Thomas Woodrow - your About.com Guide to: Running/Jogging

The Inside "Track" - Part One Dateline: 7/20/98

This week, and for the next two weeks, I will be presenting to you an interview, in three parts, with Jeff Arbogast. Jeff is Head Coach of Cross Country and Track & Field at Bingham High School, South Jordan, Utah.

Since Jeff's answers are very complete and most eloquent (he's an English teacher) I'll not waste anymore bandwidth and just jump right to the interview. I hope everyone is as fascinated as I am with the insights of this teacher and motivator.

TW: First could you tell us a little about your current program at Bingham High. What championships and records do you hold, what makes your program unique, etc.?

JA: Bingham High School is a 5A (large classification) school located in South Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Elevation is 4500' and the school draws from a middle class area which has evolved from a mining/agricultural community in the 60's and 70's to an area of newer homes and a progressively more modern community. Although the school currently enrolls approximately 2800 students, it has split due to growth two times in the past 15 years and is due to split in half again in 1999.

As one of the oldest schools in Utah, the traditional "team" sports of football, basketball, and baseball ruled the studentbody until the early 1980's, when a concerted effort was made to increase the visibility of cross country, followed by track and field. I was offered the position of Head Cross Country Coach upon being hired as an English teacher in 1980, and accepted Head Track two years later. Both positions involve women and men.

Currently, Bingham enjoys a reputation as one of the most productive distance running schools in the nation, in addition to producing track and field athletes ranked among the nation's best in a variety of disciplines.

The first conference titles in cross country were won in 1982-3, and the program was developed throughout the decade of the 1980's as ideas were tuned to fit the changing expertise of the coaching staff and the demands of the community. Winning became more of a goal as our program developed. . . . . .coupled with the aspect of college contacts and development of graduates beyond high school.

State Titles began to accrue in 1989, which coincided with the last losses ever suffered in Conference competition. That record continues today, with our last loss in a men's or women's cross country or track conference meet occurring 10 years ago.

Starting in 1990, Bingham gained national acclaim in Cross Country through Harrier Magazine, including the National Championship for boys in 1995. Traditionally one of the top 5 teams in the USA, year-in and year-out, Bingham enjoys a reputation of national consistency that is unmatched.

Bingham has always attempted to anchor championship performances in cross country, indoor track (a non-sanctioned sport in Utah), and outdoor track through the distances. We realize that our first priority in coaching is preparation of women and men for competition beyond high school, and our preparations for the four years we work with our runners is targeted with this primary goal in mind.

The 1998 season saw the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd athletes graduate to full scholarships in cross country or track and field (mainly distances) since 1990. . .a record that may be tough for any school to beat nationally. More importantly, the athletes are prepared to succeed and mature under college coaching, contributing to their programs consistently throughout their careers.

TW: Would you fill us in, please, on your own qualifications and accomplishments as a runner, coach and teacher?

JA: I accepted the position of Head Cross Country Coach at Bingham prior to my employment there in 1980. My competitive background did not include running in high school, and my running in college was very limited, as I was a competitive rifle shooter, competing in NCAA and NRA matches under the ISU (International Shooting Union) Olympic course of fire. We ran some as an adjunct to our shooting in order to lower our pulse beats, but the running took on a more competitive aspect upon my retirement from shooting in 1980.

I trained in earnest with the first few developing teams at Bingham, learning from mistakes I made and imitating current theory, hoping for the best and trusting that time, dedication, and caring would overpower any training errors I made.

I ran with the Salt Lake City Track Club, eventually competing in 20 marathons (including 16 consecutive Deseret News from 1979 to 1994) and over 150 road races from 5000m to the half-marathon. Our coaching staff still runs with the team.

As our teams grew in size and ability, I attempted to expand my knowledge base by attending every clinic, presentation, and seminar on distance running I could find. I realized that enthusiasm was a critical catalyst to preparing athletes, but no substitute existed for analytical ability in evaluating training methodology.

Exposure to many of the world's best distance running clinicians started to formulate the Bingham Distance Philosophy, as we amassed ideas that worked on the high school level and discarded concepts that were non-productive.

In 1994, a critical piece of the training puzzle fell into place with the completion of the USATF Level II School (Multi-Events), which helped to crystallize our training concepts for distance running around a pattern the USATF Decathletes and Heptathletes used for training and recovery.

In early 1997 our program was adjusted again to accommodate new adaptations received from Coach Chick Hislop of Weber State University after his meetings with the Africans (Kenyans) during his tenure in Atlanta as our nations Distance Coach for the 1996 Olympic Games. Our program today remains on the leading edge of high school year-round training, both physically and mentally.

I teach English full time with coaching reserved for before and after normal school hours. The most recent team GPA was calculated as an all-time, all-sport high for our school of 3.80/4.00, combined men and women. . .a factor which is supported in part by the full-time academic positions of all of our coaches.

Our current coaching assistants include Coach Bill Moore, full-time English instructor, and Coach Robby Duncan, currently finishing up his teaching credentials at Weber State University (and a member of the Junior Pan-Am Steeplechase Team). We also employ a graduate assistant most every year.

Next Week Next week check back as "Coach Arb" details for us the four basic macrocycles...summer training base, cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.