50 years of greatness - CBA NJ is at 400 dual meet wins in a row and 50 years long!!!

Imagine being on the team that finally loses one. The coach would probably execute them right in the finishing chute. Saw it happen with TCNJ (figuratively).

They are always near the top in the state meet. Have won countless times. They take kids with no talent and make them into strong runners.

Congrats on your streak of 400 douchey anonymous posts when you couldn't succeed at anything else. You are the top coward on the board.

if you think they are winning states with kids that have "no talent," you have a funny idea of what "no talent" means.

splitting hairs here though. I'm not overly impressed with short streaks of greatness from schools that recruit, whether legally or not. But 50 years is 50 years. Hats off to these guys.

We'll be back there, brother. Trust me.

-Rankin

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Great to hear that Heath was there and gave speeches

CBA also succeeds because of "the freshmen run" in a school with no football at the start of every fall all the freshmen homerooms have to run a cross country race, scored against other homerooms etc. You place top whatever you get "invited" to the team.

Even with soccer, rugby (I think), and other sports it's a privilege to be on their xc team

A lot of freshmen didn’t like running before the “freshman run”, but after they do it, some of them get hooked and join the team

Yes, I was required to run a certain amount of dual meets to be eligible for our state meet and think one of the charming things about high school CC is the dual meet against your towns rival. I also think it is a good way to introduce new runners to the sport. Yes, many of them are not that competitive, but it’s also a good way to ease your runners into racing before the invitationals and state meets later in the season.

This guy ran for CBA, and this indoor season he coached his team to a 4xmile championship over Herriman

https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=386289

I went to this school 30 years ago. Played soccer, didn't become a runner until I was 28. From my limited perspective, here were some of the keys to success:

1) Culture- everyone at the school is aware that the XC team is special and one of the things everyone takes pride in. Morning announcements over the loudspeaker often included XC results with special mention of leading runners. Additionally, since the school is largely composed of kids from upper middle class to very wealthy backgrounds, parents are engaged and can afford the extras. Oftentimes, families will send siblings years apart in age to the school and so younger kids grow up seeing their older brothers competing in a sport they might otherwise not consider. As others have mentioned, the school doesn't have a football team and so "school spirit" energy gets spread to other sports.

2) Freshman Field Day - As some have already mentioned, all frosh are required to run a ~1.5 loop course the first or second week of school, egged on by upperclassmen. If you finish towards the top and are not already signed up for a sport you are strongly encouraged to join XC.

3) Facilities - the 150 acre campus was an old horse farm, with lots of room to run. Across the street is a county park with an additional 220 acres. A unique indoor horse barn track (~300 meters) allowed for workouts during bad weather.

4) Coaching- Tom Heath obviously knew the sport well and built a culture of engaged and skilled coaches. He could be at turns lighthearted or serious and could read the group well. The school also had (has?) a PT on staff who could help with minor injuries.

5) Recruiting- I don't remember ever talking to or knowing of anyone who was recruited, but I understand it happens and it's a large pool. The population of Monmouth and Ocean counties are approx. 1.2 million combined, and the school even sometimes has kids from as far away as Middlesex County and Staten Island, NY.

$20,900 a year for tuition.

Problem with CBA—-

They recruit kids

Private school that’s very expensive

They are building teams

Kids whose families are rich

Maybe they give financial aid

Is it legal. Sure

Is it fair. Nope

Good coach in Heath that’s for sure

New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country. In fact there are not a whole lot of private schools in NJ, aside from religious schools. There are a few charter schools that excel at one thing or another. However, there are plenty of people in NJ, and in the surrounding area who can pay huge property taxes and also afford the tuition at CBA. Going to a school like CBA will give their kiddo a great education and a leg up on college admissions. If that kid happens to be a promising runner, well then all the better.

Fair. No, not really in a state ranking sort of way. It's just what they do. I guess chasing them makes everyone else faster?

They RECRUIT KIDS FROM THE ENTIRE SOUTH JERSEY AREA AND BEYOND! Totally fair!!!

They do not. Name one runner from South Jersey that was recruited.

As a former CBA hater and huge fan of a rival in a brief window, CBA does NOT recruit. The school and tradition recruits itself. Basketball in NJ is one of the biggest jokes nationally and North Jersey Parochials have destroyed NJ competitive football. That's where the real recruiting is.

Dan Doherty's Pearl River (NY) girls had a 27-year dual meet streak from 1990-2007. Public School in Rockland county.