I used to be an athlete. In a way I imagine I will always be an athlete somewhere deep inside. My time though, as an athlete, came and it went. At times it seems like I was on the starting line only yesterday. At other times, more now than before, it seems like a different life. I am no longer an athlete.
I am a coach.
It is exhausting.
So many of these kids have never really run before they arrive at practice. Hell, more and more of them have never really ever competed in anything before they show up. It’s tough trying to explain to them what it means to run, truly run after greatness, your own greatness. It’s tough to explain how pure running is. It’s tough to explain the necessity of the suffering that running brings and why when you do suffer you don’t just stop and curl up in a small ball and cry but instead just keep on suffering and if possible suffer more. But, I have to explain it. I have to get them to understand. Explaining is exhausting.
<p style="text-align: center;"> Clippings from around the internet involving New Jersey athletes and or track, field, and cross country. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://nj.milesplit.com/articles/series/851-nj-clippings"><img alt="" src="http://cache.milesplit.com/user_files/369316/68152/new_jersey_clippings.png" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; width: 500px; height: 180px;" /></a></p>