Shaker Heights cross country coach teaches kids to pursue their dreams
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio (BVM) 鈥� Dave Englander, a science teacher at Woodbury Elementary School in Shaker Heights, runs the girls and boys cross country teams at the city鈥檚 public high school. With the goal of helping his runners find success, he鈥檚 focused on doing more than just improving their times.
Last year鈥檚 regional cross country coach of the year has been tremendously successful, leading the girls team to consecutive top three finishes in the state, and helping a number of his athletes to the collegiate level. However, Englander doesn鈥檛 coach just to churn out results, he believes that there are more important things that can be taught through high school coaching.
Englander was a wrestler in high school, not a runner. In fact, the first cross country meet that he ever participated in was as a coach. Even without the experience, he learned many of the important life lessons that he tries to pass down to his high school runners through his time wrestling in high school.聽
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 run in high school and I was an average wrestler at best, but I gained a lot from my experience as a wrestler,鈥� Englander said. 鈥�…Wrestling taught me a lot about self-reliance, confidence, what I was capable of, and how I could be better than I thought I could be. I want to pass that on as best I can to coaching, because the world isn鈥檛 always a great place, and a lot of times kids don鈥檛 really understand that they have control over what happens to them. Running gives them a sense of, 鈥業f I put something into this, I get something out of it.鈥� I think that鈥檚 really important.鈥�
The Shaker Heights coach preaches focusing on every runner, trying to help them get the best out of themselves and beat their personal record times, regardless of whether they have the kind of talent to help the team reach states. Treating every runner with the same kind of respect, as long as they are willing to work hard, creates an environment of mutual respect where runners are willing to push themselves to be the best that they can be. The hope is that it can help them beyond just improving their results at meets.聽
鈥淯ltimately this is about a lot more than just winning cross country meets,鈥� Englander said. 鈥淚f I were only doing high school coaching for that, I鈥檇 be a pretty sad coach and person. At the end of the day, I鈥檓 an educator, and I鈥檓 trying to help kids find themselves and help kids be successful, and learn how they have control over their destiny to a certain degree. How their actions have merit and how they can help themselves.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 really the overall purpose of this; winning meets is important鈥� but even if kids aren鈥檛 college or state level runners, they can become runners and everyone can learn something about sacrifice and working towards a goal.鈥�
While creating a rewarding environment for runners who might not have become athletes otherwise, Englander simultaneously pushes his top runners and helps them to compete at a regional or state level, with many of them even getting college scholarships through their times. For Englander, the joy from helping his athletes achieve their goals through the sport often comes with perspective.聽
鈥淚 think the joy from that success comes鈥ith perspective,鈥� Englander said. 鈥淪ometimes once they get to that level, I get so worked up and caught up with what鈥檚 happening. [Coach] Petrick and I work well together because we have very different outlooks on the competitive side of things. Petrick is a 鈥榣ove to win鈥� guy, and he gets very excited when good things happen. I鈥檓 a 鈥榟ate to lose鈥� person.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very rewarding to see these kids have success, and I take tremendous pride in watching them go on to run in college. I looked every weekend to see how Sophie [Carrier] was doing at Kentucky, how Alexa [Jankowsky] was doing at Ohio State, and how Hailey [Stupay] was doing at Allegheny.鈥�
Englander tries to take an individual sport, where different athletes are competing with each other to have the fastest times, and create a dynamic team environment. Through activities like a week long cross country camp before the school year starts, and weekly team dinners at different runners鈥� houses, Englander creates a team where everyone is on the same page and is able to find common ground.聽
鈥淐reating that kind of environment is essential beyond just a competitive standpoint,鈥� Englander said. 鈥�When current runners look back at cross country 20 or 30 years from now, the races aren鈥檛 going to be their focus. They鈥檙e going to remember the team dinners [and] they鈥檙e going to remember hanging out with some of the other guys鈥�
鈥淭hese things are important, and it鈥檚 so easy for kids to fall into their niches and their cliques. The camp in particular, but all of the activities that we do are designed to break down barriers so that kids can really see the commonalities that they have amongst each other.鈥�
Englander鈥檚 emphasis on helping runners be in a comfortable and rewarding environment doesn鈥檛 mean that he doesn鈥檛 push them hard. They run six days per week, mixing in integral training and tempo work, while pushing each other to get to the next level. He admits that there is no secret to success. It all comes down to being willing to put in the work, and being willing to fight when you feel like you have nothing left. That鈥檚 why he鈥檚 devised his 鈥淗HH鈥� philosophy which gives his runners a gameplan in their race.聽
Englander explained that in the first mile you run with your 鈥渉ead鈥�, the second mile you 鈥渉unt鈥�, and try to pass as many people as you can, and the last mile, you run with your 鈥渉eart鈥�.
鈥淚t comes down to slowly tearing apart your shoes, day after day, mile after mile,鈥� Englander said. 鈥淭here are people that are so talented that they can have success without that extra work, but ultimately, to be the best, talent or not, you still have to put in those miles.鈥�
Englander is optimistic about the upcoming fall season, but thinks it鈥檚 more important to put emphasis on the process rather than results. He thinks there is already too much pressure on kids at that age, and wants to allow the hard work to take care of the results.
鈥淚鈥檓 optimistic, but years and years ago, there was a parent that said to me, 鈥業t must be very difficult for you to hinge your happiness on the performance of teenagers,鈥欌�� Englander said. 鈥淭hat was an interesting way of looking at it. You never know how kids are going to change and what life circumstances are going to pull them apart鈥�.There is just a lot on these guys.聽
鈥淚f we focus on the process of working hard every day and doing what we need to do to get better, the product will take care of itself.鈥�
