needed to get "back on the horse" was not hard training or time at home thinking, what I needed was inspiration. I needed inspiration that I could hear, touch, and see. So on my birthday, October 14, I unwrapped a most timely present: a trip to Zambia to go and see for myself the faces that Sara and I had been working alongside Team World Vision to bring clean water to. I must admit that going to Zambia I had a lot of preconceived notions of what the people and the country would be like. I knew it was one of the poorest countries in the world so I expected to see a lot of heartache and devastation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Describing my trip to Zambia can easily be summed up with two words: community and joy.

On weekends like the ING New York City Marathon I am reminded that we do have events that bring the nation and even whole world together, when everyone is united to conquer something bigger than they could do on their own, which is exactly what the people in Zambia do on a daily basis, only their giant is not 26.2 miles of pavement, rather it is shelter, food, disease, and most urgently, clean water. So in an effort to start combating the problem this year Sara (his wife) and I got involved with Team World Vision which tries to bring clean water to some villages in Zambia filled with people who desperately need it.

After our first run in Zambia I was convinced that the trip was already worth it. Children ran alongside of us laughing and smiling for miles and miles as we ran along the main road going through town. The people were contagiously joyful. I could not help but to have my spirits return from the post-Olympic letdown. I will never forget the looks in the kids’ faces. I see them now when I am doing abs or zoning in on a hard run and I feel their joy in my steps. It is important for me to know that I am not just running for me but there are people all over the world who are urging me on. I may be helping in some small way to bring them clean water but they are helping me to run with joy, purpose and passion.

The other image from Africa that is burned into my head is being on the starting line of a 15K road race that this small village put on for us as a way of showing their appreciation for all our efforts and seeing 150 pairs of feet ranging from barefoot, to flip-flops to knee-high plastic farming boots. I ran the entire race in 90 degree temperatures on black pavement straight up hill next to two guys: one that had a pair of flip flops on and the other was running barefoot. I realized then that I have no idea what it means to be tough. What was really cool was seeing the boreholes that had already been dug in the community along our running route. We were way out in the sticks yet kids could fill their buckets from the clean water from the boreholes whenever they needed. While I was there I learned that a community with clean water increases the life expectancy of its members from 34 to 56. The 12 years of extra life means that more children can grow up with their parents still around.

Water is so essential to us as elite runners that if we miss one of eight bottles along the course filled with just 8 oz of fluid it could mean the difference between victory and defeat, so it is neat to give something that is so essential for us to something that is so much more essential for them. I will never look at water the same way.

Africa opened up my eyes to a lot of things. Most of all it showed me what it looks like to not have everything you want but to have everything you need. They had each other and they had joy and that seemed to suffice for them even if all that was served was one meal of shima and beans and some clean water. I have been inspired to look at my own life and decide what things I really need and have realized that this is enough for me.

I remember when I was young not having some things that I really wanted but I always had everything I needed. It made me really appreciate the things I did have.

... I have to step back from my Olympic experience and think, sure I am disappointed to not have my best stuff on that day, but I should be overwhelmingly thankful that I was privileged enough to be there. Sometimes life’s events aren’t everything we dreamt of, but I think if we step back, maybe look at life through someone else’s eyes, we will probably realize that although the shattered dream wasn’t everything we hoped for, just maybe it was everything we needed."

More Photo Phun

Some fun images taken at CIF Prelims last Saturday...

What More Can a Coach Ask For?

It was truly a bittersweet day, Saturday was. I was so happy for the girls, proud of the challenges they overcame to not just qualify, but also to run so well as a team in the process. But my heart was saddened for our boys; I so wanted them to have the "reward" of CIF Finals.

I wanted that for them because they have made such a tremendous transformation in the last 12 months. This team of 2008, save a couple of graduated seniors last Spring, is the same group that finished 13th in '07 in their Prelim heat. I've coached long enough to have seen every conceivable reaction to poor results; everything from tears and heartbreak to smirks and nonchalance. Sometimes the kids go home with goals "to improve next year" only to see those goals evaporate by Christmas.

Such was not the case with this team. They got determined. They got motivated. And they got to work.

We've preached for years the value of off-season training and the absolute need to take track (viewed by many as their "second sport") seriously. It's all part of making a great cross country season. Well, for the first time really, a nucleus of guys starting taking such admonitions to heart.

They began in November of 2007 at Orange Terrace Park, running countless circuits in the dark and cold of winter. They ran a half-marathon in January. They came into track IN SHAPE (what a concept!) and had a great track season. I kept telling them back in March, "enjoy this now, but even better things are coming next Fall."

Well the "better things" wasn't a spot on the Finals line, though they came right up to the doorstep of it. Instead, the team will have to settle for the intrinsic reward of knowing they are sooooo much better than they used to be. As I looked at a bunch of disappointed faces in the twilight of last Saturday, I saw a group that walked out of Mt.SAC a year ago not even close to being "there." Understandably, "we almost made it this year" were hollow words. But in contrast to 2007, "we almost made it" is an incredible statement.

It's disappointing for sure to not yet be "there", but I take great comfort in knowing that this group did everything they could do -- for one full calendar year -- to be in a position to get to the Big Dance. Though they came up short, they are so far beyond where they once were.

And ultimately in life, that's all that really counts. We cannot control what our opponents do, we can only control what we do. And as much as it was in their power, this group of guys controlled their efforts, their miles, their races, their workouts, their team chemistry to make the moment possible.

What more can a coach ask for? Nothing. (But he can still wish for another week of racing!)

Halloween Run

Team Sparta makes their grand entrance:



The reaction as "Sparta" enters the stadium...









Jimi and the Jester


Beauties...


And the beast...


What will you do for a Milky Way bar?



Bzzzzz...

"Chemistry and Attitude"

Ever since my little girl was born 8 years ago this coming November 4, I've been trying to instill in her the reality that attitude trumps talent. I don't know what talents she has yet, she's still in the process of developing them, but in the course of her life, she's going to have to work at things that are NOT her speciality, and in those moments of challenge, she's going to have to realize that a positive attitude will see her through to success.

I thought of that a couple of days ago when I watched the Philadelphia Phillies Phinish their Phantastic, even fenomenal season. Even though they are not my boys -- my boys wear blue -- I still get a kick out of watching the celebration of winning teams. I get the dog pile. The champagne makes sense. The jubilation, jumping and jiving are fun to watch. After a long, grueling season, the moment of accomplishment must be almost impossible to contain. It erupts on the pitching mound. Mound Vesuvius flows with molten glee.

The Phillies are no doubt talented. But are they the most talented? One could argue that there were a lot of teams equally talented. So why did they win?

Maybe the best explanation would be Charlie Manuel's, the manager. When asked by a reporter what made the difference this season, why they were the champions, his answer was quick and short: Chemistry and Attitude.

He didn't talk of how good his players were. He talked of how they got along, made each other better, kept each other accountable and had a "winning attitude." There were several teams with better records than Philly, but in the end they stood on top because of team chemistry and great attitudes.

As a coach for 19 years now, I've come to realize that most of our kids come already preloaded with their attitudes. They're hardwired into them and there's not much I can do to radically alter their world view. (That's why I'm trying like the dickens to get my daughter to fashion a can-do attitude early.) I agree with Manuel, though, that when it comes to great teams, chemistry takes the cake. Throw the most talented athletes in the world together and it doesn't guarantee a winning record if they can't get along.

Our teams have enjoyed positive chemistry now for a few seasons, and our boys have it in spades this year. It's fun to watch. We're not the most naturally talented crew in the Section, though we have a fair dose of it. But we are running circles around other teams when it comes to the singular goal of "getting along."

What will that mean for us down the stretch? I'm not sure, but if the Pholks in Philly are any indication, there could be a dog pile going on. We'll see.

Made at Mt.SAC

Texas

They say big things come from Texas. Big trucks, big guns, big hats, big burritos (OK, that's Texmex, but I think you get my point). Well, we've got a bit of big Texas right here in our program. He goes by Brad Sheets.

I've called him Texas mainly because back when he started as a freshman, the now-Junior seemed to wear a University of Texas shirt every day. Being the big 'SC fan that I am, and being that Texas had beaten SC for the football National Championship that previous New Year's (actually their quarterback Vince Young beat 'SC, but that's a different post), the burnt-orange long horns that were printed across his chest every morning got my attention.

There was another thing that got my attention as well ... Brad liked to walk. He walked a lot. He walked sooner, rather than later. He was a very timid runner that first summer. I thought, "we've got work to do!"

Well, the work has been done, and Brad Sheets has gone from walker to runner, and now in his third season, he's well on his way toward showing what can be done when one's mind is made up.

Back in '06, it would normally take Brad 20 or 21 minutes to cover three miles. His Mt.SAC PR, normally a standard for the season, was 20:05. This season, he's been consistently in the mid-17:00's, and racing somewhere from 10-13 on our depth chart.



What hasn't changed about Brad is his Texas-sized attitude, smile and good cheer. When he got literally clotheslined playing hat-tag in Mammoth, ripping some good skin off his face, he just smiled, got up and kept playing. The raspberry near his left eye was more the cardinal of USC than the orange of Texas, but it soon became an opportunity for some self-deprecating humor that had everyone in stitches. Fortunately for him, stitches weren't necessary. The guy is class, all the way, even if he is a fan of the Texas Longhorns.

I've heard some speeches described as "longhorn speeches." A point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. That does NOT describe Brad, he's intelligent, athletic, funny, well-rounded and well respected. Not bad for a young man!

And he's also not alone. Brad's no "Lone Star" on the team, he's got a posse of runners around him, many of whom joined with him back in 2006 and make up a large part of what is today, King's best ever guys team.

For that improvement and good cheer, I have just one thing to say:

Yee hah!

Captured at Clovis

Ahh, the sweet nectar of morning!


What's the guy in the middle (with the C on his chest) thinking?? Dude, relax!

Monday Miscellany #4

I had a great conversation with Robyn Wroblewski this weekend. We had a full van of kids, but no one wanted to talk (has today's ipod generation lost the art of conversation? I wonder...), so I got to pick the mind of Robyn for a couple of hours. She's an amazing person, has a well-paying modeling job, yet "isn't interested in fashion." She's an avid horse-enthusiast, training and caring for Omega a Warmblood-Thoroughbred mix. I learned all about her two lives, the modeling world (I asked a lot of photography questions!) and the horse jumping/show world -- something I know just next to nothing about! I came away totally impressed by Robyn ... a quiet senior who's quietly doing the things she loves and is good at doing. Thanks Robyn!

____

Some stats from Clovis -- King had six runners that finished in the top 30 of their individual class, two were the third fastest of their class!

____

The weather in Clovis was absolutely stunning. I loved being cold again! Fall ... nothing beats Fall.
____

Mrs. Becerra, Mrs. Bowman, Mrs. Werley, Mr. Schupp -- we're not in Clovis without you guys! Wow, thanks!!!
____

Talking with Coach Peirce over dinner Friday night ... who are the top 5 presidents of all time? While we could agree to disagree on #1, (He goes with Washington, I go with Lincoln) he tried to sneak Jackson in at #3. Number three?? Are you kidding me? For the record, here's where I'm at: Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Jefferson. For fun I try to get Polk promoted to "legendary status" after all, he did get California in the union, but it never seems to stick with folks. I'm trying to start a club called "Polk Folks". Any takers?

____

I close with Kasey Tippets ... #3 all-time sophomore in KXC history. She may not want you to know that, she may not want to know that herself, but I'm here to tell ya' the girl can roll!

____

Ok, maybe I'll close with Casey Candelaria ... #2 senior all time! Amazing!

____

Big things ahead of KXC! Let's keep rolling!

Oxygen is for Wimps

Back in 2006 we welcomed one of the most exciting groups of freshmen we've had since the school opened. That group, now juniors, was large, enthusiastic, coachable and fairly talented. Though a few of them have quit under the pressure of work, the majority have survived and thrived and make up the nucleus of what is, in my mind, one of the best teams (guys and girls) that we've ever had. It's funny, even back then, when many of them were toiling at the frosh soph level, I just knew they were destined for great things if they would just persevere.

Here in 2008, I'm seeing what was once the future.

There are a ton of great stories emerging from this group. Many have found their talent, their knack. Some have become leaders. Others are hard working followers. They are enthusiastic about the team, about running in general, about their success. They are learning to set goals. I'll try and post occassionally here over the next month on some of those stories.

But for today, the story is Sean Lee. His nickname is Sean Lee, (you can ask him sometime what that means), but Sean's story is one that in many ways epitomizes the stories of so many of the guys in the class of '10, thereby making him as good as anyone to start with.

The brother of David, who was part of King's original team in 1999 and is now in law school at Santa Clara, Sean brings to our team an insatiable appetite for success. He's a worker beyond measure, in fact, he's trying to figure out how to take an "easy day" easy. Not an easy task for someone prone to find brick walls he can run through, or Everests to climb. If he could find a brick wall while climbing Everest, one would assume he'd found his own slice of heaven. In his backpack he carries the weight of self-imposed rigor. He drinks from the canteen of competition. His standard of success is so high it requires an oxygen tank, but like only Sean can do, he's attempting this summit on guts alone. Oxygen is for wimps.

The success he's achieved is obvious. Go back into the archives of 2006 and you'll find a runner straining to break 22:00; it wasn't until League Finals that season that he finally broke through, but still well above 20:00 for three miles

Last year his times dropped consistently in the 19:00's, with a PR of 18:12 on the fastest course we ran, Poly. Check out the first month of 2008, and you'll find him opening up at Seaside's speed course at 17:31, but more impressively was last weekend's grass and hill covered crusade at Central Park which netted him a 17:43 mark, a much faster effort than the PR in week one. His time at Mt. Carmel this year was 1:13 faster than it was a year ago. You get the picture. The Sean Lee of '09 is not the same Sean Lee of '06. This version, call it SL 3.0, makes the first release look like a dinosaur.

And Sean is not alone, for his work ethic has without doubt pulled many to keep climbing and climb more aggressively. Much of what he's done on this three-year trek has been a model that others have followed toward their own summits.

So take heart, those of you who read this while sitting in base camp. You are not what you will be if you choose to go the route of Sean Lee and many of this amazing class of 2010. Climb! Go! Head out onto the North Face of achievement. Discover for yourself, the lessons of Sean Lee, lessons found only in the rarified air of great improvement.

Monday Miscellany #3

How 'bout them Dodgers! Sweeeet!
____

It was an interesting experience sitting there on the 91 freeway Saturday morning. I was thinking about all the hundreds of bus rides I've taken over the years, never have we had a breakdown. One feels so helpless in that situation. What can you do? It wasn't the driver's fault. Stuff like that happens and leaves you thinking, "well, I guess we wait it out." Hope it never happens again.
____

Monique Carrasco again volunteered in her injured state to help with timing and record keeping at Central Park. She did a great job and I'm thankful for her willingness to help with a cheerful spirit.
____

Clovis is this weekend! I love everything about the trip. The drive is very manageable, the meet is so well organized, the course is to die for, and the competition always brings the best out of us. I can hardly wait!
____

Patience! We're doing a wonderful job of being patient in racing! Many of you are figuring out the early 1000 meters is not overly critical ... you gotta race, but you don't have to be winning at 1000 meters. Be patient, and the fast-starters will come back.
____

Pictures in the Park