Sept. 28, 2023, 9:16 PM MDT
Erie High School’s Cross Country Season Comes to an Impressive Conclusion,
New head coach Alan Culpepper, along with student athletes Connor Joyce and Jason Kelsey, commented on how the season is going so far. Being Culpepper’s first season with the Erie High Schools cross country team, he’s clearly provided his expectations for the season and the seasons to come, explaining that “The biggest change has been the training part.”
Many of the athletes felt as if Culpepper had the background to make the most impact on the team’s season. Connor Joyce, a sophmore on the cross country team says, “He’s very focused, he knows what he’s doing.” Not only were the students impressed with the coach selection, Culpepper also made it clear that he was both impressed and surprised by how well the team stepped up to the challenge of having a new coach.
Culpepper also made it clear that he was both impressed and surprised by how well the team stepped up to the challenge of having a new coach, “I was really impressed with the team and their willingness to step it up and embrace the challenge that was brought [taking on the season with a new coach].” Both players and coaches all are having to adapt to the new athletic environment, they managed to pull off a great season being well prepared for state.
Joyce made it clear that the, ”expectation is to make it to state and hopefully place.” Knowing how to work together and create a stable relationship with the players, Culpepper proved his position as he gained the confidence and trust of the players. “He’s (Culpepper’s) gonna lead us to good things in the future.” Joyce adds.
Joyce, Kelsey, Culpepper, along with the other athletes of the cross country team, all have that winning mentality. With Kelsey getting to be a part of the mentality, he commented, “Pretty confident this year, our teams doing pretty good especially with the new coach.”
The chemistry of the coach and players has definitely played a huge role in the season, as coach Culpepper says, “there’s always that learning curve of me getting to know them and them getting to know me.” There’s no better way to learn than from first hand experience.
As the season progresses into something new and exciting, this season has shown how important it is to keep a positive and supportive attitude towards the game and the community.
