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Running/Jogging

The Inside "Track" - Part Three

Dateline: 8/3/98

Here is the finale of my interview with Coach "Arb" of Bingham High School, South Jordan, Utah, head coach of Cross Country and Track & Field. For those of you who missed last week or the previous week might I suggest you go to them first to get the entire picture of what this gentleman is talking to us about.
I wish to thank Jeff, in advance, for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions and for being so eloquent in his responses.
This week we get a glimpse of the depth of his program and the strength which is received from the community as well as what is in store for the future of an already outstanding program.

TW: The program at Bingham High must rely heavily on the help of the parents and the cooperation of the school administration. Obviously your program must have had a beginning stage when the championships were not yet there. How did you go about winning these factions over to your side in the early stages?
JA: Parents and the school administration have always been approached differently at our school.
It always baffled us as a coaching staff to see few parents showing up to meets, but as we improved the overall quality of our team, the parent involvement grew. Everyone wants to be a part of a "winner", and that has certainly helped, but two things have been stressed over the years we have developed. . .
  • Communication... and
  • Parent Boosters
As coaches, we have been fortunate enough to have several key parents each year who have formulated a booster club that is entirely separate from the general school group of parents. These parents respond to peer pressure much like all of the rest of us do, and we channel this into a positive force to help our athletes.
Parents coordinate "team treats", produce the yearly video and do the filming for it, assist on travel trips and training runs, provide fundraiser help, and make recommendations that are valuable to the team.
Our administration has changed many times over the last 18 years, but they have been supportive, particularly when recognition arrives at the school due to the performances of the running athletes.
Regardless, as many runners and coaches know, it is always a battle to collect support for a "minor" team. We try to show the community that running is a "major" force in our area. . .and they have responded well.
Communication is helped dramatically by the publication of team newsletters, primarily during the summer, a "parent barbeque" where contrary to the wording we do not roast our complaining parents but instead have a "pot-luck" and the team buys the burgers.
Parents then get a yearly "Parent Packet" which details all the information they will need during the year and continued newsletters throughout the season.
The Conference Championships provides us a chance to give each athlete another manual. . .a compilation of seasonal bests and personal histories of all of our runners. . .many of whom will be competing for the last time that season.

TW: With a program that is so successful we realize that you have a number of elite runners. But what about the short, chubby band geek (like I was in high school) who just wants to go out for the cross-country team, get in shape and impress the opposite sex. Do you have anything to offer him/her and what chance does he/she have to letter in the sport?
JA: Bingham has always used a "no-cut" policy in Cross Country and Track & Field. . resulting in Cross Country teams over 100 and Track over 220. We counter the numbers with qualified coaches, and many of them.
Although only a relative few athletes will represent us nationally, every athlete travels to many out-of-state meets, competes in all our Conference meets, and is dismissed from school to support the varsity at the State Meet for example.
Bingham trains and supports all athletes of all abilities, with our program going as far as recruiting in the Special Education areas. We have been represented up to the Conference level by special needs athletes, physically and mentally challenged athletes, and have had Special Olympic athletes training alongside our school team on occasion.
We recruit with a call to run for all!
Speed is irrelevant as our philosophy is that our coaches have the job to make an athlete "fast". . .you just need to provide the desire to run. The desire is everything, as once an athlete starts with us we attempt to hold onto them as an athlete for life. . .and most often do.
For every All-American we have had who came into our program with talent there have been five who got to that level through making the most of what meager talent they may have had . . .maximizing it later to the fullest extent.
Due to a tremendous fundraiser we operate every year, we have money to spend on awards at our annual banquet. Many of our athletes receive special honors, and athletes of all ages are encouraged to letter. Lettering can be accomplished through several routes, and all athletes who are determined are usually able to letter by their second year at the latest.
We temper that of course by making lettering a serious commitment to the team. The transitory athlete may not letter. . .the uncommitted athlete may not letter. . .but the athlete who gives the program all that he or she can muster will letter regardless of speed. Putting on the uniform needs to be an honor.
Of course, distance running at Bingham is a great lure to a new athlete. You have a ready-made group of 100 of the best students at the school for friends. . .all the dates to the proms you could ever need. . .and a great incentive to get the driver's license as soon as possible so you can drive to the travel runs!

TW: What do you see in the future for your program? Any changes or expansion? Any new training ideas?
JA: Bingham's future is dependent on constantly setting higher goals. Although we have been nationally known for the last decade as a school ranked nationally in boys, our girls are now poised to match, or maybe surpass, the tremendous history the boys have made.
Our coaching staff continually modifies each year to make it more fun and better competitively than the last, and we have had the benefit of many years of experience in that staff. . .continuity in the staff is a necessary key to long-term improvement of a distance running program.
As the program gains national acclaim, the opportunities to "give back" to the running world increase as well.
Our athletes and graduates now are training to be teachers and coaches, running on national teams, recruiting friends to the world of distance running, and serving as "ambassadors" of a philosophy of hard work and dedication that can only help to draw more student-athletes into this tremendous sport. Our athletes and coaches will continue to work with youth track and cross country, Senior Games athletes, USATF, AAU, and community runners of all abilities. . .perhaps the greatest "future" any team could have.
Still, opportunities remain for our team.
  • We continue to develop training concepts which incorporate advanced mental training, most notably from Coach Steve Lewis of Phoenix, AZ
  • Refine our concept of multiple workouts and recovery theory based on the USATF model for decathlon training
  • Present clinics and seminars around the West advancing the idea that high school runners have so much more to give to their training. . .if they have coaches willing to exert an effort to improve themselves
Years ago we began to drive towards a goal. . .a dream. . . a picture that many athletes saw in their minds. That picture has been verbalized on occasion but even when it isn't always serves to keep us grounded in where we are now, and where we want to be.
Imagine a stadium, an Olympic Stadium, glowing in artificial light from high above yet sparkling from thousands of flashes firing near-simultaneously from cameras preserving a moment. Amidst a roar, three similarly clad athletes swing side-by-side off turn 4 on the final lap of an Olympic 5000.
Those athletes need to be American.
We want those athletes to be from Bingham.
Much work remains.