An East Coast Coach With West Coast Resources
Coach
Sean Brosnan raced through the New York system as a prep. He went on to
compete at the NAIA level in College, as well as for Division 2 power Adams State. A runner
himself, he continued as a pro for a few years, before setting his eyes on a coaching position. His first choice was back at the D2 level, before ultimately ending up in the High School ranks.
Each step along the way, allowed for something added. Team sizes in New York are dwarfed by the rest of the country. Both NAIA and Division 2 schools can't compete with the resources allocated the big name powers. But as an athlete, and a coach, you learn to do less with more. It's that mentality that keeps the smaller schools relevant on the National stage.
What happens when that mentality meets the resources of a California school? Newbury Park.
A school with the enrollment of around 2400 students provides plenty of opportunity for a Coach to begin to make an impact.
But where to start?
Brosnan cites New York Coaches Bart Sessa and Sean Rice as the two major influences for him to get started in high school coaching. He met the pair at the Running School Cross Country Camp, a friendship over a decade long. The camp serves as a meeting place for athletes ready to train their minds and bodies for the upcoming season. It's an idea Brosnan would replicate with his own training camp in the Summer of 2021, one that would spur on one of the best prep seasons of All-Time.
Change was coming to the state of California.The Start of Something New
It's been six years since the Brosnans took over at Newbury Park. Within four years, they had won a national title, both individually and as a team. The rise has been quick.
Their first taste of success came in 2018, when they took third in the merge at the California State Meet. It earned them a trip to NXN, where they took sixth overall, and became the second highest placing CA team in the field. One year later, and they were on fire. Nico Young was better than ever, and their team was able to go toe-to-toe with Great Oak, who had led the state for much of the 2010s. Racing in different divisions, they would win the merge in 2019. At Nationals, they would win it all. Their performance at States stands as No. 9 All-Time. Great Oak's was No. 11.
Newbury Park had two sophomores on the team, and a single freshman. Hardly an indicator of future success, especially on the boys. But that freshman had a twin brother, and that sophomore had another brother down in 8th grade. The pieces were there.
2020 saw the rise of the pandemic, and training was limited, travel even more so. But Newbury made due, finding opportunities to race. It paid off. They went to neighboring States to escape local mandates, returning to the grind at home after each effort. Like Saratoga, they were clearly the best team in the country, but without a championship to prove it.
Newbury settled on the NSAF Meet of Champions as the end goal, one of eight "National Championship" races that popped up in the wake of NXN cancellations. A mess for sure.
But all questions were answered after the race. Newbury dominated the field, with Speed Ratings that ended any debate. They were better than the year before. They had clocked the No. 8 all-time ratings, and brought back all but two from their top 7.
Breaking The Mold - A Deep Dive Into 2021
For years, California teams followed a formula.
Field large rosters, bolstered by the large enrollment numbers. Whittle it down to your top 5, or top 7. Then, race fast, early and often.
Some years, the system worked. The genetic lottery would provide five to seven "high responders," which would provide the ability to compete for the national title. Other years, there would be teams 15-20 deep over the 170 Speed Rating barrier, but none over 183. Good for local success, but not enough to crack the national title contention.
Newbury Park has flipped the formula, resembling more closely a New York model.
Teams were smaller, more focused, averaging 45 per gender through 2018.
Gone was the need to race all out in mid-August.
In 2021, Newbury Park opened their invitational season on September 18th. They had planned to hold off until even later. In comparison, Arcadia 2010 (future NXN champs) opened on August 21st. Great Oak 2015 (NXN champs) opened on September 5th. Since then, they've only had one more strong effort, on Oct 9th, at the Asics Clovis Invite. Bucking the trend of top teams in the state, Newbury Park did not go to Mt. SAC.
The old adage goes, "Winning in October means nothing in December."
"Our program picks our races wisely and we definitely do not over race. We pick one or two races during the regular season and put our focus on the State Championships and NXN. We let the other teams race week after week and we focus on training and working hard. The guys stay motivated knowing they have an overall goal in December." Coach Brosnan, 2018.
Unlike teams of the past, every time they competed, they did so as a unit, whether at full speed or not. No swapping members out, no sitting top runners on the bench. Team synergy is created through racing, whether at full speed or not. And even at half-speed, their team looks impressive.
At the Southern Section finals, Newbury Park swept the top six spots, the first time that has ever been achieved. Like many great teams of the past, they trained straight through a major championship, with eyes on something bigger in the future.
If the Southern Section finals are any indication, we're about to see something historic come State, and then something fast at RunningLane.
All-Time Rank
Based solely on the two major races they've had so far, Newbury Park is hard to argue against for the greatest boys team of all-time. It's a combination of good coaching, four athletes that can be classified as high responders, and the motivation to excel. It doesn't hurt to have two Nico Youngs on your team, a team leader that took both individual and team honors at NXN. Not only that, but you have the Sahlman family, who are also high responders, to keep pace in workouts and races. Good athletes train like great athletes when there is always someone to push them. For Newbury Park, it's the perfect storm.
No other team has had four athletes over 190, let alone 194. No team has averaged over 191. They have a 194.5, with two more races to go. The ranking is clear.
For Cross Country, a rising tide lifts all boats. Not only does the attitude and ability of the top 4 inspire the rest of the boys' team to excel, but it also provides an example for the girls' team. A strong measure of a boys team is the success of their girls. If one succeeds while the other maintains, much of the success can be attributed to the strong genetics of the successful team. When both see the uptick that Newbury is seeing, then the success lies in the philosophies of the program.
Newbury Park, both boys and girls, have two more major efforts left in the season. Already listed atop the all-time lists, all they can do is improve. It's a treat to watch.