Blogs : NCAA Division III Blog

Coach Crooke is currently in his seventh season as head men's and women's cross country coach at Wesleyan University (CT).  Under Coach Crooke's guidance the men's and women's cross country teams have been competitive on the national scene.  The women's team made its first appearance in school history at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in 2002 placing 23rd.  They came back in 2004 to place 14th.  The men's team made its first appearance in school history last year at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships placing 14th.  After the 2005 cross country season Coach Crooke was named NESCAC Men's co-Coach of the Year and New England Division III Men's Coach of the Year.

By: Derick Lawrence (09/20/2006)

What made you want to become a collegiate cross country coach and what steps did you take in achieving this goal?

My coaching career started later than most. I really didn’t think about coaching after I graduated from college. I wanted to focus on my running. I was still running competitively when I answered an ad for an assistant coaching job at a local high school. They offered me the head coaching job. After one season I knew that this was something I wanted to do for the foreseeable future.  At that point I started to think about coaching full time. The only option was to coach in college.

The 2006 cross country season marks your seventh season as head men's and women's cross country coach at Wesleyan University.  Could you tell us about your previous coaching history prior to arriving at Wesleyan University?

I was the head boy’s and girls’ cross country, indoor track and boy’s outdoor track coach at Lower Merion HS (PA) for 7 years. After Lower Merion I spent 3 years as the associate head coach in charge of the women’s program at Widener University (PA). I accepted my first full time job at Hiram College (OH). I spent 2 years as the Head men’s and women’s cross country and track coach at Hiram before accepting my current position at Wesleyan.

In your profile on the Wesleyan University Athletics website it states you graduated from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia in 1983.  Also, while at St. Joseph's University you were a team captain in both cross country and track, earning all-Atlantic 10 honors in each while also receiving all-East accolades in cross country.  Could you tell us a little bit about your collegiate running career?

I had a solid college career. I was not a superstar; I was a hard working guy who made the most of what God gave me.

Would you briefly describe your program's training philosophy (volume, intensity, frequency, etc.)?

Our guys run 55 miles to 85 miles a week and our women run 40 to 60 miles a week. We race every other week in the fall. We do one hard workout the weeks we race and two the weeks we don’t.

Who has influenced you the most in your coaching?

All of my coaches influence me in some way. Each had strengths that I try to use in my coaching. If I was to pick one coach, it would be Tom Donnelly of Haverford College. Tom coached me for a time after I graduated from college.

Could you tell us about your men's and women's teams this cross country season (returning upperclassmen, incoming freshmen, etc.)?

The 2006 women's cross country team has the potential to be a very good team. The Cardinals will be led by team co-captain and three-time All-American Ellen Davis '07. Davis has been one of the top runners in the country for the past year. Last winter she ran 16:46 for 5k. Lucia Pier '08 and Anna Schindler '09 should be the Cardinals number two and three runners.  Pier has run the 5k in 18:22 and Schindler has run it in 18:30.  There are several newcomers that the Cardinals will have to depend on if they want to move onto Nationals.

The 2006 men's cross country team has the potential to be the best Wesleyan has ever seen despite the loss of All-Americans Owen Kiely '06 and Wes Fuhrman '05. The 2006 squad will have quality and depth. Five varsity runners return from last year's team. Leading a large senior class will be Jon King '07. King was 15th at regionals last fall and had an outstanding track season. He placed second in the NESCAC 5k and had a seasonal best of 15:05 for the 5k. Alex Battaglino '07 who struggled last fall rebounded to have an outstanding track season. Battaglino was the Little Three champion in the 5k and NESCAC champion in the 10k. He ran 15:08 for the 5k and 31:13 for the 10k. Anda Greeney '07, coming off his first track season, should be right with King and Battaglino. He ran 15:09 for the 5k and 31:50 for the 10k. Sean Watson '08 had a breakthrough track season running 15:15 for 5k. Nick Holowka '07 and Jonah Blumstein '09 also had fine track seasons. Holowka ran 15:38 and Blumstein ran 15:42 for 5k. Mike Brady '07, who placed 32nd in the region last fall, had some injury problems during the winter which derailed his season. He ended up running 15:45 for the 5k. Nate Huddell '07 and Ed Kenney '07 along with Matt Shea '08 have a chance of breaking into the top seven. Huddell ran 9:45 in the 3k steeple chase and 15:56 in the 5k. Matt Shea, who was the seventh man on last fall’s team, was having a fine spring season when he contracted a case of mononucleosis. While the team will not have any super stars, the closeness of the top nine runners will make for a strong pack.

Is there any running related training material (books, scientific journal articles, etc.) that you commonly refer to throughout a cross country season? 

I refer to the Daniels Running Formula a lot. I use the VDOT training intensities charts.

Are there any motivational techniques that you incorporate in your program to get your team fired up?

I don’t try to get my team fired up. I think it is important to keep an even mental outlook. I have found that most athletes get over excited if you try to fire them up.

What are your thoughts about the new qualifying procedures for the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships?

I liked the old system. I think we were the only NCAA sport that had it right. I want the athletes to decide who goes onto nationals, not a committee.

What are 2 key workouts that you incorporate into the peaking period of a cross country season?

We run a controlled 2 mile time trial a week before regionals. That gives us a good idea of where we are.

What aspects of coaching do you feel are the most rewarding?

The first is that you meet amazing people. I have been lucky to coach some outstanding and talented people. Secondly, seeing my athletes run up to their potential.

For those that are aspiring to become a collegiate cross country coach, what would be the best piece of advice you would give them?

I think every coach should have to coach at the high school level for a few years before they think about coaching in college. But that might not be the best way to get a college job. I think the best way to get into college coaching is to start with a grad assistantship. Spend two years learning the ropes from an accomplished coach. I think that would give you the best opportunity to get into it.

Thanks to Coach Crooke for a great interview.