The other day as I was going about my usual work duties, I ran into a former athlete from a competing team that I used to coach against. While I don’t always like using the term “coaching against” as I do feel that we are all in this together for the benefit of the athletes (partially why I still contribute to the sport like this) I do see how from the outside it would look like coaches are adversaries. Much the way teams are adversaries. But we can also be friends and colleagues, and in this situation, we certainly were.
My chance encounter was with Donovan Lombara, a senior on the 2020 Monadnock cross country team that defeated the three peat champion Mascenic looking to go four straight (and it would have been five straight as we won in 2021.) I only bring up the three peat as when Donovan introduced himself that day, he said I was probably pretty unhappy with him and his teammates for spoiling the run. And I think he was a bit shocked with my answer.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m fairly competitive when it comes to my coaching. I spent a lot of time developing schedules, refining training and looking forward trying to envision the challenges the team might face. I requested commitment from my athletes and while I never cut anyone, every once in a while I addressed an athlete’s resolve to become the best athlete they could be. I meant business and I wanted my teams to do so as well. But over the years, particularly after our 2015 season, I focused more on preparing the team to compete rather than focusing on trying to get back to the top.
Over the years, before our loss in 2020, I’ve become a big fan of Clint Joslyn and what he’s brought to the Monadnock program. Not only does he work real hard at the craft of coaching, he’s proven he’s in it for the athletes, and not personal accolades. In my mind he does things right, and not everyone does. For that I respect him and his program, and that started when he was coaching at the middle school level, and grew when he took over the high school.
Over the years since that Monadnock win, our teams became quite close, with members of both teams joining forces to run Junior Olympic cross country, and traveled the country competing as a unified Valhalla team. Not only did we get to watch our teams develop, we’ve been able to watch each others own kids traverse through the programs, recognizing all the successes and challenges along the way. That will end this spring as Peyton finishes his last season in high school (we will however get to watch his progress at Adams State).
In 2020 we lost to Monadnock at home by one point during the season, foreshadowing the result that would happen the last weekend of October. It does pay to recognize this was the covid season, with the wearing of masks, staggered starts, and a late beginning to the season. I’m not trying to lay down an excuse but it certainly was a very different season and it’s possible that worked to Monadnock’s advantage. Either way they beat us fair and square, 45 to 57. I remember the ceremony, or lack there of, as the meet featured no spectators and only the winner and runner-up teams were at the championship plaque presentation. I recall cheering loudly as they received the champions plaque, trying to make up for the lack of external energy that usually accompanies such an accomplishment.
I suppose I can gain some solace in that we were able to turn the tables the following week at the Meet of Champions, finishing ninth overall, one place and 55 points in advance, benefitting from Landen’s placement near the front and all the other nondivisional athletes in between. I also felt with our district’s slow adoption of covid protocol, we got a bit of a late start, with me restricted to talk to my athletes about the potential of a cross country season (I believe my superintendent didn’t want to have to walk anything back.) So my one regret was feeling like if we had just a bit more time we could have put up a better fight. And to be fair, I did give Monadnock the nod in the championship preview and ended up correct.
So when I addressed Donovan’s comment regarding their upset of a fourth consecutive title, I think I might have surprised him when I said that losing that particular title might have been the loss I was most comfortable with. Sure four straight would have been great and quite an accomplishment, and five – well that would have been a bit legendary I suppose. But we got beat by a better prepared team that was ready to win, and we weren’t quite there yet. You have to bring it on the day and Monadnock certainly did. I think you can see the vestiges of this fastidious attention to detail that Clint is really good about in the boys reclaiming the title this past fall.
To kind of wrap this all up I want to speak to the lack of a banquet that year, meaning we couldn’t recognize the athletes per usual, nor could we recognize the teams of the year or the coaches of the year per usual either. Instead we did video presentations, and posting them on the website. When Tim Cox asked if I was up for interviewing Clint as boys Coach of the Year, he wasn’t sure I’d be wanting to as it was my team they climbed over to deserve the award. But I looked at it differently. You don’t win Coach of the Year simply by winning your division, you have to do something a bit more special, and that had nothing to do with beating us. Monadnock put together a terrific season and Clint deserved the accolade, so I was pretty insistent that I present. Go back and watch the video and I think you can see how happy I was for him.
And to finish, I hope everyone reading can recognize that while it’s always a battle in the trenches, most of us have a mutual respect for the work we all do. There definitely are some rivalries that can appear to harbor ill feelings, and certainly some do. Some coaches will use that to try to inspire their athletes to stronger successes but usually the strength of and for competition comes from within, and that can easily stand side by side with a collegial rivalry.
Donovan and I had a great time with our short visit back to yester year, and that specific period of time. We lamented the regional format but reveled that he and the rest of the seniors at least got their last cross country season, albeit quite different than years previous. He mentioned his dad is a fan of my writing (I have at least one!) even if he didn’t always agree with the content, and I can respect that. Matter of fact I think I’d be upset if he did. Thanks for reading Mr. Lombara and it was a pleasure talking with Donovan.
I’ll see you out there.
Addendum: Several hours after I wrote this piece I received this email.
Clint: Just got a phone call from a past athlete. He was pretty stoked to finally achieve his running goal in his last college race.
Me: That’s a great phone call
Clint: Sure is
Safe to say, there’s not a bit of bad blood around our wins and losses with each other.
