Sean Brosnan couldn't hold a candle to the late Joe Newton of York Community HS, Elmhurst, IL. There will never be another coach like Coach Newton- 28 state titles under his leadership, never a finish lower than 8th over 50 years and that was a fluke.
It's pointless to make this comparison. Newton was a terrific coach and his longevity sets him apart. Brosnan did well for the few years he coached in high school, but he decided to move on. I'm aware of all the hate that's directed against Brosnan, but beyond the obvious stars he coached that probably would have had success in almost any decent program, he did get kids with less ballyhooed backgrounds and got them running decent times.
Brosnan is an elite coach that got kids to reach levels no one thought was possible in Hofh School. He did this with small teams and outside the box dedication. We may never see a HS coach like him again. Newton was a big team guy with tons of kids and a family like environments.
They are two different kind of people and coaches. I personally rather my kids run for Brosnan to see what they are made of and what they are capable of.
Lets get real, best HS track coaches don't just coach distance. They coach sprints, hurdles and relays - minimum of 7 events vs 2-3 (800 more of a sprint event).
Joe Lee at Bullis dominates in these event areas far more than any of the distance coaches teams do.......
Get out of here with that BS, Bullis is the biggest cheating team In the US! How’s that make there coach the best? Morons could coach those kids to championships they are so loaded with recruited all stars.
there are amazing coaches in all events, but coaches who steal everyone else’s kids are not top end coaches, they are thieves and should be shunned.
Well, this entire thread is really about comparisons, right? I have no rancor toward Brosnan, who clearly did a great job for several years- but also had the advantage of runners transferring in to his program. That has never been the case at York, with one unexpected exception- when Marius Bakken came as an exchange student to the Chicago area back in the late 90s, he specifically asked to be placed with a high school that had a good running program. Friends of ours, a Presbyterian minister, put Marius up for the year. This is how Marius ended up running for York and Coach Newton. Marius flew in from Norway for Newton's big honor party a year or so before the coach died.
Yes! Ripping on coaches anonymously on Letsrun, let me join in. :)
Actually, I have been fortunate to meet some of the top high school coaches in the country and I have been very impressed with their knowledge, dedication, and care for their kids. Here are some of the coaches I think should be in considered for the best distance coaches in the country (in no particular order):
-Dan Iverson - Naperville North (IL)
-Jeff Messer - Desert Vista (AZ) (currently not coaching)
-Marc & Joan Hunter - Loudoun Valley (VA)
-John O'Malley - Sandburg (IL)
-Timo Mostert - American Fork (UT)
-Rene Paragas - Saugus (CA)
-Juris Green - The Woodlands (TX)
I would feel very comfortable having any of these fine coaches coach my own children and have been fortunate to spend some time with each one of them. I'm sure I'm missing some as well, but this is a good start. Have a great day. :)
Doug
Hmm, no Aris or Kranicks?
Anyone who thinks the latter should be on there needs to see page 25 and 31 of this document
Has no one been watching Newbury Park from Thousand Oaks, California and their coach Sean Brosnan (No relations to Pierce Brosnan).
He took that program with no direction at all and got them the State Title in 3 years for DII. Many schools in California have a slew of talent, but it takes a special person to build a program and get those kids out training and racing to their potential. But, if you know Sean like I do, he has a very unique background that really cultivated those kids into a championship team. Sean has had the opportunity to meet many talented runners and coaches and with that knowledge he built a great program. I'm sure he could do it almost anywhere too! Cheers to him and look him up if you get a chance. Good luck at NXN!!!!
I believe this was the first ever LetsRun post about this program and this coach
Has no one been watching Newbury Park from Thousand Oaks, California and their coach Sean Brosnan (No relations to Pierce Brosnan).
He took that program with no direction at all and got them the State Title in 3 years for DII. Many schools in California have a slew of talent, but it takes a special person to build a program and get those kids out training and racing to their potential. But, if you know Sean like I do, he has a very unique background that really cultivated those kids into a championship team. Sean has had the opportunity to meet many talented runners and coaches and with that knowledge he built a great program. I'm sure he could do it almost anywhere too! Cheers to him and look him up if you get a chance. Good luck at NXN!!!!
I believe this was the first ever LetsRun post about this program and this coach
I find it so annoying when people refer to themselves in the third person.
I know that Rocky parents/students or trolls pretending to be them come on here and annoy us all, but Jeff Howard really was touching on some stuff in that lecture that made the gears turn in my head a little bit.
I remember people saying that the Rocky team just sat around and talked for like an hour each day at practice before doing any running, so it's interesting that he's been able to build a program that's churned out some top 30-40 teams in the nation these last couple years with his program's entire emphasis not even being on running.
I think a lot of people put insane results as the qualifier on who is a great coach and who is not, but truth be told, a lot of great coaches never get the same level of talent a lot of the better known coaches do. The true test of a coach is taking what public school zoning gives him and improving those runners, not recruiting, or finding lightning in a bottle with insane talent.
Yes, he was great. Of the HS coaches still left in Illinois, the Downers Grove North coach is the best one. One of the best in the country too. Even if they lose most of their varsity they still find a way to win the state meet & NXR MW, because they always have a bunch of sub-9 underclassmen come out of nowhere
Yes, he was great. Of the HS coaches still left in Illinois, the Downers Grove North coach is the best one. One of the best in the country too. Even if they lose most of their varsity they still find a way to win the state meet & NXR MW, because they always have a bunch of sub-9 underclassmen come out of nowhere
DGN actually has two different coaches. They have one guy who coaches them in track season and another guy in XC
Joe Lee at Bullis. He is at the point now where its like Coach K could no longer get get coach of the year because well, he gets too good ah players. But in my opinion, to be able to build a program like that isn’t easy or a lot of other schools would do it. Kids that go to Bullis are already talented yes but they go there to get better. That is a testament to what he has built. How can you fault him for this?
Yes, he was great. Of the HS coaches still left in Illinois, the Downers Grove North coach is the best one. One of the best in the country too. Even if they lose most of their varsity they still find a way to win the state meet & NXR MW, because they always have a bunch of sub-9 underclassmen come out of nowhere
I think a lot of people put insane results as the qualifier on who is a great coach and who is not, but truth be told, a lot of great coaches never get the same level of talent a lot of the better known coaches do. The true test of a coach is taking what public school zoning gives him and improving those runners, not recruiting, or finding lightning in a bottle with insane talent.
I think this is the best answer.....if your school has 1500-2000+ kid enrollment it isn't very hard to have a good program.
I coach at a school with an enrollment of ~250......we routinely beat schools that have 1000-2000 kids.....I don't get transfers into my school, I don't get to offer scholarships to anyone.... I'm lucky to get 10-15 kids out per gender.
I'm not claiming to be a top level coach but give me a school with 2000 kids and I'd dominate my state, full stop. (BTW, I'm not complaining, I chose to coach where I am)
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