Roughly two kilometers into the Southwestern University Pirates country team's SCAC championship race in Colorado Springs, Head Coach Steve Cary watched as his men stood in lockstep with the best the conference had to offer.
This snapshot in time marked a vision of where Cary intends to take the program in the future but in the moment, the coach watched on with a knowing half smile.
"They were too aggressive and came out way too fast, sticking with guys they weren't normally around," Carey said. "You can run really well at altitude but you have to run smart. We totally got away from who we are and how we run."
A team comprised of three first years, three sophomores, and a single senior allowed the moment of a championship race override the team's tactical strategy. By the fourth kilometer, the surge of adrenaline dissipated and the effects of running at a mile above sea level kicked in, leaving the team exhausted and fading but still fighting.
"Our youth and lack of experience shined. We handled it a little better on the women's side but overall, having not been in that environment, we didn't know how to respond," Cary said. "They want it so bad but it can be a double-edged sword. I was disappointed we made such a tactical error but at the same time, they did fight. Even though they were more tired than I'd ever seen them, they were still giving 100 percent effort."
The mistake, it turns out, is a good problem to have. Enthusiasm and competitiveness are traits that can't be taught. Those qualities in abundance, however, are things that can be honed.
"I always says it's hard to coach individuals who aren't intrinsically motivated," Cary said. "In my coaching career, I've had individuals who've had that mindset, but as an entire team, this is probably one of the most intrinsically motivated teams I've ever coached."
Cary was officially tasked with running the Southwestern cross country program in January of 2019, giving him the spring to begin implementing his vision.
The team wasn't quite a blank canvas when he arrived—Fred Banuelos would be a returning senior with Nathan Botros, Doug Ginsberg, and CP Shaulis returning as sophomores on the men's side; and Emma McCandless and an injured Valerie Acosta were returning as sophomores on the women's side—but it was little more than a rough sketch.
"Going in, we knew our success was going to be largely based on building character," Cary said. "We lost a lot of guys last year and on the women's side, had a smaller roster than has been here in a really long time, so we just wanted to focus on getting better every practice, every race, building for the future and I thought we did well."
The secret to building a program has less to do with X's and O's or training regimens and more in defining a culture that sets the foundations for the rest to follow.
When Head Coach Joe Austin was tasked with building a new football program from the ground up, he began by embedding a list of virtues that collectively would comprise "the Southwestern Man." In volleyball, Head Coach Don Flora instills a sense of teamwork he calls, "the Pirate Way."
Long distance running can be a solitary endeavor but for Cary and the men's and women's cross country teams, the season was about building one family, one unit.
"I wanted the teams to be resilient, because every season you face a different kind of adversity and you need to be able to bound back," Cary said. "For that, I also wanted it to be fun. Success is fun but I wanted the sport, being part of a team, to be something every member couldn't do without.
"This group really gets it, they understand it's a brother and sisterhood. They rally around each other, encourage each other between both teams. We come together like a family, one program, one team."
On the course, it meant running in packs, grouping up to key off each other.
"I just want them feeding off each other, pushing each other," Cary said. "In races, the field does spread out a little more but just from the standpoint of gaining confidence, it helps to be running around your teammates."
After practices, it meant gathering for positivity circles in which the team would express positive things about a recent workout, race, or life outside of the sport.
"I facilitate the conversation but they're the ones who contribute and that's really powerful," Cary said. "I let them take ownership and it improves the communication we have as a group. People see that and think, 'I have a chance for my voice to be heard and be part of something bigger than me.' It becomes less about you and more about us."
The teams picked up their own traditions, gathering for team dinners and post-race shakes, and even a Halloween gathering for a pumpkin carving contest with Coach Cary and his family.
"Just seeing them interact, you saw the competitiveness in each of them, trash talking and having fun," Cary said. "At the end of the night, it was just fellowship with one another, sharing stories about the season and where they've been. It was just really a cool moment for me as a coach to watch them get along and have a good time."
From week to week, Cary would send different quotes for the team to ponder and discuss, including an important one from Jeff Janssen of the Janssen Sports Leadership Center:
CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS:
— Jeff Janssen (@janssenleader) April 2, 2019
- own their attitudes
- own their training
- own their execution
- own their mistakes
- own their results#OwnItAll #MentalityWins#CultureWins #ExecutionWins
"Coming off conference, we did not execute the way we should have and they owned that," Cary said. "They said, 'coach, we made a tactical error, that's on us. We got caught up in the moment, what do we need to do?'
"Then they went out and ran an almost perfectly executed race at regionals. Those characteristics resonate what this team has become."
The Pirates were led by youth in Cary's first season, with first years Noah Dennis and Emma Pertuit pacing Southwestern throughout the season and sophomores stepping up into leadership roles.
"We may not be fighting for championships right now but this team is developing a championship attitude and that, for me, is as important as the training itself," Cary said. "The other stuff will come. It's already happening. They've improved leaps and bounds. The few returners we've had are running a minute faster pretty consistently.
"You get those things right, owning your culture, team, and results, and you're moving in the right direction."
In the bigger picture of Cary's program, the Pirates are only coming across the first checkpoint. Thanks to lessons like the one learned in Colorado, and the resiliency to bounce back from them, they're far from fading. They're just getting started.