We’re all big believers that we do better if we have the latest and best resources and tools.
Can’t argue with that, but what happened this year to the girls track and field team and their coach at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) reminds us that human beings have the ability to thrive despite adversity.
The girls track and field team placed 10th in the State Relays among 35 teams, and a month later took third in the Division 4 state championships, their best finish ever, riding a series of personal-best performances by several Vineyarders, including Olivia Smith, Pearl Vercruysse, Whitney Schroeder, and others. Their coach, Joe Schroeder, was named girls track Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe.
The stunner in the Vineyarders’ Relay and D4 performances is that the team was entered in only seven of the 17 Relay events, and five of the 12 D4 events.
All this from a program that doesn’t have the luxury of huge numbers of kids, and one that has not held a home meet for a year because of its substandard track, being replaced in 2018.
We spoke with Mr. Schroeder this week to ask about his team’s success. His short answer: The kids did it.
The longer answer likely also involves the focus and leadership of a veteran coach and his assistant coaches, Joel Graves, David Araujo, and Tara Nitardy. As evidence, we can report that Mr. Schroeder has won before. The Globe named him Cross-Country Coach of the Year in 2001. And he’s been at it awhile, coaching track for 30 years, one season at Walpole High School and 29 years at MVRHS.
“I was joking at the awards dinner the other night that Mackenzie Condon has been running away from home for seven months,” he said. Ms. Condon, entering her junior year this fall, has never competed on her home field, but placed second in the D4 100 meters, just behind teammate Olivia Smith. Ms. Condon also placed second in the 400-meter hurdles.
This team began the season with 15 kids, and placed third because it won or placed in four of the five events the team entered. Big results for small numbers.
“Big numbers are good for programs. We don’t have huge numbers like some schools. I remember showing up for a meet at Old Rochester, and they had more javelin throwers than we had on the entire team. Don Herman [former MVRHS football coach] always had his kids run track, and that helped. Numbers have wavered a bit in recent years because of girls and boys lacrosse, but our numbers are there,” Mr. Schroeder said.
Joe Schroeder doesn’t like to talk about himself, but is happy to talk about Marylee, his wife of 28 years, and his three kids, who ran track at MVRHS. Mr. Schroeder had a kid of his own on the team for 12 consecutive years, including Alexia (MVRHS 2009), Michael (MVRHS 2013), and Whitney (MVRHS 2017).
He ran track (hurdles and dashes) in high school in Michigan and in college at Ohio Wesleyan before moving to Boston, where he coached at Walpole High before getting a teaching offer from MVRHS in 1988.
“I was playing one-on-one basketball with Mark McCarthy [MVRHS athletic director] one day, and he asked me if I was interested in coaching track. That’s how it started. Back in 1988, we didn’t have any track, just painted lines around the football field. One lap was 400 meters … sort of,” he said.
Mr. Schroeder is happy to talk about his team members and their character. “There’s a lot of travel, and we compete in the EAC, a top-ranked track conference in the state. The kids were hoping for the new track this year, and it was a disappointment, but they held their heads high and competed. A benefit of that is that the girls team was experienced, and the boys team is young and they were able to learn from the girls,” he said.
With 30 years of coaching experience, Mr. Schroeder understands the dynamics and psychology of track. “Keeping kids motivated in track is a little different from other team sports. If you are not motivated, it shows up in results. Track success is about what you put in, and you get instant feedback and gratification. That’s where the individual nature of the sport comes in,” he said.
Mr. Schroeder enjoys working in that dynamic. “I’m happy when kids achieve their goals. There’s a life lesson when you set goals for yourself. It carries over in life. So I celebrate equally whether a kid finishes first or 10th and has achieved the goal they set,” he said.