Cross country expectations always high in Oak Park

Acorn Sports Writer


Coach Kevin Smith

Coach Kevin Smith

When Oak Park High School’s cross country Coach Kevin Smith transferred from Moorpark College to UCLA he had dreams of running for one of the premier teams in the nation.


UCLA’s track coach was Jim Bush, the equivalent to John Wooden in basketball.


"I walked into the office to ask if I could come out for the UCLA team," said Smith, the longtime Eagles’ cross country and track coach. Instead of a welcome and some encouragement, Bush flatly asked, "Did I recruit you, son?"


"There was no other conversation," Smith said, recalling a moment that could have soured him on the sport he loved. "Just a painful silence."


After walking quietly out of the legendary running coach’s office in Westwood, Smith resolved to turn the stark encounter into something positive.


"To me it was an important lesson in how to treat every kid," Smith said after a recent practice of his highly regarded cross country teams. "Never leave a kid feeling empty at the doorway."


And so, when Oak Park brought Smith on as its coach of cross country and track 16 years ago, Smith brought with him the feeling that there was more to running–or any sport for that matter–than winning and losing.


"I think Oak Park is a unique environment for kids," Smith said. "There’s enormous pressure, both within the community and internally among the athletes here. They’re highly motivated."


Because of all that’s expected of the boys and girls, the young men and women that run at Oak Park or at any other high school in the year 2000, Smith knows that he’s teaching more than running skills.


"How do you balance athletics, academics, religion, family, community?" he asked, noting what a typical Oak Park runner and student grapples with every day.


"What we’ve tried to do here is create a more flexible environment to encourage the kids. I think that’s an important element in growing up."


Smith, who teaches U.S. history and economics at Oak Park, said that he and his staff, who he praises with great passion, try to allow the athletes to sometimes arrange their own practices or even run on their own.


That may seem like an honor system-type of coaching that might be "hands off," but don’t for a second believe that Smith isn’t in control of what’s become one of the top running schools around.


"When we first started here at Oak Park, we had only six kids," he said. "And today we have over 100." Of those, the boys’ varsity squad is 15 or 16 runners deep, an incredible number, Smith said.


The Oak Park coach said he tries to instill in his athletes an appreciation for running as well as all sports.


He also notes the special bonds that hard training can create.


Discipline, dedication and a respect for people in the sport are virtues that Smith demands in his runners.


"Also to understand the history of their sport," he said. "What does it mean? Where are we coming from as athletes? Where are we going?"


When he was growing up—Smith attended Agoura H.S.—there were names he and other athletes gave certain running areas: "The Oregon Trail" and "Mount Agony" in Westlake, and "Prefontaine Trail" named after Steve Prefontaine, which ran through Triunfo Canyon.


In those early days as a runner, Smith learned that distance running not only requires stamina, but a sense of vulnerability.


"When you’re out on the road and you’re training, at some point your soul is stripped naked," he said. "There is a level of pain that only another runner is going to understand, and that experience bonds you as teammates and also develops respect between runners."


It’s important that his runners have role models and Smith’s assistant coaches comprise a microcosm of the real world.


"What I love about our staff is they get out there every day and they’re running with the kids," Smith said. "They’re getting down and dirty with them."


Oak Park athletes run practices with teachers, accountants, paramedics, as well as one California Highway Patrol officer, Smith said.


"The wealth of experience they bring every day to practices makes this an even richer atmosphere for the kids. We have the support of the community behind us and that makes this opportunity even greater."




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