How did Loudon valley do so well at NXN southeast? What are their workouts?

I went to LV 10+ years ago. It’s definitely a great school academically. No, it’s obviously not Thomas Jefferson, but, as others have pointed out, you do have to test to get into that school. I knew a few people who left LV to go there, but I also know of others who came back from TJ. TJ was definitely not a normal school, whereas Valley is a normal public school. It was always one of the best academic schools in the area. Almost everyone I went to HS with is way more successful than me, haha. It makes sense, as Loudoun County has been one of the richest counties in the country for a long time, and Loudoun Valley represents the far richer western end of the county.

It’s insane reading that they have 130 team members. I forget our exact amount when I ran, but it was WAY less than that. No one at the school cared about the XC team. I guess I’m happy I was captain, because I sure as hell wouldn’t be if I ran for the team now (I never broke 17 minutes, but maybe I would’ve with better coaching methods?).

How would you do at NXN without those guys? (Honest question)

Nobody (except trolls) is questioning your program or coaching ability or rule adherence. Its not your fault that you are successful and a desirable program.

I don't think its completely unfair, however, for people to point out that its not all homegrown talent when your #1 star is not a homegrown talent and he may have moved there specifically (as opposed to other nearby communities) to avail himself of your expertise and the existing talent.

Honestly, Marc, I wouldn't bother.

People who want to know the facts will and do. Those who just want to hate will do so regardless.

I don't see any upside to trying to combat letsrun trolls.

I think that it is great, and probably a sign of really good coaches and team morale, if you can get that level of participation at a public school! That many kids wanting to run when there will only be a top 7 is very inspirational. Think of all of those kids running, staying healthy, out of trouble, off their phones while they train...that is the mark of a good program even more than the athletic awards earned. Way to go Coach Hunter and LVHS!

Their top runner is from a military (army) family, which requires them to move frequently. NY (Fort Drum) to PA (Army War College) to VA (Pentagon). Good coaching, big team, culture created by coaches and Drew Hunter help, too.

I think it's great that GO and LV seem to be so evenly matched at the highest level, making for some great drama come NXN. It is a down year on the boys' individual side, but a great one for the teams. Best of luck to the Hunters, coach Soles and all the great HS coaches out there who have built programs of excellence.

Marc, thanks for the insight. Could you please provide a little detailed insight into key workouts for your boys?

Burnt Hills in NY has 31 total on their team (at least what I found ran at their league meet) and they have been highly ranked all season. They have been to NXN in the past and are usually quite competitive on the state level. Burnt Hills had a girls team in the top 10 and was viewed as a future power for a few years right before 2010. East Aurora from NY has even fewer kids in their school and I think their girls team got fourth at NXN a few years ago. My point is: I think that School size and team size is under-talked. I have heard so many talks about how good Loudon Valley is this year, but all I can think is that if I was a coach with even 100 kids on the team I would think I could usually match their level, if not better it (especially in depth). Having lower numbers on your team means that even with terrific coaching, you sometimes have to wait for the talent to come in. When you have 100 kids on the team, you always have some of that talent. I think the FM girls and Boys usually total about 30 runners for their combined team. I think this is partly due to how much of a commitment it is to be part of a program that is that special, but it is still a ridiculous statistic nonetheless.

Our key workouts:

1) Combo workout: 5-7 Critical Velocity 1000s or 1200s, followed by a set of 200m hills (4), followed by striders (4); 60-70 minutes total.

2) Long run 90-ish minutes; athletes typically run how they feel

Our calling card is consistency...cumulative miles...staying away from injuries..."Keep the ball rolling" as Tinman would say.

This whole 'transfer' meme is overblown. If we're going there, let's include Bolles and Lincroft (Christian Brothers) - I stopped looking but I'd bet there are at least a few more private schools in the top 20. Those are private schools, where all kids 'transfer'.

I don't think it's fair to judge Loudoun Valley, Bolles OR Lincroft. The kids are going to school, and have a co-corricular interest.

Could this 'transfer' thing be abused ? You bet, look no further than basketball AAU D1 super teams. The AAU is a mess tho.

eiwjdcld wrote:

How would you do at NXN without those guys? (Honest question)

Nobody (except trolls) is questioning your program or coaching ability or rule adherence.Its not your fault that you are successful and a desirable program.

I don't think its completely unfair, however, for people to point out that its not all homegrown talent when your #1 star is not a homegrown talent and he may have moved there specifically (as opposed to other nearby communities) to avail himself of your expertise and the existing talent.

not their fault???

that's not what you meant to say is it

You can't necessarily blame the coach for the transfers. I'm small potatoes and even I considered a transfer in high school to be on a faster team (was not the main part of my reason, but I did know of this perk). I wouldn't have even been their #1 runner. If all other things are equal, then don't be surprised if many of the kids themselves want to be on a better team. What kid doesn't want to train like Drew Hunter after his success? Good programs attract athletes; they don't necessarily have to go out and get them.

Shoebacca wrote:

You can't necessarily blame the coach for the transfers. I'm small potatoes and even I considered a transfer in high school to be on a faster team (was not the main part of my reason, but I did know of this perk). I wouldn't have even been their #1 runner. If all other things are equal, then don't be surprised if many of the kids themselves want to be on a better team. What kid doesn't want to train like Drew Hunter after his success? Good programs attract athletes; they don't necessarily have to go out and get them.

Shoe, baby, you have some good points, but ditch the "necessarily" bullsh*t. It's "unnecessary".

Niles wrote:

I have heard so many talks about how good Loudon Valley is this year, but all I can think is that if I was a coach with even 100 kids on the team I would think I could usually match their level, if not better it (especially in depth).

Man, you're like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. When you don't even have a brain, you can't even have sh*t for brains.

Marc Hunter wrote:

7) We are disciples of TinMan, but have also relied on any and all ideas from a variety of gracious and transparent coaches throughout the country.

I like this quote. Tinman has called himself an "eclectic" coach, a disciple of Lydiard but someone who relies on ideas from a variety of coaches. Now, Tinman may not be the humblest guy around in general but when it comes to acknowledging great coaches he definitely is humble.

There is no magic bullet. Instead there are well-known principles that can be applied and will give great success to humble but inquisitive coaches.

Keep the ball rolling, Hunter!

Congrats wrote:

I think that it is great, and probably a sign of really good coaches and team morale, if you can get that level of participation at a public school! That many kids wanting to run when there will only be a top 7 is very inspirational. Think of all of those kids running, staying healthy, out of trouble, off their phones while they train...that is the mark of a good program even more than the athletic awards earned. Way to go Coach Hunter and LVHS!

Last weekend at the state meet, 9 LV boys ran in the 4A 3200 race. Connor Wells and Jacob Windle didn’t run in that race; those two ran in the shorter distance races. So basically, their 11th fastest long distance runner qualified to race in the 3200 at the state meet.

So if someone is outside of the top 7 for LV by a few spots in XC, that person can keep working hard and possibly qualify for the 3200 state meet race in the following spring in track.

Also there are people who never made the top 7 in their high school but did eventually make the top 7 for a D3 college XC team.

Mr. Hunter,

Just to add to what other posters have said, if I were in your shoes, I would not feel the need to defend you program on Letsrun. Your result speak volumes about your coaching (the staff as a whole). Lots of schools get transfers, your school just happens to have great coaching and tradition and that draws these transfers to your program. Obviously you have tremendous depth and will continue to draw scrutiny due to your boys' success. You are always going to have jealous trolls online that honestly aren't worth your time to respond to.

So from the PA running scene to VA, just keep winning and piss off some more LetsRun trolls!

Thanks for sharing some of your training principals and workouts, it's cool comparing your boys' workouts to my own as I go through my HS running career.

eiwjdcld wrote:

How would you do at NXN without those guys? (Honest question)

Nobody (except trolls) is questioning your program or coaching ability or rule adherence. Its not your fault that you are successful and a desirable program.

I don't think its completely unfair, however, for people to point out that its not all homegrown talent when your #1 star is not a homegrown talent and he may have moved there specifically (as opposed to other nearby communities) to avail himself of your expertise and the existing talent.

My 2c: what makes the Hunter's successful, is that the Hunters have established a culture of expecting excellence, and character. I know that's a cliche, but it's what it is. They love what they do, and there's zero coddling. They've also got all the specifics down as well, but it's more than solely the Xs and Os. They're also super, super humble. Nothing. Nothing comes out about Drew this or that.

Northern VA is filled with gov and tech families from other places, so a family who has a kid already a collegiate runner, moving to the area, why wouldn't they move there?

Full disclosure. I've had a bunch of my kids at Loudoun Valley. Doing various sports. One currently runs XC and track with the Hunters. My kid has running as his 2nd sport - he's one of the 130, and he loves it. There's little chance that he'd run if it weren't for them being coaches. And there's not a better set of kids I could imagine for mine to hang out with and yes, compete with.

They do run an excellent program.