Felix Moreno Resigns from St. Francis University

While I hope the person who posted was an actual SFU athlete, regardless, I completely agree. I think this thread should turn less towards negative aspects of past teams and should look more towards the future and the excitement that could come back when they hire a new coach.

I realize it is important to remember the past but i think looking back positively would be more beneficial for the state of the team.

What is everyone looking for in a future coach for saint francis?

hju78 wrote:

Hopefully coach straub will apply for the position again. I know he has coached multiple D-III all-americans. Does anyone know if he would be interested?

I wonder if he will apply again....third time is the charm haha. He really should have been hired last time...the SFU administration made a huge mistake in not doing so.

I know he has coached some very good athletes in the past....any new ones to note of since January 2007???

I think Straub would make a great hire. I think what is important is they hire someone who plans to commit to saint francis for a good number of years, is knowledgeable, and has a proven record of recruiting good runners and making them great. Someone like Tom Donnelly, who has coached Haverford for a number of years would be ideal.

Utah wrote:

Someone like Tom Donnelly, who has coached Haverford for a number of years would be ideal.

This may be the funniest thing I have ever read on this message board. Tom Donnelly leaving Haverford for SFU? You have got to be kidding. He turned down the job at Villanova (his alma mater) one of the most storied DI programs in the country to remain at Haverford. You think he would be interested in cleaning up Felix Moreno's mess at SAINT FRANCIS?

To say hiring someone LIKE Tom Donnelly is just as funny - they broke the mold after he entered coaching. He is one of a kind, one of the best.

I guess you are stupid enough to misinterpret my comment twice. I was merely pointing out Saint Francis needs some stability, similarly to what Haverford has in Donnelly. Sorry I didn't elaborate more. Tom Donnelly is one of a kind.

How about the Wheeling Jesuit, a small D2 school in W. Virginia, coach. I know he was an allamerican while he was there and i know he has done a lot with a little in his short time out there.

Utah wrote:

I was merely pointing out Saint Francis needs some stability, similarly to what Haverford has in Donnelly. Sorry I didn't elaborate more. Tom Donnelly is one of a kind.

SFU needs stability? A new coach every 2-3 years isn't stable enough for you? Haverford doesn't have stability - they have a well established TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE.

You don't get immediate stability with a any new hire. You hope to bring in someone that has a vision and is going quickly earn the respect of the student-athletes. What you are saying is SFU needs a talented coach to stick around for 30 years and build it in to one of the most respected programs in the country (e.g. Haverford). No sh!t, that is what almost every program needs.

young talented coach wrote:

How about the Wheeling Jesuit, a small D2 school in W. Virginia, coach. I know he was an allamerican while he was there and i know he has done a lot with a little in his short time out there.

I just checked out their athletic site. Does anybody have any more info on this guy?

I am sorry if my previous comments portrayed the program in a negative light. My comments were due to the frustration that I share with many of my teammates from SFC/SFU's first few championship seasons. The team really came from obscurity to the national level in a few years due to hard work and faith that the hard work would allow us to do something that had never been done before. I think for most of us, it really hurts to see the program where it is now.

So to be constructive...

One of the first orders of business for any new coach that is hired should be to reach out to the alumni. Relationships with the alums have been pretty much non-existent with the two previous coaches. Donner's alums wrote letters of recommendation for Doug Hoover (a previous SFU assistant)to the athletic department last time, and they didn't get anywhere. Over the last several years, there have been no official SFU alumni xc/track and field events. Many of us attended the Marathon Trials, but SFU really should have had a celebration for it as it was within a few hours of the majority of the alumni and one of our own qualified for the Olympics. SFU finally hosted a home track meet for the first time in the history of the program, and there was no outreach to the alums to bring them back. We want to be involved. There are still plenty of extremely strong friendships out there between teammates.

The head coaching position is a lot more than just designing workouts and trying to convince kids to attend SFU instead of Duquesne or Robert Morris. It is about outreach to a supportive community that is currently being ignored. The outreach shouldn't be sales-y. It needs to be one of genuine excitement for the program and how it is helping develop young people into quality people who leave the program with the skills to take on the toughest challenges the world has to offer. If the coach is able to communicate that to alums and other friends of the program, his job will be significantly easier.

i kno he ran professionally for saucony for a while

I think what alum says is exactly right. With SFU's history, its surprising that previous coaches havent reached out to the alums. Its good to hear that many of the alum still want to be involved, and hopefully the new coach can begin to work on establishing better relationships with them.

Couldn't agree more with your post. Some of us distance guys have been trying to promote such events, but without the support of Moreno, it was very tough to get anywhere. We have wanted to restart the summer camp...but that idea was not received well by him. The summer camp for high schoolers is both a great recruiting tool and an opportunity for current teammates/alumni to bond while working as counselors.

I always thought it would be a great idea to incorporate an Alumni Mile into the home meets. I know some of the alumni are still running (AJ, the Quinns, obviously Sell, Sheehan, Maloney, and many others), and it could be a great event. I hope that the new head coach can provide a quality program for the current athletes as well as communicate effectively with our alumni. Doing both of these things would help SFU rise to the top again.

The camp is definitely a good idea for alumni. The coach should really have that as part of his contract. Summer in Loretto is really a great time of year, and it would be great to get a bunch of alums up there for a long weekend and somehow relate it to camp. Put us back in Christian Hall for a few days or maybe doing some sort of camp out on the mall.

I think the Friar Frolic should be brought back as well. I know the population in the surrounding area is often criticized for being about 20 years behind the times, perhaps they are ready for a road race.

One thing that I think Donner got us involved with and he didn't get a lot of recognition for is volunteering. I remember helping out with Special Olympics a lot. That was a pretty good experience that put a lot of other issues we all worried about in perspective. Some sort of alumni volunteer event could be a very positive experience.

As far as alums go, we should certainly try to get other events involved as well, not just the distance guys. It would really be great to see everyone.

It sounds like the right coach could do amazing things here. Obviously building a competitive XC/T&F program is job one, but the community could benefit from what seems to be an atmosphere where both current athletes and alums want to make the world around them a better place.

Alum, I like your ideas and thoughts. I hope the future coach puts forth effort to have activities like you mentioned.

I definitely think more presence and influence from past runners is important. One summer, I had the opportunity to run with an alumni almost every week. It was a good experience for me because I realized how much you guys care about the team and it was good to hear some of the stories from past teams. It really motivated me to work hard.

red flash oldie wrote:

hju78 wrote:

Hopefully coach straub will apply for the position again. I know he has coached multiple D-III all-americans. Does anyone know if he would be interested?

I wonder if he will apply again....third time is the charm haha. He really should have been hired last time...the SFU administration made a huge mistake in not doing so.

I know he has coached some very good athletes in the past....any new ones to note of since January 2007???

Why would this be a great position?

Straub also coached an All-American decathlete last year.

Etown info, since we are getting it in bits and pieces:

Male All-American Performances since 2003: 19

Male National Qualifiers in the following years / events:

2009 Outdoor - 800m

2009 Indoor - 800m

2008 Outdoor - 400m, 800m (2), PV, Dec

2008 Indoor - 400, 800, PV

2007 Outdoor - 400, 800, 1500, PV (2), Dec

2007 Indoor - 800, Mile, PV

2006 Outdoor - 100, 800 (2), 1500 (2), PV

2006 Indoor - 400, 800 (2), Mile, DMR, PV

2005 Outdoor - 800, 5000, 10,000, 400H, 4x400, LT, PV, TJ

2005 Indoor - 800, Mile (2), DMR, LJ, TJ

2004 Outdoor - 5000 (2), 10,000, LJ, TJ (2)

2004 Indoor - 5000, LJ, TJ (2)

2003 Indoor - 5000, TJ (2)

2002 Outdoor - 5000

2001 Outdoor - 10,000, Steeple

Female All-American Performances since 2002: 8

Female National Qualifiers in the following years / events:

2009 Outdoor - 5000m, 10,000m

2009 Indoor - Mile

2008 Outdoor - 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m

2008 Indoor - 5000

2007 Outdoor - 10,000

2006 Outdoor - 200m, 4x100, 4x400

2005 Outdoor - 800, 1500, 5000, 10,000

2005 Indoor - 5000, DMR

2004 Outdoor - 5000, 10,000m, 100H, 400H, 4x100

2004 Indoor - 5000, 55H

2003 Outdoor - 100H

2003 Indoor - 55H

2002 Outdoor - 100H

2002 Indoor - 55H

The program is mainly distance oriented, but regularly sends people to Nationals in a variety of events. The 2005 Outdoor group on the men's side stands out as an impressive, well-rounded team. What Straub has done at Etown is impressive.