11/9/07
This week's interview is with Tom Elnick, the leader of the powerful Kellenberg team.  Tom has been tearing up courses from Alabama to Wappinger's Falls.  As we head into the CHSAA Intersectional meet, Tom answered some of our questions with some interesting insights into what goes through the mind of a top runner, on a top team.

What kind of summer training did you do? Any supplemental training?

·         The majority of my summer training was long slow distance. We basically took two weeks off after Outdoor Nationals and went right into our summer workouts. I tried to do most of my runs later in the day to avoid the summer heat as well as add some weekly runs with a group of runners from the team. We eventually hit about 70 miles per week by the end of the summer.

 2. What were you thinking going into the season?   

·         Going into my senior year at Kellenberg is an exciting time for me. Lots of things were going through my head when it came to running this season. I realized that running under Coach Buckley and Coach Estrella, Kellenberg Memorial had a great opportunity to produce one of its best Cross Country teams in the history of the school. Our team had an opportunity to travel out of state to participate in some great races and events. It was an experience I couldn’t wait to be a part of.

 2a. Have you met your expectations for the season thus far?

·         Before the 2007 Cross Country season, I had and still have extremely high expectations for both myself and the team. With all my preseason preparations, I expected to perform well in many races during the season. Both myself and the team have done pretty well and I’m satisfied with the results this far. I’m looking for bigger things to come as the season winds down.  

 3. Your team has been outstanding.  When preparing for an upcoming race, how much does "team thinking" come into play?

·         Within a week or two of a big race Coach Buckley and Estrella usually tells us what’s needed for us to do well, both as individuals and as a team. They know the other teams pretty well and give us great insight on what to expect each week. As the team captain, I try to continually motivate the team and keep us all focused on each upcoming event. Each runner knows exactly what they need to do at each race and what’s expected of them for us to perform well as a team. If we all just concentrate on what we each have to do in the race, then team wise everything will fall right into place. 

 4. You have an extremely dedicated and passionate coach in Mr. Kevin Buckley.  He leads the nation in breaking clipboards.  Has the team's success kept that to a minimum thus far?

·         Coach Buckley is truly a great person. He’s a teacher, a coach and I’m lucky that I can call him my friend. Coach Buckley really believes in each one of us and has specific expectations for our team as a whole. Through my years at Kellenberg Memorial, I’ve seen Coach Buckley get upset at times, but only when he feels we aren’t performing at our fullest potential. You know, as you become successful, expectations get greater and greater. If you perform well in one race, why not perform better in the next. Although many of our teams frustrations have been kept to a minimum this season, many new anxious moments have continually been thrust upon us. Sure, I’m still waiting for the possibility of that broken clipboard this year, but we will do our best to keep it from happening.

 5. What was the first thing you thought of when you crossed the line as the winner in the Catholic Championships?

·         So many thoughts went through my head when I won the Catholic Championship this year that it’s really hard to focus on just one. My family, my coaches, my school and the excitement of being the CHSAA champion along with the thrill that I was representing Kellenberg Memorial with an individual win but most of all I have to say the first thing that came into my mind was how our team performed as a whole. There is nothing better for me than seeing one’s team perform to their fullest potential!

 6. At this point, the cross country community is well aware that you have an identical twin.  He has been running very well, as evidenced by his 2nd place 16:59 performance.  Has your relationship with Michael ever strained because of the competitive nature of the sport?

·         No way, Mike and I are best friends. We have been running partners our whole lives and have been running and pushing each other to the limit since we were little. One day Mike beats me by a second, another day I come in ahead of him. It’s really great competition that never gets between us; it only makes us better people, better runners and better brothers.  

 7. That was a very tough loss to a veteran, focused Chaminade team.  How do things shape up for the Intersectional Championships; team-wise and individually?

·         Kellenberg was one of the favorites going into the race, but I knew that it was going to be a real tough battle with Chaminade. It turned out extremely close between us and it was tough to lose in a tie breaker that is decided by the 6^th man. Every one of our guys have since ran that race through our heads a hundred times thinking what we could have done different but the Chaminade team had run great and came out with the team title.

·         Since leagues, we have become more focused on our team strategy and understanding how important our individual tasks are. As frustrating the League loss was, we are still hoping for a team championship at the Intersectional Champs. Mike and I will both try our best to lead our team into victory. Personally, I just want to finish higher and higher in each and every race and hopefully break my personal record for that course. 

 8. Are you guys thinking down the road for a possible berth to the Nike Team Championships in Oregon ?

·         Experiencing the Nike Team Cross Country Championship in Oregon would be the ultimate for me. It’s one of the accomplishments I’m striving for this season and would make a great culmination to my senior year and final Cross Country season at Kellenberg. We’ve already accomplished many Kellenberg firsts this season such as a great performance at Great American in Alabama, and a team title in the Eastern States to name a few. It would be a great feeling to continue our running at NTN in Oregon as well.  

 9. What are your college plans and who is recruiting you?

·         I’ve worked really hard through high school and tried to maintain a high ranking in my class which has given me some college bound advantages when coupled with my running accomplishments. Although I haven’t made any college commitments yet, I’m really looking to attend the best academic college possible while continuing my running at a high level.

 Thanks for giving me the opportunity of this interview. Summitrunning is an excellent site. Thanks for sharing and operating it for the running community.

 Tom Elnick

SR: How long have you been coaching at Northport?
I began coaching as an assistant Winter track and head Spring track girls coach at Northport during the 1999-2000 school year.  Gradually, as positions freed up, I became the three season head coach starting in 2002. I'll complete my 22^nd season coaching at Northport at the end of spring. 

SR: Tell us a little about this year's team.
As you could imagine, I am quite thrilled with the team this season.  Although the girls may think I tell this to every team each year, they truly are the greatest team I have ever coached.  What's even better is   they are very young.  Looking at the team as a whole, 25 out of 30 girls on the roster are either first or second year participants. The consistent top five this season have been (in alphabetical order) Kelly Abbate (10^th), Camille D'Amato (8^th), Samantha D'Amato (10^th), Lianne Farber (10^th) and Elizabeth Fierro (9^th).   As several JV girls look to move up the ranks through the year and some very talented young girls get ready to join the team next year, the potential for the future looks great!  The girls are very serious about their success.  Several girls regularly reflect in a journal about their races, breaking down every aspect, from the week of training prior, right through to the post race cool down.  They are truly self motivated and 100% coachable.  When you have a full group of young girls with this same mindset, success is inevitable. 

SR:What would you say is your basic philosophy for team success

For a team to achieve success, each athlete must never lose sight of their role on the team.  Working to ensure that every member of the team is fully aware of their role on the team and how important it is to eliminate all selfish, negative thinking is a lesson taught beginning the first day of practice.

 It is very important for the kids to enjoy what they are doing.  With the rigorous academic schedule many distance runners take, it is critical for them to also have some fun and use cross country practice as their “play time.”  The ability for the girls to go for a run with their friends or accomplish a difficult workout helps clear their minds and rejuvenate them for the long hours of homework ahead on many nights. 

SR: Before Tuesday's huge upset in the Section XI Championships, how did you see your chances, realistically, of beating a team like Ward Melville which has been just tremendous this season?
Ward Melville is an outstanding team.  While we attempted to close the apparent gap with Ward Melville at the Manhattan College Invitational, a weak race by one of our top two put us totally out of contention with them.  As we went into the Section XI Championships, I told the girls that if you asked anyone who they thought would win the race, they would most probably state “Ward Melville.”  Therefore, they had nothing to lose and everything to gain by zoning in on the green and white jerseys and breaking up their packs wherever possible.  With some sub-par races by several of the Ward Melville squad, this worked out for us.  Of course on paper it did not seem likely, but the real lesson that hopefully my young girls will always remember and pass on to new members is that on any given day, anything can happen! 

SR: Your team, which is very young, has turned it up a few notches this year  Give us a general idea of the type of training your team has been doing this season.
My two main themes of training this season have been 1.  Progression and 2.  Less is more.  All the workouts that I do, whether 1600s, 800s or 400s, regular distance runs, tempo runs etc. have been progressive in pace, essentially cut down in some way both during the workout itself AND throughout the season.  I began this to some degree last year, and after some modifications this year, have felt really comfortable with how the training has gone.  On average the girls run roads 35-45 minutes each run, with a long run up to 55 minutes or so once a week.   Often the girls will take a day off, but I do believe that light, comfortable running is good recovery provided that there is no significant soreness, sickness etc.  We do between one and three workouts a week, depending on the time of season and race schedule.   In the past I have done these on “courses” throughout the community, but this season I've kept the team on the track for many of the workouts.  So far it seems to be working.  Throughout the season the girls have commented on just how confident they have felt with the training, which always helps lead to positive outcomes. 
Another driving principle I believe in is that less mileage produces more in the long run.  I have learned that it is easy to keep pushing the mileage and reps and intensity of training, but once you cross that fine line and do too much, you can not take it back.  This could be disaster for a season. When you do less mileage, less reps, you can always make slight adjustments and hopefully decrease the chances of injury. 
My first mentor of coaching runners was Tim Dearie.  I have taken many of the ideas and philosophies we have discussed over the years and worked to make them my own. 

SR: You are a discus thrower by trade.  How and why did you decide to coach XC?
One of the few things I missed about high school (Ward Melville) was being part of the track team.  As I entered teaching, coaching track was one of my goals.  At the interview at Northport, I was informed that the Spring Head Coach job was open as was an assistant for winter.  This proved to be the perfect set up.  At Northport, I came to realize that middle distance and distance runners made up the majority of the team.  When Bill Gerhardt retired as the boys coach, the girl’s position opened up and there was not even a question as to whether or not to take the job.  What was even better was that my wife was then the coach at Centereach High School, so we had yet another topic to discuss at dinner.  The ability to have continuity through three seasons is critical to the development of a truly successful program. 

Thanks Coach Visconti for an excellent interview and good luck to you and your girls the rest of the way.

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Our first interview is with Bobby Andrews of Shoreham Wading River High School.  Why Bobby Andrews, you might ask?  I admired Bobby the first time I saw him race as a freshman during XC.  He went for it.  He put himself in the "hurt locker" and kept going.  I thought he could be a star one day.  When he started his sophomore year, he didn't look himself and then he disappeared from the running scene.  I heard he was hurt but that's about it.  Fast forward to XC '07 and that precocious kid from SWR is back on the scene with some monster early season races.  He won the Jim Smith Meet Junior Class race by 22 seconds over a highly accomplished Brendan Connell of Smithtown, in 16:52.  He followed that up with a win at the Bob Pratt Meet by 24 seconds over another top county runner, Dylan Conway of Hauppauge, in 17:01.  Just this past weekend at the Suffolk Coaches Meet he was tested to the limit by Kevon Carter of Valley Stream Central.  In the end, Bobby won a thriller by 2 seconds in 16:44.16.  It is the fastest time run at Sunken Meadow this year.   I was curious about Bobby and what went on last year.  Enjoy!!!