Interviews: Don Fritsch of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Catching Up With Coach Fritsch
By: Keith Solverson
Coach Don Fritsch is entering his ninth year as the UW-La Crosse men's cross country head coach. After taking over in 1998, Fritsch has led the Eagles to two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships and five Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) titles. Coach Fritsch was named the 2001 and 2005 NCAA Division III Cross Country Coach of the Year.
How does the team look this year (I know you lost a big senior class and your front runners from last year)? Who are you expecting to step up? Any incoming freshman you expect to make an impact right away?
We lose All-Americans Mark “Boomer” Creger and Nate Hoffman along with the outstanding leadership abilities of Mike Herlihy and Bill Walkowicz. The team must also absorb the losses of seniors Scott Schmick, Tony Sella, Eric Jajtner, and Sean Luedke. These guys were instrumental in bringing three trophies home from national meets in the last three years, culminating with the 2005 National Championship title. Other losses to the team include John Heitzman, Scott Mueller, Jake Sheldon, Luke Langhorst, and Eric Werner. Collectively they made the 2005 team one of the deepest and most talented teams on record. Their loss will be a huge blow to the team as they account for over half of the 2005 roster. Big challenges for the 2006 team will be in replacing the front running strength and the leadership qualities lost with the graduation of a large senior class combined with the additional attrition to the roster.
In spite of these losses the ’06 team could be a semi-veteran team with the projected return of five seniors and seven juniors on the roster and some with varsity experience. We will hopefully be highly ranked throughout the season and a favorite to trophy for the fourth year in a row. To do this we must stay healthy and our underclassmen have to step up to the challenge of leading the team. The top challenge from within the conference should come from Platteville and Oshkosh. Platteville returns their entire national team and Oshkosh returns a good team if the right combination of factors falls into place for them. Stevens Point should also be much better than last year. Nationally, the team that will be the clear favorite to win will be the 2003 and 2004 two-time champion Calvin College, who returns their entire team. Calvin will dominate this year like never before and the race at nationals will likely be for second place. As always, it should be a very interesting season to see how things fall into place for each team.
Senior captains Kevin Oelstrom and Cory Hayden will be relied on heavily for guidance in both leadership and performance. John Heitzman, who was our 4th man at nationals last year, will not be with us this year due to chronic inflammation in his knee that has prevented him from training since March. John has posted outdoor 5K personal best times of 14:53.81 and has a 10K best of 31:39.17. Kevin Oelstrom led off the National Champion Distance Medley Relay at Indoor Track Nationals in the spring of 2006 and was our 3rd man last year on the national championship cross country team. Both John and Kevin ran exceptionally well at nationals last year to play vital roles in winning that national title and the loss of Heitzman will hurt. Seniors Cory Hayden (15:05.61/31:19.74) and Jim Parejko (15:08.96) will be counted on to step into varsity roles for the first time. They must convert their solid track performances into consistent, top flight cross country racing this fall. Transfer senior Jake Rhyner has two years experience competing in national meets and that will hopefully play in our favor. Another veteran senior who is returning to top form is Nick O’Malley who helped the team earn a 3rd place trophy in the 2003 national championships. Juniors Paul Zdroik (14:42.86) and Dan Thour (14:50.47) are both quality runners who need to step up in a big way for us this season. Zdroik also qualified for nationals in the steeplechase in 2005 with a 9:09.50. We also have a nice group of youngsters working their way up the ranks that we will be looking to for help at all levels on the team. Most notable among this group are Kevin Olejar who ran 15:20.83 in the 5K and placed 3rd with a 9:22.67 clocking in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in the WIAC championships as a freshman. Not to be outdone, fellow freshman Ben Herdeman ran to a 5th place finish in the outdoor conference meet with a 15:06.51 in the 5,000 meter run. Another interesting prospect is red-shirt freshman Paul Moran who won the Loras Open 5K last spring in 15:29.14. In that same race another runner who will be a freshman for us this fall, Connor Lonning, finished 3rd in 15:36. Lonning, a 2005 La Crosse Aquinas graduate, really enjoys the longer distances and I think will be an excellent collegiate Cross Country runner. A potential wild card on the team this year is Gabe Siehr who is an 800/1500 meter runner on the track team and is coming out for Cross Country for the first time in college. Gabe was in Europe all of last year, but returns to us with impressive personal bests of 1:51.45 in the 800 and 3:54.38 in the 1500 meters. Remember also that Siehr anchored our DMR in the 2004 indoor national meet with an incredible 4:10 in the final 1600 meters. How well Gabe takes to the longer distances in Cross Country is a bit of a mystery at this time, but my guess is he will do quite well and better than many might expect. Our top freshman prospect this year is Karl Grodevant from Tomahawk, Wisconsin who ran 4:25.13 in the 1600 meters and 9:38.03 in the 3200 meters in the WIAA state track meet. Karl placed 4th in Division II in the 3200 meters at the state track meet and placed 3rd in the state cross country meet (16:20.4) in 2005. Another Wisconsin freshman who should compete is Cory Hayden’s little brother Scott Hayden from Eau Claire North. Three Minnesota freshmen who should make the team and make an impact include Sam Schmidt (Faribault); Kyle Coghlan (Stillwater) and Ben Plankis (Lakeville North). Coghlan was 16th in the 2005 Minnesota Class AA cross country championships while Plankis was 28th in the same race. Joining the team as transfers will be Joe Wawrzyniak, Steve Vesbach and Mark Magruder. All three were solid high school runners, but struggled in their respective college programs. We’ll see if we can get them moving in a more positive direction in our program.
All in all, it looks like a major rebuilding project this year, but this list illustrates that we will again have a deep squad this fall that will be capable of competing with the best teams in the nation. We will need many young untested and unproven runners to step up for us and compete consistently at levels never before experienced. We must set our standards high and stay focused on team goals. As always, all teams need a little luck along the way in terms of avoiding illness and injury, especially down the stretch. We will have a target on our back and other teams will be coming after us and keying on us. We must stick with the themes that have proven successful for us in the past. That being a team attack of pack running and patience. Within each race and also throughout the entire season we need to “run with the end in mind”. I expect to have a lot of fun this season as this will once again be a great group of guys to work with. We will have high goals as usual and I’m sure we will throw our best effort into discovering how good we can be.
Since 2000, you have won two National Championships, brought home four trophies, and placed in the top 10 each year...what does it take to compete at such a high level each and every year?
It’s all about the “La Crosse Secret” which means that we have a wonderful tradition of excellence and great kids that are willing to work hard and sacrifice to carry that tradition into the future. I am simply the captain of a great ship that was built and sailed by men like Cross Country coach Phil Esten and Track coach Buck Jones over 30 years ago. I steer the ship, but the student-athletes are the ones providing the energy and power to keep it at full steam. I have a quote in my office that I think is the epitome of our team philosophy and helps to explain why we go into every season with the attitude that we can be the best and will strive to be the best in our division. “Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe. Dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible.”
What made you want to become a collegiate cross country coach and what steps did you take in achieving this goal?
Like most kids I started to learn that I could run well in the Presidential Fitness assessments in elementary school physical education classes. Back in those days the aerobic endurance run was only 600 yards, but I was at the top of my class every year. After going out for Cross Country my freshman year in high school and immediately running varsity all season, I was well on my way to becoming a serious distance runner. But, I really felt that I could have been a lot more productive in high school had I been challenged more in my training. I really wanted to give high school student-athletes more opportunities for success than I felt were offered to me. So, after finishing my collegiate running career at UW-La Crosse, I began looking for ways to get involved in coaching. In the fall of 1980 I was student teaching in La Crosse and I wanted to supplement my coaching minor with some practical coaching experience before graduation. I hooked up with Pat Mulrooney and his Logan High School boys Cross Country team as an assistant coach. I had a wonderful experience working with that team and that ignited my passion for coaching. After relocating to Stevens Point I was fortunate to land a position as an assistant coach in the track program at Pacelli High School in charge of the distance runners. The next fall the Cross Country coach decided not to come back so they offered me the position. My girl’s team won the state title in my first season with them and that began a great ten year dynasty in Cross Country at the school.
Would you briefly describe your program's training philosophy (volume, intensity, etc.)?
Like all competitive programs we use a multi-paced, multi-tiered approach to training. I try to find balance between the application of science to training and keeping things simple, because running doesn’t have to be as complicated as some people would have you believe. My roots go back to the early 70’s as a runner here at La Crosse and in those days there was little science applied to distance running. All of the runners that Coach Esten brought into this program - and that helped build the traditions that we have today – only knew one thing for certain, and that was if you outworked your opponent you were going to beat them most of the time.
Our volume ranges anywhere between 60 and 90 miles a week in the summer and 65 to 85 miles per week during the season. We consider ourselves to be a developmental program and take guys from wherever they are when they come in and try to gradually build them up to higher levels over time.
Are there any specific workouts that you feel prepare your team for important meets (championship season)?
I definitely do not. Great running and racing comes from consistent training over a long period of time, followed by a sensible taper. Our program provides the proper stimulation of all the necessary energy systems. As long as the young men in the program pay attention to detail and stay healthy down the stretch, they will be prepared to perform well in critical situations during the championship season.
What does a typical training block look like for your program the last three weeks of the season?
During the last three to four weeks of the season we gradually cut our mileage. For some it may be cut in half, while for others it may not be reduced as drastically. We reduce the amount of VO2 Max work and increase our volume of threshold mileage. We do more track work with some fun team relays and the general focus is on resting and racing.
What are your thoughts about the new qualifying format for the NCAA's?
I’ve always been an advocate for increased participation and for giving kids opportunities to travel and experience the championships within their sport and within their division. My biggest concern with the increased field size is finding adequate courses to host nationals that can realistically handle that many athletes. I’ll never forget what it was like running NAIA nationals at Parkside with fields of nearly 400 runners. There is no doubt in my mind that the shear size of the field played a role in the outcome of the race for many individuals and teams. My fear is that the expanded field size will change the dynamics of the race, especially if the course can’t handle the numbers. It will be unfortunate to say the least if the outcome of the race is dependant on how many lucky or unlucky breaks an individual or team experiences because of excessive crowding.
What changes would you like to see made?
As far as nationals goes with the expanded field size, I would like to see the committee start looking at using some of the same courses that have been used in Division I. The course at Indiana State, for example, is a wonderful site and would make for a fantastic experience for athletes and fans alike. Financial incentives should be improved for host schools in order to increase the number of institutions willing to place bids for nationals. And, like they are beginning to do in track, they should take a serious look at keeping the national meet at a favorable site for two to three consecutive years.
Thank you to Coach Fritsch for a great interview.
post comment
yo keith
5:56 PM, September 16, 2006
.. Posted by Betty
Keith-
Nice interview w/ Coach Fritch. I've had several conversations with since I've been in La Crosse, and he is a cool guy. Hope things are going well for you in Indy. Gimme a holla!
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