National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

For week ending Sept. 21, 2013

Like many good coaches, Mark Ellington gets a little nervous when someone talks about honoring him and his work.  It’s not that he doesn’t love talking about his program and his team, far from it.  But he wants to make sure everyone gets their due and that you clearly understand that coaching the Carmel Lady Greyhounds is a team effort.  Sure enough, when you search for random photos of the leadership as another great season unfolds for the program, there you see not just Coach Ellington, but assistants Katie Kelly and Matt and Kelly Wire working their charges through practice and taking them through another successful meet.

Of course, the Carmel XC “culture” has flourished since legendary (now retired) coach Chuck Koeppen began winning Indiana state titles in the 1970s, 20 in all with the boys’ and girls’ programs.  The boys have continued to shine, state-wide and beyond, under Coach Erhard Bell.  And it must be mentioned that exposure to cross-country and track at Carmel begins long before high school, as Coach Ellington explains below, with middle- and even elementary-school programs.

But it is this group of Carmel High School girls who in 2013 have a fighting chance to become the first school outside of New York to capture the girls’ Nike Cross Nationals.  Their excellence has set new standards even for this powerhouse school, as they finished 7th at NXN in 2010, 5th in 2011 and 3rd in 2012, each following unbeaten state championship seasons.  There was just one senior on last year’s crew and current seniors Kelcy Welch and Gina Genco are seeking their fourth trip to Portland.  As difficult as it is to imagine 7-time champion Fayetteville-Manlius being forced to surrender the throne, the Lady Greyhounds may have the best chance to pull it off.  Coach Ellington and his team knows there is much work to do before such a chance presents itself, but at the same time has its eyes on the ultimate prize.

A few thoughts from Coach Ellington:

On whether it’s fair to say that this veteran team’s goal, giving their 3-year ascension to the NXN top three, is to win the title:  I think that is quite accurate.  I don’t think most of the top programs in the country would set their goal to be any lower, though.  Manlius has set the bar high and the rest of us are trying to catch up and challenge them.  With the increased access to results nationally, and websites and blogs filled with rankings and opinions; the only way to settle that is to actual run the races.  We certainly want to demonstrate that we deserve the recognition we have received in recent years

On the leadership of the upperclassmen, and the kind of mental and physical summer preparation that his team has put in:  I believe that each group of seniors that we see works hard to make sure the traditions they experienced in previous seasons is not only maintained, but improved.  They set the tone in workouts by accepting the structure in goals of the coaching staff without complaint.  In fact, they generally ask for clarifications to better fine tune their efforts.  I think this really sets a model for younger athletes to trust in the process. 
They are also tremendous cheerleaders.  Despite the chances of jealousy that could exist with such a competitive team, they are quite supportive of everyone’s positive efforts.  They invest in each other by sharing goals and celebrating achievements.

On the Trinity/Valkyrie Invite and how well the program’s goals for the event were achieved:  We were quite pleased with the efforts on that day.  The course conditions (2” of rain the night before) limited chances at having some big PRs, but I really loved the way our girls competed on the course.  Our JV squad, comprised of 10 runners (sophomores and juniors) took the first 10 spots in the race.  I can’t think of a better way to start a meet! 
I had really hoped to battle with Assumption (Ky.) in the varsity race, but they did not field a team. Our varsity group was solid with four girls in the top seven positions.  We asked them to compete and they did just that – regardless of who else was in the race. 
Some people have questioned our decision to put our freshmen only in the freshmen race. This is the only race on our schedule that offers such an opportunity, and to put them head-to-head against boys, too. That’s a real bonus because we challenge them to catch boys from our own school.  It keeps everyone working hard.  We placed our 10 freshmen in the first 12 places of that race.  The great opportunity at Louisville is that we get to run against teams and individuals that we are not always very familiar with, not too unlike running in NXN.  It’s a great way to focus on your own efforts and not stress over other teams.
Our coaching staff frequently says to the kids, “You have power over your own efforts.  Focus on making yourself better, and bring your teammates along with you.”  To that end, the weekend was a big success.

On the Carmel tradition and what he would say to a new coach looking for advice on program-building:  It truly is a culture in Carmel.  We have a program called Pup Running that engages 800-plus 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-graders in both cross country (fall) and track (spring) for a four-week season.  We have 11 elementary schools that field teams organized by parent volunteers.  Our middle-school runners volunteer to help at meets and make connections with younger athletes.  We have a strong connection with our middle school coaching staffs, as well.
Within our program, we have high expectations and everyone is asked to meet them. It doesn’t stop with our top 7 or 15.  It continues all the way down the line through 128.  Not every athlete is going to attain a sub-18 5k performance, but we expect everyone to maximize her potential.  That may look different for everyone, but the work and dedication it takes are quite similar.  Athletes are attracted to this opportunity to excel and achieve.  They also love being around others that want to be successful too.
My advice: Set your standards high, be consistent, hold everyone to the same standard of excellence, be consistent, celebrate all successes, be consistent, be willing to find ways to improve, and be consistent. Yes, being consistent is a huge key because, as Coach Matt Wire says, “Teenagers are persistent.  We just need to keep them on the path with our consistency.”