The Coach’s Perspective
By Coach and History Teacher Robert Lakeman

What is it about an athlete—any athlete—that makes him or her endure physical pain for a sustained period of time? Perhaps it’s the feeling they get after the activity, or maybe it’s the feeling they get during the activity, when the pain can become so great that they want to quit . . . but they don’t quit. That has been my experience throughout the five years that I have coached the cross-country teams here at St. Margaret’s.

Since 2005, I have had the privilege of coaching some of the toughest athletes around. Having felt the same pain during my high school and college careers, I feel that I know what it takes to become successful while balancing an intense competitive nature with the ability to enjoy the journey. Cross-country is certainly not for everyone. It takes a special type of person to push their body to the absolute limits.

Coaching these athletes adds a great dimension to what I do every day as a teacher. Although coaching is teaching, there is something about it that sets it apart from what we do as teachers in the classroom. Each year, from mid-June through Thanksgiving weekend, I get to mold young student-athletes into fine young men and women, culminating with a great team bonding trip to Fresno for the State Championships, if all goes well. Each day, we join together as a team to experience the same pain, sometimes frustration, and exhilaration that somehow keeps us all wanting to come back for more. At the end of each season, I miss it desperately and start thinking about the training we will be able to do during the next summer. If I didn’t coach, I would probably still run, but it wouldn’t have the same appeal as it does while I am able to apply myself to lead these great kids to work to be their best.

The Athletes’ Perspective
By Spencer Corwin, grade 12, and Will Travis, grade 12

The worst part about the CIF Finals race was immediately afterward, when our throats were dry and our lungs were on fire, and all we could think was, “Did we run hard enough? Did we make it?” The tension after the race was unbearable, and our hopes were getting down. We gathered together afterward, and, like any other team, we discussed the race and how we each felt about our performance. All we wanted was to be a state-ranked team. Our ambition stemmed from the day we received our spirit packs. The back of our shirts read, in St. Margaret’s colors: “Winners must have two things: set goals and the desire to achieve them.” Below that, our goals were listed with checkboxes next to each: Academy League Champions, CIF Finalists, State Finalists. Academy League Champions was within our grasp, but we weren’t quite able to defeat Sage Hill. We moved on to CIF Finals, where the top seven teams would go on to State Finals, our ultimate goal. Going into the race, we were ranked eighth; we would have to beat the odds and run the race of our lives to move onto state finals—and that’s exactly what we did.

A strong cross-country team is characterized by ambition and teamwork. What we did at CIF Finals last year and every other race since then embodies just that. When we heard the good news, we were immediate excited: We were going to the state finals in Fresno! Our ambition last year led to a whole new set of goals this year. Although they’re not depicted on this year’s spirit pack shirts, we set high goals for ourselves. As our shirts say: “Every dream has its destiny.” This is a quote from Billy Mills, the winner of the 10,000 meter run in the 1962 Tokyo Olympics, and the only American to ever win the Olympic gold in this event.

What really makes cross-country special is the friendship between the athletes on the team. By training together every day, the team becomes very close, and we know that we can rely on each other to always give our best effort. An often overlooked factor of success in cross-country is the importance of teamwork. One, two, or even three great runners will not win a race. All five of the varsity members that score must act as a cohesive unit in order to achieve maximum performance. This season, we were blessed with an ambitious group of runners and a very solid varsity squad to create the best team in St. Margaret’s history.

Our success this season can’t be attributed to just our ambition, though. Without the guidance of our coaches, we would never have got as far as we have. Together, we hope we’ve left this program with a tradition of victory, and we know the team will make us proud next year and the years after.

Tags: Athletics