Sunday, December 23, 2007

Winters Here

December 23, 2007

Well, winter has officially started here in Central Illinois. The wind chill is currently at zero and a few inches of snow on the ground. None-the-less, practice must continue. There has a been a welcomed coaching change on the girls track team, and I am really looking forward to working with the new staff coming in. Last season was a bit of a down year for the EP girls track team, with only 12 girls competing by the end of the spring. But things are on the up and up, with a lot of young talent in our freshman class.

My position will remain the same as it was last year, coaching boys and girls distance events. The one tough thing about coaching both in track is that we do not have any of the same meets, so I am always being torn between the two. Fortunately, the distance kids are fairly responsible (the girls obviously more so) and self sufficient, so I do not have to worry to much about things when I am not able to be with one team or the other.

Although official practice does not begin until Jan 14, I have been really suprised at the turnout of kids for winter training. Unfortunately due to ridiculous IHSA rules, I am not allowed to run practices or even write workouts for that matter! How do people think they are going to learn how to run??? What do I know though, leave it up to the higher ups who have never ran before, and probably never left the state before, to make up such ridiculous rules. Anyhow, despite my best efforts with the AD, the kids are out there are getting themselves ready for the track season. I have really been hammering how important it is to think long term, and now they are starting to get that you cannot perform to your best off 2 months of training. It is nice to finally see them buy into the off season workouts, and now that they have seen that they are capable of way more than they ever thought, most are hooked!

We will be doing the grind of winter training for the next two months, and then we are going to compete in a few indoor meets to get out of the boredom. Hopefully I should have 4-5 qualifiers for the state indoor meet, which is one of our smaller goals for the season.

I just got from New Jersey to see esteemed podiatrist Dr. John Connors who performed a noninvase foot procedure using some high tech ultrasound machine. I didnt mind the pounding throb of the machine so much as the 8 numbing shots that came out of an 18 inch needle that the doc poked from top to bottom of my foot. I actually turned green before I turned white and passed out this time! The foot is still a bit bruised from the shots, but I dont have any pain in the toe area, so hopefully I will be back jogging once again around the New Year. Knock on wood there will be no more long layoffs.

Thats about it on this end. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

tim

Monday, December 3, 2007

A Long Fall Back to the Top

As every post of mine begins, I will start off with an apology for my lack of updates. My only excuse is that these kids have worn me out. I will start off by giving a quick rundown of how the season finished up, then a quick update on whats currently happening and finish with what I have planned for the next few weeks.

I had two primary goals for the season: a personal best for every runner and to qualify for the state meet. I was fairly confident that every kid would pr, but the state meet was a bit of a long shot, ecspecially considering the school has not had an individual nor a team qualify since I was running in 1994! But, I have always set lofty goals for myself.

One thing that I quickly found out about most high school runners is their lack of consistency. I think part of that has to do with asking them to race twice a week for 2 plus months and the other is just a typical lack of concentration. I was fortunate to have 3 solid and consistent on the front end, but as most know, it takes 5 to win. As the season unfolded, I found it very difficult to keep them all on their A game every weekend.

On the varsity side, we went into the the conference meet as the 4th ranked team against 3 other teams who were ranked top 25 in the state, and that is where we finished. Every kid pr'd. The big suprise though, was that my quiet group of fresh/soph kids came out and won the the fresh/soph race! Every kid on that team pr'd and freshman Alec Gonzales became the first East Peoria cross country conference champ since 1994!

The next weekend was our Regional meet, and we were coming in ranked 2nd (and actually ranked 23rd in the state, a first in a very long time) against the 3rd ranked team in the state. My only goal for this race was to qualify for the next weekend, the sectional meet, which qualifies you for the state meet. As I watched the race unfold, it looked like we had ran pretty well. After the race I wandered back towards the finish and on the way I got several congrads and well dones. Come to find out, we had actually beaten on the of the best teams in the state (a bit of a fluke, but I gladly took it), and in the process won the Regional meet!!! The girls side won as a team as well, making it the first time in school history. The best part about the whole day was that one of the dads told the team before the race that if they won he would take us all out to the best steak joint in town!

I tried to keep a lid on the excitement of that weekend, knowing that we had a big task ahead of us. Our sectional had 9 of the top ranked 25 teams in the state, and I guessed we were right around 6th give or take a spot. Top five qualify. Although it had been a long shot from day one, I had convinced the kids it could be done. There is not a better feeling in coaching then when you have a team full of athletes, who one year before had not a lick of success, who are totally focused on one singular goal; qualifying for the state meet.

From my position, it looked like we had ran really well. Top five looked certain. Every kid was right where he needed to be. When I got back to camp everyone was smiles. We had run as good as we could have. It was a long wait for the results, and when they came I was in shock. Every kid had run a pr and we ended up 7th, 2 places and ten points out of qualifying. I admit that it was the first time since my freshman year that I got choked up about running. To see a group come so far and come up just short was a bit of a heartbreaker, ecspecially for the seniors who had a new found passion for the sport. The bright spot was that senior Shane Leiby finished 10th and qualified as an individual, the first for EP since 1994. What impressed me more than anything was that after their cool down, I heard them all talking about how much they were going to be running over the winter.

Shane went on to finish 62nd at the state meet. Not to shabby for a 50 sec quarter miler who had never done much of anything in cross before. He had 8 teammates running the warm-up, race and cooldown with him shirtless and painted in school colors. It was really nice to hear people talking again about EP cross country, a team that once was a real factor. Although it was a bitter-sweet ending to the season, I cannot put into words how proud I am of all these kids. They have seen first hand the benefits of sacrifice and hard work. I believe only good things to come from EP cross country.

A week later we had our steak dinner!

We are already in the building phase for track, and almost every kid from cross is out with us, minus the wrestlers (who are doing some recruiting for me). Due to ridiculous IHSA rules, coaches are not allowed to be with the athletes while they are practicing, so I will be a bit hands off until Jan 15. The nice thing is that I do not have to worry about who is showing up and who is not. They all want to be there, and they all want to be running at that state meet next year!

On a personal note, I will be flying to New York to see Dr. John Connors to have one last shockwave treatment done next week. Hopefully this will be the end of the toe pain and clear the road for my preparation for 2008.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

August 29, 2007
Hello all. First off, my apologies to everyone for my lack of updates over the last three months. I have no other excuses other than these kids are wearing me out! Actually, it has been a very productive summer. For the first time in East Peoria X/C history that we have actually been training! I am not exactly sure what I said to con teenage boys to get out and run six days a week, but most of them have been doing it (at least that is what they have been telling me). I have been very lucky to have a lot talent from the freshman class all the way up to the senior group. But not only is there a lot of ability, there is also a very strong work ethic.

We began meeting a couple days a week towards the end of June, and just like I forewarned the boys back then, the season is already upon us. I found that it does not take a lot of work to get them out to practice, you just have to pay a little attention to them and show that you care. Although it sounds ridiculous, when I started bringing bananas and Krispy Kreme donuts to the long runs, they started showing up for the long runs (silly them, they could have just slept in and then driven over to the donut shop later!). When I started giving out In The Arena and adidas shirts for good work ethic, they started showing up for the workouts. I also noticed a big shift in attitude, especially with my varsity boys, concerning sleep and nutrition. Since day one, I have preached about living a healthy lifestyle away from the track. They used to roll their eyes and show up the next morning with bags under their eyes and two hours sleep. Now they show up on time and are doing the things they once scoffed at. Once that attitude began to permeate throughout the team, I was able to trust that most everybody would show up to practice, whether I was there or not. It is a truly a cultural phenomenon. My coaching philosophy has never been one of yelling and punishment. I am not a baby sitter. I want them to be there because they want to get better. I am just a teacher who is here to help guide, and at times motivate, them towards achieving their goals.

I came into high school coaching with a lot of ideas for workouts and training, but sorely underestimated their lack of training and preparation. I quickly realized that just getting them to come out and run six days a week was a challenge in itself. It was not that they were afraid of working hard; they just never understood that they have to run on a CONSISTENT basis to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. That led me to another realization; most of them did not have any real goals, and the ones that did severely underestimated themselves. I have always felt one of the most important pieces to any athletes training program is having defined goals and at the beginning of every season. These are the things we use to focus on when we are tired and do not feel like finishing a workout, or when we do not feel like getting off the couch and out the door to get the work done. One of my biggest jobs as a coach is helping my athletes figure out what they want to accomplish by the end of their high school running career. Many times we fall into the trap of thinking that success is measured by wins and losses, but that is the wonderful thing about running. Not everybody is going to be a state champ or even a conference champ, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot make a difference. Success is measured by you alone, and whether you feel you have accomplished the goals you have set for yourself. Once the kids started to realize that, they began to get more of a sense of accomplishment out of the races and workouts. This in turn has motivated them to race faster, set higher goals, and ultimately given them more confidence, not just in running, but in all aspects of their lives. It has taken me a while to figure out where each athlete’s goals and abilities are, and what their strengths and weaknesses are, but we are finally all on the same page.

Our first cross country meet is this weekend, and most of the local competition will be there. Although I really want to race well, I am trying to stay the course and continue preparing for our conference championship, and hopefully state meet. One of the biggest pitfalls, in my opinion, is that high school runners race way too often, and train way to little. How can one expect to be fully prepared mentally and physically at the end of a season when you have already raced 16 times in the last two months? It is a balancing act, but hopefully I will be able to figure it out.

That is the long story short on the team side of things. Like I said before, things have been extremely busy for me this summer. I have been meeting the kids for practice two hours in the morning, and meeting the ones that come to morning practice in the evenings. Because of ridiculous IHSA rules, I was only allowed to meet with the them on a limited basis over the summer (long story, and I could rant all day about it, but in my opinion, any time you can con a high school kid to get up at 7 every morning during the summer to run instead of sleeping until noon and then sitting in front of the television or computer, you should take every chance you get). I have also been traveling quite a bit, public speaking at nine different running camps throughout the Midwest and New England area. It has been a real blast to get out and teach kids all the lessons and things that I have learned throughout my running career. It has also been a great opportunity for me to sharpen up on my basketball, foosball, dodge ball, kickball, table tennis and card playing skills! It always amazes me how much kids look up to anyone who has made an Olympic team, whether you were gold medalist or dead last in your heat. They really love it when you take the time to run with them, sit down on a card game or even just answer a question that they have but were to shy to ask during the speech. That has been the most rewarding part of this coaching and public speaking gig; making a difference in kids’ lives. That encompasses not just their athletic careers, but their academics and the overall lifestyle changes they need to make to become successful at whatever they choose to do with their lives. The only real blunder I made this summer was giving out my Facebook and Myspace accounts to all the kids. Now I have half the country friending me!

On the athletic side of things, my running has finally started to round into form. Although I am not able to do any serious workouts just yet, it is really nice to be able to go out for a run and not have any pain in my foot or stomach. Being that I was not able to run for over 7 months leading into the 2004 Olympic year, I have all the confidence in the world that I will be ready for 2008, as long as my body cooperates. I have learned a lot of lessons since the last Games (mostly the hard way), and as long as I stay in one piece, I believe I can make some noise. Coaching and working with kids has given me a fresh outlook on life. It has been a blessing in disguise to step out of the obsessive and psychotic world of competitive world of professional sports and get back to the basics that got me to where I am today. I never realized the stress I used to place on myself both mentally and physically. I hope to take this newfound perspective back into my running career and start to enjoy it a little more instead of making it such a chore.
We are finally upon my favorite time of year: fall. That means changing leaves, cool weather, cross country season and most importantly hunting season. I will do my best to keep you posted, but it is soooo hard to get out of that tree once the season begins : )

Take care and my best to all.

Tim
May 15, 2007
Well, we just finished the Men’s conference meet last night, placing a close 4th in a very competitive conference. Every distance kid ran a p.r. last night and I would have to say that the only disappointment was having my 3rd leg of the 4x800 running sub-par due to a strained achilles he acquired last week. We still ended up 2nd, but without him at his best, we will not make it to the state meet next week. I am just crossing my fingers that a miracle happens and things turn around in a real hurry. On the bright side, my 4x400 relay won going away and broke a 50-year old school record. Talk about a bunch of screaming, smiling seniors. I didn’t know that boys could get that emotional! I had a freshman run a p.r. in the fresh-soph 4x800 and come back in the mile and break five minutes for the first time in his life. He was more excited than I was winning any national title! All in all, it was a very gratifying evening.

The three girls that I coach are running at the Sectional meet tonight, which qualifies them for the state meet. Two of them, one a senior (Mary Kate Beyer) and the other a sophomore (Emily Gustafson), are running the two-mile and should make it in pretty comfortably, barring any mishaps. Both have already run the qualifying time twice this year, notably last week where they went 1-2 at the conference meet. So knock on wood all goes to plan. My other girl (Cassie Lohmeir) is running the mile, where she finished 2nd last week at the conference meet running a state qualifying time of 5:17 (a p.r.), after running another personal best and state qualifier in the 800 in 2:20 40 minutes prior. Not too shabby for a freshman that starts varsity basketball and softball as well. She is probably one of the most talented kids I have ever seen and I predict she’ll be a national caliber runner by her senior year.

As an athlete, racing never made me that nervous, but I have to admit, I am not sure how much more stress I can take as a coach as we get later into the season. It has been a real pleasure and learning experience this first track season, and no matter what the outcome is tonight or next week, I am extremely proud of every one of my athletes. The smiles that I have seen on their faces after a win or personal best has made me feel better than any race could ever have done for me. Being with these high school kids has reminded me of a lot of things that I have forgotten, like running for the pure enjoyment of it and racing just to do my best. Hopefully I will get another crack at it in the near future.

On a side note, my truck was vandalized after a team dinner two nights ago. [Ed.: See above photo.] I have a sneaking suspicion who it was, but I just hope that the finger paint all over my windows comes off relatively easy, especially the hearts. I’m driving a full-size pick up for God’s sake! Also, the fish are biting like crazy (pre-spawn) and two giant toms (turkeys) outsmarted me yesterday. I am now off to speak at the Mayor’s Breakfast and have absolutely no idea what I am going to say or talk about. Wish me luck.

Tim