Tell me about your background and how you got into coaching.

I competed in cross country and track and field in junior high through high school and competed at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. My experience competing on the team there inspired me to pursue coaching as a career. So I started coaching at Hamlin University and then was coaching at Luther College, my alma mater; I coached eight years at the college level before coming out to the Northwest with my wife, and coached for a year at Sammamish High School, and then got the job, head cross country and track and field coach at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, and coached at PLU for eight years. Then, when the opportunity at Mount Si High School came up, I was excited to coach in the community in which we live.

What drew you back to coaching at the high school level?

It was really the opportunity to continue to work with young people and do that in the community in which we live. We’ve lived in Snoqualmie for six years, and we love this community. We have two young kids now and plan to raise them here. The opportunity to make an impact on young people close to home and the community in which we’re raising our kids was really exciting for me, and having a one-mile commute versus a 50-mile commute was a nice thing as well.

What are you most excited about regarding the upcoming season?

I’m really excited just to get to know the young people on the team, their goals, their aspirations, what they’re looking to get out of the experience, and just really build a lot of relationships and work on building community within the program.

How has your coaching experience prepared you for the new role at Mount Si?

I’ve really been coaching my whole adult life and working with young people, and I have a lot of experience writing training, building relationships with athletes, and building strong team culture. That’s what I’m excited to bring to the role of Mt. Si High School. The adjustment for me would be working with a little bit younger group, you know high school kids versus college kids, and just managing a large roster. Fortunately, we’ve got a great staff of assistant coaches who have experience here at Mount Si High School to help us out and help me apply my knowledge and experience to this specific environment.

What are your expectations and goals for the upcoming season with the girl’s team coming off of a state championship?

It is obviously exciting that the girls won state last fall, and I can see the perception of expectations or pressure being there after winning state. I really take a process-oriented focus versus focusing on outcomes with my coaching. That’s been something I’ve learned from my mentors and I think that’s especially important when there is previous success and maybe expectations or pressure. So we’re really just going to try to stay focused on the process of things that we need to do each day, each week to first and foremost, have a great experience and continue to grow and improve as runners.

What kind of culture do you want to instill within the program?

I talked about treating others with kindness and respect on the first day, and I think that’s where it all starts. Hopefully, we can create a really positive, welcoming, and inclusive team environment where everybody on the team feels valued. Whether they’re our fastest runner or toward the back of the pack, everybody has fun, has a great experience, and grows as a person and runner.