Competitive Cross Country Season Announced For Fall 2021
The MYP running club in May 2021 (Photo Courtesy of Mr. James Dudley).
In May of 2021, the Massachusetts Bay Independent League (MBIL) announced the return of a competitive cross country season for Fall 2021, a year after the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MBIL has thus far released a tentative meet schedule of dates ranging from September to early November.
The new season arrives with notable changes, both at the league level and at Newman. For the first time, History Department Chair and men’s head coach Mr. James Dudley will be joined by Latin instructor Mr. William Callif. Mr. Callif, who has had previous experience coaching women’s lacrosse, will coach the women’s team. The two plan to work closely, additionally serving as assistant coaches for each other’s teams.
“I’m really excited to work with the students here at Newman, and make people passionate about cross country,” Mr. Callif commented.
Mr. Dudley echoed Mr. Callif’s enthusiasm. “I think we’ll be helping each other out. He was a competitive athlete in college, like I was, [so] he’ll bring a lot of knowledge to the table.”
At the league level, the MBIL has made a notable change to the way meets will be organized.
“In the past, every meet was a league meet where all the teams in the league would run two races [in one day]; one for the boys and one for the girls,” Mr. Dudley explained. “They’ve split that in two this year, so every week there will be a Tuesday meet and a Wednesday meet. On Tuesdays, one half of the league runs, and on Wednesdays, the other half of the league runs. It’s a little less chaotic for sure.”
The announcement of cross country’s formal return has stirred excitement among the coaches and athletes alike.
“I was pretty disappointed that it got cancelled last season, but having it back, I’m definitely looking forward to it. This is going to be my last season, so [I’m looking forward to] competing in my last opportunity to see how much I’ve improved,” said Senior Paul Simko.
Junior Chloe Randazzo agreed. “I definitely missed [the competition], because it’s really fun to get out and run. I really like the satisfaction of competing. Even if you don’t win, it’s like a personal progress [achievement],” she said.
The MYP running club in Fall 2020 (Photo Courtesy of Mr. Dudley).
Junior Abraham Franco credited the MYP running club as an excellent placeholder for a competition throughout the 2020-21 school year, in terms of recruiting players and bolstering enthusiasm for cross country.
“It’s incredible how far we’ve come, most certainly. I am very excited to be seeing the numbers grow, we [had] a tremendous year [with the running club], and I’m really excited that we’ll be in a competitive environment,” he said.
Mr. Dudley agreed, and is looking forward to seeing the enthusiasm for the running club translate into formal practices. “It’s nice to see kids outside the context of the classroom, and [the] running club does that. You get to see a competitive streak in students that you didn’t necessarily know was there. Fully meaningful practices really reveal another side of the student.”
In preparation for the season, Mr. Dudley encouraged students to build up their levels of fitness. “Ideally, students [should] start off running three days a week, get some different types of workouts, and by the end of the summer get to a point where they’re in pretty good shape and feel confident enough to dive into the season,” he stated.
Simko concurred. “My last season, I did not condition before the season, which resulted in some injuries. I’m [focused on] my own conditioning and preparation for the season, to make sure that I’ll be prepared to perform at my peak level.”
Although COVID-19 got in the way of a formal cross country season, the pandemic did not dampen the team’s passion for the sport.
“I think that it’s a sport that could be for anyone, if you’re used to running or if you’ve never ran a mile in your life, cross country is a great sport,” Mr. Callif said.
Randazzo shared the same sentiment. “I feel like a lot of people [think] ‘oh, I can’t run on the team because I have no experience.’ But it really doesn’t matter, because [running makes] you feel good.”
