April 10, 2024
Moorpark High School Track
Submitted by Marty Rouse '78
I just read last week’s sports articles from Sports Illustrated and our own local paper. Both sparked a note with me about the importance of sports in our lives. With that in mind, I thought I would share a typical day at Moorpark High School’s Track Practice and the realization I won’t be seeing my team for quite a while. I have the pleasure of coaching the thirty or so Middle Distance runners who specialize in the 400 and 800 meter races. This was my tenth year of coaching track at MHS and each year seems to be similar to the previous one. There are always young people coming up the ranks that makes it worth the time to coach. Whether it’s their personality, dedication, ability, their lack of an adult in their lives, or maybe they have personal challenges that I might be able to influence, there is always a reason to play a small role in their journey. I show up at 2:00 pm every day carrying my track bag and as I walk toward the many athletes filling the stadium, I see my group somewhat huddled together in their area. Walking toward me is Alejandro Uribe (aka Cilantro) and Hunter Thorn (Cornhole extraordinaire). Their routine is to greet me with whatever crisis is occurring that day and sprint to the nearby outhouse. I then greet Andi Kitts (a dedicated athlete who is always thinking ahead). She shares with me her thoughts about the team workout and asks about warm-ups, which she leads with Cilantro. From there I move over to the side of the track and greet fellow coaches while Coach Mangers and King meet briefly with the entire girl’s and boy’s groups respectively. These two coaches, along with Coach Dearborn, have become my brothers and are very special to me with lots of joking and the sharing of honest perspectives on both life and track. When crazy things occur with kids that make me grit my teeth, I tend to joke that I am not here for the kids, I am here to hang out with coaches. We then break into our event groups The high school gives me the unique opportunity to share whatever I find important to me to pass along to my group. It oftentimes centers on unique social issues, life lessons, track strategy, with many opportunities for them to do public speaking. I find if I can get athletes in front of their peers and comfortable talking about any subject I throw at them, they gain a sense of confidence that carries over to the track. When they stand tall in front of their peers (which is the hardest audience ever), they also stand tall staring ahead waiting for the starting gun. The group meetings and work-outs are a lot of fun, and usually challenging. Within the first week of practice I identified The Back Row Girls, comprised of mostly freshman who wanted to hide. After our first week their only goal was to walk to the front of any line-up before I said “Go.” They rose to the occasion and I have witnessed amazing results from these dedicated, hard-working, and very kind athletes. High Schoolers amaze me with their intelligence and willingness to put themselves “Up Front.” They are brave knowing they have an intense work-out in store and they are dedicated, never complaining that the work-out is too much or too long. I will miss these athletes and I know this shortened season has caused them some heartache. We have provided our team with workouts that can be done but there is so much more that cannot be replicated. Conquering the fear of a crowd, the challenge of a personal best within arms reach, the satisfaction of finishing the daily workout that seemed insurmountable at the beginning of practice, and most of all, losing the opportunity to socialize and create friendships and simultaneously working through the difficult aspects of relationships. I am very confident they will use their creativity and intelligence to fill those gaps and will make every effort not to let their hard-earned fitness drop to the wayside. They have already utilized social media and the captains are taking on a leadership role that will help the team remain connected. Now the challenge is to run, exercise, motivate each other and to socialize, while abiding within the new rules all of us are faced with. I believe they will run this race with great character and smarts, but I have to admit I feel just as they do-somewhat deflated. Just like them, I need to step-up and find my own ways to keep moving forward and just like them, I need to be brave and to persevere.