National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

For week ending Oct. 5, 2013

Coach Derek Youel at Brentwood (Tenn.) HS is himself a 2002 graduate of the school.  So at less than 30 years of age, he is surely one of the youngest mentors of one of the top programs in the country.  He has a clear awareness, however, of those coaches and athletes that came before him at the school, and a strong sense of how to continue and build upon a tradition.  In his first year as head coach there in 2012, he took the Bruins to their second straight Tennessee AAA state title after formerly being an assistant.

In 2011, Brentwood had also qualified for NXN Finals from the SE region; then in 2012 they just missed by 13 points.  This fall, however – with the rise of seniors Taylor Caldwell, Alec Thomas and Aaron Thomas to 15-flat-type performers and an improving supporting cast – the Bruins are not just regional contenders, but a budding national power as well.  Coach Youel’s approach is thoughtful and leaves no detail unturned.  After a resounding Great American New Balance Race of Champions triumph last weekend – scoring 99 points and winning by 71 – Brentwood is coming of age, even with much work to be done before November and December.

A few thoughts from Coach Youel:

On his reaction to winning, and by such a big margin, at Great American:  We went into the meet with the intention of racing for the win. However, we also knew with such outstanding programs like Broughton, St. Xavier, Tatnall, Belen Jesuit, Blacksburg, and others, that we would need to race very, very well, just to have a chance for the win.  Really, all we can do is put ourselves in position to win; you cannot control what other teams do.  So we set the bar high and made it our intention to race to our best ability.  If we had run like we did, and still not won, we would have been satisfied (as we were after losing on a tie-breaker to Carmel at Trinity). And winning sure is sweet, too.
In hindsight, all of our boys basically ran their race plans and performed the way we wanted, so there were no big surprises.  Our biggest improvement came from our #4 runner, Coleman Churitch, and that was a key emphasis. The margin of victory was deceptive because Broughton's top runner, William Roberson, did not finish and another one of their key boys did not run well.  Still, finishing 1st with a top-notch program like St. Xavier, KY (US #7 in 2012) getting 2nd, is certainly fulfilling.

On the 2-3-5 finish of his “big three,” their training approach and the “cultivation” of their racing and training abilities over three years:  Well, I would say that our top three boys ran as well or better than they did at Trinity, I just think there were some more quality individuals up-front and let's face it, it was very hot out and the course is much more challenging.  We came here just wanting to handle the tougher course (and the much tougher weather conditions) well, after coming off Trinity on a flat course with relatively cool weather.
The top trio has gradually built their average mileage from about 35-40 miles as freshmen to about 60+/- miles/week as seniors.  Every aspect of the quality of their training has increased just as incrementally. We have intended to develop their 800m and 1600m speed just as much their endurance, but always within what they can handle.  They have been super-dedicated and have done what we have asked them to do for several years now, and it keeps paying dividends. We make adjustments and they do a very good job of giving honest feedback on how they are feeling.
Also, all three are team players, first and foremost, and they have learned a lot and become more comfortable as we keep exposing them to higher-level meets.  The most important thing is they believe in what we tell them they can do, and that they can be top runners and become a top team and that is motivating to them.  I feel each of them is just beginning to scratch the surface and have big upsides going forward this year and in college. 

On the efforts of Brentwood’s #4 and #5 and how they were keys to the team performance:  Our #4, Coleman Churitch, is actually as talented as our top three, he just has not been at it as long.  He has only been training seriously for about 20 months, including a few setbacks, so what he is doing is pretty incredible.  He is a ‘diamond in the rough’ that some college will be lucky to get.  He’s improved from 16:24 to 15:31 in his first 4 races this season and he can still make significant progress.  I felt he could run 5:00 pace at GACC, if he put it all together, and he averaged 4:59.  We wanted him to get out a little quicker and finish a little better, and to place in the top-20-25 – and he locked in and did that.  That got 80 percent of our scorers where we need them right now, to be an eventual national contender by season-end, so his race was huge for us.
Our #5, Francois Llorens, had never been a varsity scorer, and he is as talented as any of these boys.  Our 5-6-7 ran as a pack, and Francois stuck with them and really dropped a good one, especially for his first time on WakeMed. He was a one-season-a-year JV runner who only ran 30 minutes, three days a week this summer, but he has really listened when we have asked him to race and has now gone from 18:17 to 16:41. I feel he has a big upside, too.
We also have two guys (current #6 and #7), Waqqas Fazili and Ryan Lee, who are coming on and are capable of helping our team.  Ryan has gone from 17:46 to 16:58, and Waqqas has gone from 17:46 to 16:27 (off-race 16:58 at GACC). I believe both can continue to improve.

On the strong sense of pace that enabled his team to come from behind Saturday:  The course can lend itself to that strategy, depending on the type of runner, but you also need to practice it and simulate it in training so they become comfortable executing it. A lot of athletes get scared doing that and the truth is, it is not for everyone.  When you start out slow in a big field, you usually have to cover more ground to get through the pack and it can be too stressful (or simply sub-optimal) for some kids.
Like I said, Coleman raced better by getting out quicker and our top boys were with the lead pack at the half-mile. Our 5-6-7 was going to decide this race, so we coached them to them to be conservative at the start. That does not mean we will do the same thing next race.

On the history and development of the program at Brentwood (recalling alums like 2007 GACC ROC champ and 8:58 3,200 runner Sean Keveren):  Dave Milner did a great job of coaching Sean (just graduated from Virginia) about 5-7 years ago, and the current team looks up to him and his accomplishments.  Tom Divinnie (who ran at Davidson) and Hunter Hall (Bryan College) were also some of whom laid the foundation for our success.
Brentwood is in a Nashville suburb, where there is an emphasis on athletics and family support.  We have an enrollment of 1,400, and most of the other suburban, public schools in our area are significantly larger.  I see as much talent at these other schools, believe it or not, so it is still about recognizing talent and knowing how to cultivate it.
We really did not have a lot of team success at the state level until 2011, when boys like Paul Stuart (now at UT-C) and Nathan Thomas (William & Mary) led us to our first title and first national berth.  After losing them as our top two, we still won state in 2012 and narrowly missed returning to NXN Finals. We hope to win our 3rd straight state title, if we all stay healthy and all goes well, and see if we can make NXN finals again.  We have been blessed with great kids who have bought into that philosophy.
(Regarding small-ish overall team numbers) Generally, the larger the school, the greater critical mass to draw from, but I do not work in the school during the day so that is a serious handicap versus coaches who teach or work at the school.  If I was working there, I imagine we'd get three to four times the turnout, which would be an incredibly huge advantage. We also have no middle school feeder program to speak of, so we must take what we get and we have had a sort of Midas touch with it this last three years.  We told these boys that we would have to do things way more efficiently with our tiny squad than the other great powerhouse programs in the country, to have any chance to be among the top teams in the nation.  I do feel that we do a pretty good job of taking each and every kid who is interested, and helping them become better quickly, and keep them improving.  To me, that is the key.  I relish the underdog role and among the largest programs, it truly is David & Goliath.  We know that and we hope we can rise to that level.

On the rest of the season and being one of the teams to beat nationally:  The boys deserve the praise, and we appreciate the recognition and attention we are getting, but the season has really just gotten underway and we are aware that it is very premature to put us with the top-tier programs in the country. We really don't want to get caught up in mid-season rankings meaning a whole lot. The real season starts after state and NXN SE will be very tough.
That said, our intention was to be a legitimate top-10 team by GACC and to feel like we were in a position to potentially move into being a national contender. I feel we realized that intention and yet we have so much work to do in order to get to where we can contend with the best teams in the country.  With such a small squad, we are also one twisted ankle or one illness from not even being a ranked team.  Hopefully, we can continue to improve, make Nationals and have a shot at racing for the title.  In the meantime, we like the journey we are on and we'll keep having fun intending to get better.