Nancy Smith, Northville MI girls XC: NSAF Coach of the Week

Week ending Nov. 3, 2013


There are few better, deeper, more wide-open state cross-country championship battles each year than that for the Michigan Division I girls.  It seems like schools such as Rockford, Saline, Traverse City Central and Grand Haven have been good forever and contend every year.  Others, like Grosse Pointe South, Birmingham Seaholm and Hudsonville have come more recently to the party and made things even better and more unpredictable.

But not many pundits had Northville as their state title favorite at the beginning of the year.  While the Mustangs were certainly contenders, having proven themselves in 4th, 8th, and 5th from 2010-12, they hadn’t really shown that championship moxie yet.  That perspective changed quickly, though, when Coach Nancy Smith’s squad beat almost all of the top programs at the massive mid-September Spartan Invite.

What folks didn’t know is how hard Coach Smith’s crew had worked during the summer and how they had changed up and increased their training.  And there were the seniors: Nicole Mosteller, Erin Zimmer and Rachel Coleman were Smith’s top three on her 2010 4th-place team and, along with fellow 12-graders Taleen Shahrigian and Alison Robinson, had been a big part of this rise.  With talented underclassmen also playing an increasingly significant role, Northville was now part of the season-long march toward the girls’ D1 crown. 

Now, Saline would edge the Mustangs by five later at the Jackson Invite and then Seaholm topped them by 15 at the Running Fit Coaching Legends meet.  But Coach Smith had her girls ready and balanced last Saturday at the MHSAA D1 finals when it counted the most.  Northville’s first four, led by Coleman, had a miniscule 10.8-second split.  And fifth girl Mosteller, even though she was 36 seconds further back, was the second-best #5 of the meet.  It all added up to 107 pts for the first-time champs, 32 ahead of Saline, and another 25 clear of a 4-way logjam for third.

A few thoughts from Coach Smith:

On the afterglow of the past five days since winning the title:  It has been amazing.  We have received an overabundance of congratulations from the school, the community and former athletes.  This is the first title in school history, and only the 2nd in 10 years for the school (in any sport), and everyone is so happy for us.  They know the entire program has been working towards this for a long time.  The team is still looking back and remembering all the joy that had when I told them that we won it.  It was an emotional day for both me and my team.

On what she told the girls before the race, and how they followed through to beat such a strong and evenly matched field:  I told the girls from the start that we did not have to break any records or really run any PRs.  If they just ran the way they have all season, and work as a team like they have done all season, then we could do it.  I also told them to believe in their ability and all the success they have had this season.  They ran in two solid packs, like we have worked on for the past few years, and never gave up.  They executed the plan perfectly, running great splits and finishing hard.

On how she has personally embraced XC and built up the Northville program:  Before I came to Northville 13 years ago, I was more of a track person.  As a high school athlete I ran sprints and hated distance.  I began coaching cross as the assistant at Redford Union.  When I took the head coaching job at Northville, I loved the way that the team was so close and worked together as one.  I learned to love distance and coaching it. 
Our numbers increased each year as we became successful, and the girls bought into the training philosophy and realized that hard work pays off.  The seniors I have on the team now that helped us win the title were a huge part of the success.  They had been to the state meet the three previous years, each time coming up a little short.  This year, they wanted to leave a legacy and they encouraged the entire team to work hard. 
I also have two great assistants, Tim and Jack Dalton, and our boys Head Coach Chris Cronin who encourage the girls.  We bounce training ideas off each other to get the most out of our kids.

On the training advances she has introduced to the program this year:  As a team, we looked at what other top teams in the state were doing.  We increased our summer mileage, added dynamic stretching, rope stretching and our athletic director brought in Total Performance out of Wixom for strength conditioning.  We did this two times a week, all summer long, to build our core strength. 
We also worked at eating healthy and getting the correct amount of sleep each day, which allowed us to train at high levels.  We continued this all season long.

On progressing through their big early season triumph and dealing with a few losses on the road:  The Spartan Invite was a huge success for us.  It built my girls confidence, and showed them that they had the talent and ability to run against all of the teams in the state who had been elite in the past. 
In the two meets where Seaholm beat us, we had adjusted our line-up and one of our top runners was not running due to an injury – we were trying to get her better and keep her healthy for when we needed her most.  We knew that losing was not a big deal, as only the end of the season really mattered.  They learned to not let it bother them and look to the future when we had a complete line-up.

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