This week for Coach’s Corner we interviewed Mr. Sousa, the cross country coach for both boys and girls.
Q: Could you please explain the process you use to prep for a meet?
A: We try to always go and scout the race course before race day. In cross country, you often race on dramatically different courses from week to week. When we preview a course, the goal is to learn the course and the tactics well enough that on race day it is second nature. On race day you should never be asking yourself which way to turn or how far to go. On race day you have to be able to focus on catching the next jersey.
Q: What was one of the toughest coaching decisions you ever made and why?
A: One great thing about cross country is that for almost the entire season, all our athletes get to compete in every race. But for our state meet, we have to designate ten athletes. Every year it is one of the hardest decisions we have to make. No amount of data makes it any easier. Those “top ten” athletes are responsible for representing the team in the highest-level meets we have all season. It is a huge responsibility for those athletes, and for that reason it is a huge decision who we entrust with it.
Q: What is the hardest part of coaching and why?
A: The hardest thing about coaching is also the hardest thing about teaching. You are invested in the kids you work with. You want so badly for them to succeed, and you hate seeing them fail. You hate seeing them frustrated, or discouraged. You know the easiest way to alleviate all of this is to lower the bar just a bit–just this once, make “success” just a little bit easier to attain–and avoid all this struggle. But it is the struggle that makes you greater. It is the struggle that makes you stronger. The struggle is why we are here. The struggle is our purpose. The hardest part of coaching is that you have to let that struggle exist.
Q: How do you/would you cut someone?
A: I suppose it depends on how we are defining cuts. I understand why some sports need to, but in cross country we don’t make performance-based cuts. No matter how fast or slow you are, you can still be on the team. The important thing to remember is that even if you are the slowest kid on the team, we expect you to train with all the intensity and focus of a serious competitive athlete–and that is a tall order. If you don’t live up to that, you will find yourself removed from the roster regardless of ability.
Q: What made you want to become a coach?
A: Over a long enough distances humans are the fastest animals on the planet. We are evolved to run. We can push ourselves to incredible heights in this endeavor. The challenge is inexhaustible, and if you embrace that challenge–if you embrace the kind of running we are talking about in the OA Cross Country program–it changes you. I want to be around people who embrace that challenge. Coaching allows me to work with those people every day. The student-athletes of Oliver Ames are the reason I became a coach, and the reason I continue to be today.