Thiells, NY - Last Fall, North Rockland accomplished something no team, Boys or Girls, had ever done from Section 1. They had qualified for Nike Cross Nationals, garnering an At-Large bid behind FM and Saratoga. The At-Large bid was well spend on the Lady Raiders, as they went on to finish 10th overall at Nationals, putting all three New York Teams within the Top 10. They look to return this fall, and are poised to do so, bringing back 5 veteran runners from last year's team.
The 2016 edition of North Rockland Girls XC will be looking to make it back to States first. They only have 9 program appearances at the State Meet, testament to the depth of quality in Section 1. Their boys team has a Federation win in 2009, something else the Raiders will be on the lookout for. The team is coming off one of the best track careers in program history, with three legitimate front-runners leading the pack. With Katelyn Tuohy and Haleigh Morales now in high school, and Alex Harris in her final season ever, there is much to accomplish.
The team meets at the track during the summer, going through warmup routines before practice. North Rockland high school has it's own maze of trails in the back woods, perfect training grounds for cross country. About once a week, they'll visit the Hook Mountain Trail at the Nyack Beach State Park, to vary up their training conditions. They'll get their first taste of competition at the Pre-State Meet this fall, with Manhattan the next target on the Calendar.
Hear From the Team
Quick Questions With Coach
Head Coach - Brian Diglio (Digs)
1. What about cross country was it, that originally enticed you to begin coaching?
This will begin my 21st season coaching cross country. I was
fortunate enough to get my start at Clarkstown South HS coaching with
Ray Roswell and Ray Kondracki, and learned a tremendous amount from them
both. But I knew I wanted to coach cross country from a very young
age. My father, Vincent Diglio, was a long-time
cross country and track & field coach at Clarkstown North HS and
many of my favorite memories as a child are of going to practices and
meets with the girls and boys teams. What cemented my desire to coach,
was my HS coach at Monroe-Woodbury, the incomparable Lou Hall. So the
lessons I have learned from coaching with (or being coached by) these
men gave me the start I needed.
2. What is the thought process that goes into designing an
Invitational Schedule for a team, knowing their potential? What meets,
and why?
As far as
designing a schedule, I am a big proponent of train more, race less.
Obviously you need a certain amount of races to give the girls race
experience, but beyond that, I'm more of a follower of the collegiate
style of XC, and like to race as few times as possible. In terms of
competition, we are incredibly fortunate in Rockland County and Section 1
to get all the competition we can handle. Perennial powers like Pearl
River, Suffern, Bronxville and Arlington keep my girls plenty sharp and
focused. So you don't need to travel too far to get beat! In terms of
invitationals, I try and use them to teach my girls about what they will
face come championship season. So it may be a particular course, or a
style of course, or even a few teams you may want to race against (or
not). But each team changes from year to year, and their needs are
different every year, so we don't stick to a set cross country schedule.
3. What is something you've been working on long term in your training plan as a coach, that has enabled the potential of the current team?
In terms of my girls success last year (and hopefully this year), I can
say with absolute honesty, it hasn't been anything I've done. I simply
have the most talented group of girls that I have ever coached. While
you try and get better every year as a coach, and I always am trying to
implement new training techniques and drills, talent always wins out.
What does not change, is my philosophy. Every girl on the team is
equally important to me. As long as they give me their maximum effort
and dedication, they receive the same from me whether they are my #1 or
#21 girl.
4. Do you train for mileage or for minutes, and why?
We train for mileage with
returning girls and minutes for newbies. I like to do that because the
returning girls should have an understanding of pace and tempo, and we
like to dictate that our runs be at a certain pace, which is
individualized for each girl. For the noobs, minutes is enough to make
sure they are getting in the work they need, without getting overworked.
5. How do you balance the workload across a diverse population of
athletes? When training upperclassman among underclassman, how do you
create synergy between the two distinct periods of athletic development?
In terms of integrating training, that is my biggest challenge this
year because we have such a wide range of abilities. While it is an
absolute treat to coach an Alex Harris, Katelyn Tuohy and Haleigh
Morales, they are kind of workout busters! So I have to make sure that I
am able to individualize each runners workout (or hopefully each groups
workout) to make sure they are getting in the work they need. We will
see if it works out come October!
