Can't Get Away From Coaching...

Somehow I'm the cross country coach. I'm not sure why, or how, but I indicated at a staff meeting that I have coaching experience (swimming, mind you), and all the sudden I'm the new coach. Coaching in the Alaskan Bush is different than coaching elsewhere. Mostly it's harder. Most of my kids don't have running shoes. They run in their basketball shoes, or in some cases in their casual school shoes. Many of the girls don't have sports bras. They have to skip practice to go hunting or fishing with their families to put food on the table. Going to a meet involves finding both a male and female chaperone, chartering a flight, making sure each student has a sleeping bag and other stuff for the overnight trip, and maybe getting "weathered in" at wherever the meet is. My team ranges in age from 11 to 18. That and I've never coached cross country before and am a joke of a runner.

All that said, it really is more fun than coaching, for example, in Minneapolis. The students totally appreciate the opportunity to be on a team (even if we only really get to do two meets this year because of scheduling and the impending Alaskan onset of winter). The fast runners don't look down on the slower runners. The older runners look out for the younger runners. A few of them are pretty fast, but honestly, at this point, I could care less.

Next step: Procure sports bras for the girls. I'm not even going to try for running shoes.