Justin Wrigley is in his 11th year as head coach of the boys and girls cross country teams at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and 16th year with the program. During Wrigley's time on the coaching staff, the Saints have won 12 of the school's 13 state championships, including sweeping the boys and girls titles in 2015.
KS MileSplit: How has the summer gone for your team? I heard that you spent some time training at altitude, right?
Justin Wrigley: We have had a really good summer. I'm very pleased with our numbers this summer, especially with the number of kids that consistently show up every day and also make the effort to run while they are on vacation. That is something that we have gotten a little bit better at each year and that's a major part of having a successful season. I think the large numbers of kids running consistently speaks volumes about the leadership of this team and about the culture the team has built over the years. We are very thankful for our alums and the culture they have created.
We also had a five day team camp in Colorado Springs again this summer. That is something we have been doing since 2009 and it is a really great team builder. While it's definitely a new challenge for the kids to run at that altitude, I don't know that they get any extra benefit from it because it's only five days long. The camp is really more about having fun and coming together as a team before the new season.
What is your mindset approaching a new season? As a team, do you talk specifically about winning a state championship, or do you talk more about getting better each day?
We are a very goal oriented program, as I am sure most teams are. We actually start that process shortly after cross country ends in the fall with a meeting to discuss and reflect on the past season and to decide what we hope to accomplish the following year. I think it's important to think about and discuss those things while it's all still fresh in your head.
We meet again right after track season and a final time at team camp in July. We talk about all kinds of things. We talk about the process and the lifestyle but we also talk about postseason goals. We don't shy away from big challenges. We want to win championships and we don't hide that. If we're not good enough to win in any particular year we will deal with those feelings after the season. Nobody ever died from missing their goal. It may hurt, but it can also teach you great things about yourself, the sport, life, and your opponents.
We also focus on becoming a family unit. We know that if we're closely bonded then the process is more fun, the improvements come easier and the goals become more attainable. People will do incredible things for the people they love so we try embrace that.
It is also important that kids learn to take on more responsibility and a greater leadership role as they get older. Each year is a new team and even if you return a lot of kids, each team will have a slightly different personality and so the summer is the time to determine what this year's team is going to be all about. It's a critical time of development for the individuals and the team.
What are some of the important regular season meets that you like to focus on? Why?
We host a very challenging meet in week one and then we travel to Forest Park in St. Louis the week after that. We always attend the Rim Rock Classic in week 4 and the KC Metro meet in week 5 as well. We really like to get out there and face the best competition we can find.
We like big invitationals with other teams that are very passionate about the sport. We want to reach the postseason very tough and tested so that the league, regional and state meets seem very small and less intimidating than they might otherwise.
You've also been successful in recent years at the Nike Heartland Regionals. How important are the post-season events to your team members and to you as a coach?
We feel it is important to go up and compete in the Nike regionals so our kids can see how much more competition there is outside of our state. We believe that greater competition makes us stronger as runners and as people. Going to Nike regionals on a regular basis has helped our kids gradually rise up to a higher level and also set higher expectations of themselves. We've had state champion and state runner up teams get beaten very badly in South Dakota in some years so it really opened up our eyes to what we were going to have to do if we wanted to compete on that level.
I think it has been a great experience for our program and they had their best team finishes so far in 2015. We're seeing more of our kids make the trip at a younger age and I believe it accelerates the process for them and prepares them for what to expect when they reach the varsity level. If our kids are going to ever reach the level of becoming national qualifiers, it's going to be because they were experienced and prepared. I don't think you can go up to a meet like that and hope to get lucky. You've got to be ready to beat the best.
Your teams are quite successful, obviously, but winning aside, what are the principals and values that you hope to establish on your teams?
Like most coaches, we want to see our athletes thrive as people. We hope to be able to teach them things through sport that will make them better people who are more prepared for life after high school. There's the obvious connection of hard work, dedication and sacrifice leading to successful outcomes in all areas of life but we really want them to also focus on caring for each other and becoming independent thinkers with strong communication skills.
We want our team to feel like a family where everyone belongs and is appreciated as long as they show up, stay positive and work to get better. We believe that athletes who care about each other will always fight much harder in workouts and in races because the outcome is shared by so many. Good people like to make other people happy and that's certainly true in sports.