On September 12th, Selma High’s cross country team had their season opener at Sierra Pacific High School, having a great start to the season. All members of the team had finished the race, all achieving their personal goals.
“I set a goal for everyone and they all managed to exceed my expectations and set PRs,” said Coach Octavio.
The season opener is the concrete of where the team is starting and what they need to work on to keep progressing. This is why one of Coach O’s main goals is to see the team achieve consistency at practice and to improve after each race.
“I hope to see my team get past the TCC Championships and advance to compete at the CIF Central Section Championship,” said Coach O.
Coach O has been coaching Selma High’s cross country team for two years now, this being his second, and has set goals for the team. Although not having as much experience as other coaches have, he has the motivation to learn. He enjoys seeing how much the runners have grown, helping each of them to reach their full potential, and to also watch them succeed.
“I think the strongest trait about the team is definitely their determination,” said Coach O.
Coach O further explained how cross country is harder than it seems.
“Anyone can do a sprint, not everyone can do distance,” said Coach O.
On the surface, cross country is a sport where you run long distances, however this sport creates a strong mentality for the athletes to be able to successfully complete races ranging from two to five miles.
“It takes a strong mindset to run two to five miles everyday,” he said, “[and to] have a breathing rhythm, and be consistent with it.”
For senior Danity Avila, this is her first year on the cross country team and for her,the meet went really well. She explained how at first she was nervous and started to doubt herself but, after the race, she was happy with her outcome and did better than she expected.
“I would like to improve on my stamina and mile times through races, also to try and PR at every meet,” said Avila.
The reason for joining the sport is different for everybody. In Avila’s case, she joined to stay in condition for track season and to learn better tactics for running. She was pushed to join through friends and the activities that the team does out of the meets, such as getting Raising Cane’s after their races.
“What I hope to get out of the cross country season,” she said, “is to have made strong friendships, create fun memories, and to eat a lot of Cane’s.”
Coach O has created a fun and motivating environment for the team through his personal core values, such as engagement, dependability, and communication. Coach O will run with the team if they feel unmotivated, push them to do their best, and discuss how to improve on something they’re struggling in. These individual core values have all contributed to build a strong team and individual athletes, learning the importance of these.
“I want my team to realize their own potential and gain a good mindset of what they can do and extend their abilities,” said Coach O.
