Red
Hair
A girl with lovely red
hair joined several people at the cross country sign up table but stood behind
them, timidly silent as the others added their names to the growing list. As they finished and moved on, the quiet red
head stepped forward. It was the first
day at Kalispell Middle School with over 1000 students, serving grades 6, 7 and
8. Our sport’s practice began the
following day. I was quite impressed with the girl’s initiative. I couldn’t imagine what it must have felt
like, for her, walking into that bustling building, with no friends and then
choosing to sign up for a sport she’d never done.
But
she showed up the next day and every one after that. She was heavier than some of the girls, but
not as large as others. At that age you
can have huge disparities in size; Tommy was a sprite of a boy who reminded me
of smallish 5th grade boys I taught and I had physically mature boys
who could have easily passed as older high school students. Because one coach always remains after
practice until ‘their’ athletes are gone and the first day was mine, Red and I
had a long chat, waiting for her ride. Through
conversation, she shared with me that she had arrived the day before from another state, and
was living in a small town, 11 miles away.
She said the place they were renting was ‘not much’ but they had plans
to spruce it up. She was
pleasantly chatty one on one but easily disappeared among our 50 plus athletes.
During practice I rode at
the end of the pack of kids so they were sandwiched between my co-coach, at the
front, and myself. I wasn’t surprised
that our new red head was back with me.
Middle school cross country runners don’t always run, though, especially
at the start of the season. That was
something I didn’t really understand when I took the job. But my co-coach then was Kris, a social
studies teacher without a competitive bone in his body. He ran cross country in high school and was
phenomenal with our athletes.
My years as a 5th
grade teacher gave me some organizational and management skills and I had coached high school runners in Idaho and before that, in Washington state. However, I always thought middle school was not an easy age group and
was difficult to manage. Year one as
coach I hung back and watched how Kris dealt with the team. Over the first couple years I slowly morphed
from a U. of O. track and field hall of famer to what I am today; a middle
school coach through and through.
This last season, Red showed
up every day and little by little she improved.
By the end of the season she wouldn’t quit running until she was
finished; even if I said she could take a break. She never was one of our fast runners but she
finished every race. One of my reasons
for being there is to encourage involvement, continually, because if kids go to
high school as a ‘runner’ they’re privy to an instant circle of friends, and
the great adults coaching them. Then
they’re not alone in what can be a scary time in life. A middle school dad once said that staying
involved kept kids off the couch and away from meth. That’s one way to put it.
After three years without
Kris I called it quits and I hope those kids in the back aren’t forgotten; the
kids who don’t stand out, the kids I pedaled next to as we slowly ascended the
final steep hill. And I hope they all
become and stay runners.
