The 2012 boys’ cross-country team, whose season was marked early by disappointment, doubt, and anxiety, has reason to be hopeful following the hire of a new coach, Marcus Stone, on Tuesday.
The search for a new coach began early this summer with the news that distance track coach Jonathan Hubbs would not be returning to Paly to run boys’ cross-country in the fall. Hubbs’s departure came on the heels of the resignation of Joe Ginanni, the former boys’ cross-country and distance track coach, who left his post following the 2011 season.
With no coach to guide the team over the summer and into the start of the school year, the seniors of the squad stepped up to fill the void. Team captains Justin Zhang (‘13), Kevin Lavelle (‘13), and Benjamin May (‘13) were elected by their teammates, who knew that they would have to depend on their captains more than usual this season.
“We’ve been running cross-country for three years,” Zhang said. “We know the ropes and we did not want the team to fall to pieces. We decided to take the reigns and lead the team for the first week.”
In taking charge, the select seniors organized practices and structured recommended workouts. Even with their leadership, the team was not officially recognized and remained unqualified to compete in the first meet of the season on Thursday, August 30. The urgency of the situation was apparent to all involved, including head track coach Jason Fung, who was involved in interviewing and hiring Stone.
“Of course, [not] having a coach doesn’t help,” Fung said. “We knew we had to find somebody quickly.”
The team captains were especially worried about how incoming runners, who are unfamiliar with Paly cross-country, would respond to not having a coach to lead them.
“Not having a coach would have a huge impact on the underclassmen who haven’t done [cross-country] before,” Zhang said.
This sentiment was echoed by freshmen team members.
“It wasn’t super helpful [to not have a coach], I have to admit,” Garrett Lees (‘16) said. “It was a little annoying especially because I just started school and was hoping for a coach to motivate us really well.”
With the rocky start behind them, the team is ready to move forward with its new coaching staff and make up for lost time.
The 27-year-old Stone, who moved to Palo Alto just a month ago from Nevada, has no coaching experience but ran for his high school cross-country team’s state championship team.
“I am very excited about the season,” Stone said. “I just want to get them in shape and try to get them the best they can be for any race.”
Coach Stone is not the only one looking forward to the upcoming season.
“Our goal this season is for us to get back onto CCS level,” Zhang said.
The expectations have been set and the team is looking forward to a positive season with the competition that awaits. The season kicks off next Thursday at the Gunn High School Alumni meet.