A new cross country team and two new coaches will compete this season

LAKE COUNTY - It's hard enough to live up to the expectations of an athletic program already established, it's a completely different thing for a new team to blaze new ground and create its own legacy. The Mission High School Cross Country team will lace up their shoes for the first time in school history this fall after students interesting in running approached the administration and asked about the possibility of starting the program.

"With the support of the principal and the athletic director alike, the school began to hold interest meetings to determine how many individuals might be interested in participating in cross country," new cross county head coach Patrick Murphy said.

It also gives the kids of St. Ignatius an option of a third fall sport . Some kids already playing football and volleyball are doing not just two-a-days but also cross country afterwards.

"I think that when you can make running an activity that is fun, and truly enjoyed by students, that their success will just naturally follow," Murphy said. "My hope is that our students develop a life-long passion for running that will enable them to be healthy individuals who enjoy physical activity throughout their lives."

Kids on the team joined for several different reasons, but the main one was an enjoyment of running.

"I like running and jogging and it's a great opportunity to get a scholarship," senior Bryan Schock said.

Or perhaps somebody wanted them out of the house.

"My mom made me because I didn't want to stay home and work," sophomore Paden Alexander said.

Or the choice of a third fall sport seemed attractive.

"I was pretty excited because it was so new and I wasn't built for football," senior Brandon Bontrager said.

And some are even making this their second fall sport.

"I didn't think I was going to try out until the last few days before it started out," junior Jane Makepeace said. "It's been good but I'm really sore because I'm also doing volleyball."

The kids also said they liked being part of a team and experiencing the camaraderie that it develops.

"My teammates are fun to be around," freshman Robyn Mitchell said.

The scenic Mission Valley has provided some interesting backdrops for their runs and nature has even thrown a few suprises at them.

"I saw a snake and screamed so loud that I scared the crud out of everybody," junior Ashley Courville said.

Courville sent out a Facebook request during the first few days of practice to get four other girls to join the cross country team.

"I hope and expect that Mission cross country has a reputation among Mission students of being a fun, inclusive, and successful program," Murphy said. "In four years, my goal would be that we can fill varsity [seven individuals], and junior varsity [another 7 individuals] races, on both the men and woman's teams. I believe that the types of individuals who are participating in cross country this year are laying the foundation for those hopes to be a reality in four years."

Junior Rose Bear don't walk is one of those individuals laying the groundwork and she understands what its going to take to do volleyball and cross country.

"I always knew it was going to be hard doing both sports but I figured I'd try it," Bear don't walk said. "Oh yeah [this coming season] I'll be a beast."

There will be plenty of obstacles for the Mission Cross Country team and Murphy is ready to tackle those.

"There is sure to be some learning curves to overcome being a new coach, having some individuals that are new to running, and having a new cross country program," Murphy said. "There is one thing that is for sure, we will all learn a lot, and that is what life is all about."

New is old for Mike Krahn

While the Charlo football team is technically making the transition into the Mike Krahn era, there's nothing new about their head coach as he served as an assistant for nine years for the Vikings.

"I pretty much knew what I had in store for me when I took the job," Krahn said about the enormous responsibilities of being a head coach. "Even at that, you don't have an appreciation timewise how much the head coach spends on the team. As an assistant you leave and they're still doing stuff."

Another aspect he was familiar with was the players that would be suiting up for him.

"I knew the work ethic and the characters that these kids have," Krahn said.

Krahn said that he knows a lot of the parents of the kids or even went to school with them when he grew up in Ronan.

Krahn said that he was like-minded with previous head coach and Charlo principal Steve Love and that made for an easy transition. While the abundance of speed on the team this year means he might spread things out more, Krahn said he wasn't changing a whole lot.

Along with coaching at Charlo for nine years, he was also an assistant at Ronan High School for eight years before that for a totally of 17 years coaching experience.

"It's the next best thing to playing," he said. "At some point you can't play any longer. I love the game and want to still be involved in it."

There's nothing quite like the blood pumping under the Friday Night Lights, Krahn said.

"I'm excited, we've got great potential this year," he said. "We've got quite a few kids back."

Former Maiden returns to Ronan

First-year head coach Naomi Mock is instilling an attitude and competitiveness into the Ronan volleyball team that she hopes will pay dividends out on the courts.

"Mainly they have to earn what they want," Mock said. "I don't want them to come in here with entitlement."

There will be a lot of young girls pushing the older girls said JV coach Sunny Benn.

"We're looking forward to having them meet higher goals," Benn said.

The Maidens will be earning their keep and starting sports under Mock, who said she is both nervous, excited and hopeful for the season.

"I want them to enjoy the game but they need to know they have to play hard to compete well," she said.

Having grown up in Ronan, Mock said it will be great to feel like she made an impact on the history in her home town.

Mock played basketball, volleyball and track for the Maidens before she graduated in 1993.

She said her favorite part about coaching was the interaction she gets with the ladies and getting to know them.

"I have high expectations," she said.