Coach Jack Reed To Re-Release His Tribute to Section 3 Cross Country

Jack Reed is more than just a retired history teacher from upstate Jordan-Elbridge.  He is a high school coach, a very successful one, who has led Skaneateles to numerous State and County titles.  After retiring from teaching in 2006, Reed wanted to do something to memorialize his time as a Coach in one of the strongest sections in the country.  So he wrote.  All summer in fact, gaining encouragement and support from the close network of friends cross country coaching provides.

"I wanted to pay tribute to the sport," Reed said.  "I have a history background, so I wanted to produce a piece of running history for runners to engage with for years to come.  I think I've accomplished that with Back to the Front."

It would take until 2009 for the first release to come out commercially.  When it did, kids were able to read a humbling story of the truth behind the titles.  Coach Reed lays it all out on the table, holds nothing back of the tragic car accident that took the life of a teenager, the former Skaneateles athlete-turned Olympian emailing Reed the day before his biggest race ever, and even the personal turmoil of coaching an unsuccessful team after a decade of champions.  Back to the Front is a must read for any cross country coach in New York state.  The intimate relationship Reed describes with the sport is mirrored every weekend throughout the state.  Topics still being talked about today, such as team uniforms at states, are intimately addressed through Reed's own frustrations with the sport he loves.  A story like no other before it, the text is laced with emails from parents and athletes, letters from former athletes 20 years later, and dozens of recounted memories that will last a lifetime for their possessors.