"God Damn it Nick, if you don't want to run at state just tell me!"
Haha, yeah, every time I think of "The Long Green Line", I hear this quote.
"God Damn it Nick, if you don't want to run at state just tell me!"
Haha, yeah, every time I think of "The Long Green Line", I hear this quote.
Someone asked about Seb Coe and Coach Newton. Coe came to York High School to train with his dad and with Mr.Newton. Here is Lord Coe speaking of Newton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nXt9nv3mgY
I knew Newton when my kids ran for him. I stayed in touch with him over the years after they left and went to college, and began their own teaching careers. I sent him a personal letter thanking him for what he did for my kids when I heard that he had fallen and was in rehab. One son is now head TF and assistant XC coach at Hinsdale Central HS, same district as York, and he offered his own thoughts on Mr. Newton.
https://coachlawrencehcxc.com/
Another York runner from the same class is head coach at Elmhurst College- Jim Akita. Many others still coach. Many still run. Literally thousands were impacted by Coach Newton, who I will forever call Coach Newton because I would have been terrified to call him anything else.
And I am still staggered to know that Newton was 4 years older than I am now when he began coaching my kids, who are coming up on 38. He had more energy than a nuclear power plant. The sport will never be the same now- though what it is now is due in part to his work.
I ran XC in IL from 97-2000.
York XC were the NY Yankees. Everyone knew that they were the best and held themselves in that regard. They were a class of their own. No one ever expected to beat them. It was actually just a victory to be able to compete against them. Honestly, I remember our coaches saying that it's a privilege to be able to run against such a great team. This was during the time they had 5 in the top 10 at the state meet and were (probably) one of the top 5 HS teams of all time.
The first time we ever ran again York was at theThe Palatine invite.
I remember seeing Donald Sage turn a corner in the varsity race solo. I remember thinking 'where is everyone else'? Donald Sage was the best HS runner that I've ever seen.
what a man. at team dinner at the beginning of the season, we watched a documentary about him and his team. even though i never met him ill always remember him. RIP to a legend
one of the greats - always an inspiration. What other man has had this kind of beneficial impact on hundreds of kids?
Man found his calling. No better way to live a life.
http://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=155363
His first book, also entitled "The Long Green Line," was my greatest resource when I started coaching (at age 20) in college.
In later years I worked to recruit a couple of his guys and was always impressed that he had the time to talk to a D3 coach. He *made* time to talk to everybody.
Hundreds of my own athletes had a better running experience because of his influence. My hat's off to him.
Mr 100 mile weeks was a legend . Def the GOAT of HS coaches!
I never met Coach Newton but certainly knew who he was and the amazing impact he had.
I remember reading about York and Joe Newton when I was in HS, and I graduated 31 years ago. To say he was a giant in the community is an understatement, and thinking about the sheer number young people he had influence on is staggering.
The 1999 XC performance was perhaps the greatest team performance ever. And the team was missing Tim Hobbs due to injury; he won the state 800m championship later that year. (1-3-4-6-10-17, split 1-5 43 sec, 2-5 12 sec) The AA race is late in the clip below.
Very sad news.
I never knew him or had any dealings with him, but it's clear he was an inspiration to many people and a kind and helpful coach and person to many hundreds of young athletes.
My condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.
RIP.
Waubonsie Valley wrote:
Swoosh13 wrote:
Spent a couple days running with them at his summer camp, he definitely knew how to get his guys motivated. More than that, he motivated every other boys team throughout the state that looked at York with awe and something to aspire to be. It was hard to ever think that some workout was too hard or some run too long when you'd hear stories about what they were doing at York. Everyone aspired to catch them, very few did. I don't think teams like Neuqua Valley that came to national prominence in the 2000s when York was still unbeatable would have done so without their presence.
I ran for Paul Vandersteen (Neuqua) back when he was at Waubonsie Valley. Can confirm we did aspire to catch York and that they set an example. Coach Vandersteen also takes the approach of caring about his runners as people more than athletes, which it seems is a model consistent with Mr Newton for sure.
As others said, Mr Newton influenced a lot of lives and many people are better off because of him.
TIL that Vandersteen used to coach at WV.
Abstract: The title of this thread should be slightly modified.
Joe Newton, the legend, will live on.
I was blessed with spending two plus hours on the phone with Coach Joe Newton a bit over five years ago in Sept, 2012 for interview #59 of my continuing series of 115 monthly interviews in the world of distance running and track and field. Coach Newton was so engaging and spent tons of time on so many cool details from his coaching and his life. He was the coach whom legendary Florida high school coaches such as Largo's Brent Haley and Titusville Astronaut's Nick Gailey learned from. If you wish to check out our conversational style written interview, it is at http://www.garycohenrunning.com/Interviews/Newton.aspx Rest in Peace, Coach...
Coach Newton was a visionary, and remade the sport at the High School level. He will always be remembered, always be followed as an example/lead, and we all strive to continue to take the wonderful sport of Cross Country/Track and Field forward, to honor you Sir.
Thank You for your incredible contributions, and for inspiring so many of us.
We are so very grateful for you, Coach Newton.
Jason
Gary- that is a GREAT interview- it captures Coach N perfectly. And I can attest to Marius running that 1.55, since my kids came home that day to tell me about it. :-)
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