"Trickle Down"

As we're awash in political jargon from the recent election it seems appropriate to use the label, the "trickle down" effect, for what the former and current elite athletes give back to the sport through coaching.  

Six Team USA Minnesota distance runners coached either high school or college cross country teams this Fall, including Antonio Vega, Jon Peterson, Heather Kampf, Meghan Peyton, Jamie Cheever, and Chris Rombough.

Vega, Peterson, and Kampf coached Twin Cities area high school teams which concluded their seasons at the Minnesota State High School Cross Country meet on November 3.  Peyton, Cheever, and Rombough are working with collegiate teams that will have their final championship meets by mid-November.

Vega is head boys and girls cross country coach at the Academy of Holy Angels, a private school in Richfield.  “Coaching high school cross country is a fun and rewarding job although stepping in as a new head coach was pretty challenging,” said Vega, who was the 2010 USA Half Marathon Champion and USA Track & Field Long Distance Runner of the Year. He noted one of the challenges after the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-mile where he noted that he was coaching the team during the weekend of the race, so he didn't get much rest prior to his race.

“I most enjoy sharing my passion of running with others and seeing improvements that an athlete makes.  Having a kid not be able to run a mile without walking at the start of the season to being able to run for an hour straight is the biggest reward as a coach.  Plus seeing the enjoyment that kids have when they discover the sport of running is a great experience.”

New Team USA Minnesota member Peterson, who graduated last June from the University of California, Davis, started his coaching duties in August when he moved to the Twin Cities.  He was the assistant coach for the Edina High School boys cross country team, which placed second in the large school state meet on Nov. 3.  

“Being entirely new to Minnesota along with being a new coach, it took some time to become acquainted with the team and each of the individuals in how to help them train to their potential,” said Peterson, who was a Big West Conference cross country champion and has run 13:41 in the 5000m.  “I most enjoyed seeing the team progress throughout the season and seeing the pieces come together as they continued their training.”

At Apple Valley High School, Kampf marked her third year as assistant girls cross country coach.  “The biggest challenge at Apple Valley this year was our numbers since we graduated 13 seniors last year,” said Kampf, who is the 2012 USA 1 Mile Road champion and was seventh in the 800 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.  “We’re putting a lot of time into recruiting up-and-coming middle schoolers and tapping into athletes who don’t play a fall sport, so hopefully we’ll grow in the years to come. 

“I was proud to send my first athlete to the state cross country meet this year but most importantly, I enjoy being a ‘life coach’ in addition to being a running coach.  I believe that if I can guide my athletes to be healthy, confident and happy young women, I have done my job regardless of how they perform.  It’s so fun for me to share my own experiences with them and watch them apply it to their own performances and succeed.”

Peyton and Cheever are both assistant coaches for the men’s and women’s cross country teams at Augsburg College, where Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker is the head cross country coach.  Peyton is in her third year with the teams and Cheever is in her first season at Augsburg.  “It is so much fun to be involved in the sport at another level,” said Peyton, who is a top competitor at distances ranging from the mile up through the 10 mile.  “There is little that is more rewarding than to see those you coach succeed and overcome adversity.”

According to Cheever, the athletes had some great performances at the conference meet and are looking forward to DIII regionals and nationals.  “The part I most enjoy is spending time with the athletes and getting to share my experience and expertise,” said Cheever, who was sixth at the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships and was in the steeplechase finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials.  “I feel rewarded when an athlete has a particularly strong race or runs a PR.”

Also coaching collegiate athletes is Rombough, who is in his third year as the volunteer assistant men’s cross country coach at the University of Minnesota, which competes in DI.  While at the U as a collegiate athlete, Rombough won the Big Ten Cross Country Championships.

You can add to these Team USA Minnesota runner/coaches Steve Hoag, Bruce Mortenson, Mike Reneau, Don Timm, Sue Wurl, and others I'm probably missing who share the commitment to passing on their knowledge to the next generation of runners in the state. "Pay it forward," trickle down, whatever you want to call it these runners have stayed connected to their sport beyond their competitive careers.