Girls’ Cross Country Team Undefeated for 7 Years

It may come as no to surprise to those familiar with York Suburban’s excellent athletic performance and sportsmanship: the girls’ cross-country team, as of this season, will be undefeated for seven years. It is clear that their success, however, comes from much more than physical strength and endurance.

Photo courtesy of Samy Gotwalt

Photo courtesy of Samy Gotwalt

Without their coach, Daniel VanHouwe, juniors Emma Leik and Lauren Kimpel said their team wouldn’t be nearly as personal and perseverant as they are. “Without VanHouwe,” Leik said, “our team would not be as successful. He helps each individual runner realize their full potential and is our number one cheerleader in everything that we do.”

Leik also praised VanHouwe’s coaching by describing the ways he encourages the team during meets. “He tells us before every meet to have “No fear!” But my favorite motivational quote is when we are in a huddle before a meet and he says, “If everyone plays their role, then everything will fall into place and we will run away with the win.”

In addition to VanHouwe’s excellent coaching, the girls said that their team’s alliance provides a solid support group to rely on. “The team is all pretty close,” Kimpel said, “It decreases the ‘me’ mentality — self improvement is important, but it [cross-country] is a team sport. It helps the way one works with others.”

VanHouwe has also noticed the positive impact his team’s closeness has on their performance; in fact, he is pretty impressed with how they take initiative to care for one another. “Other teams are based on individuals,” he said. “They’re [Suburban’s team] a small little community — they care about each other.”

While lots of physical practice goes into the girls’ performance, both VanHouwe and the girls contributed the mental aspects of preparation for their success. VanHouwe said that he emphasizes before every meet that losing is okay, as long as you learn from your mistakes. He asks his team questions such as: “Who do you run for? Did you do your best? Are you still having fun?” He hopes that these questions will motivate the girls to do their best, and they have proved to be very effective.

Between VanHouwe’s genuine care for his team and the girls’ mental and physical strength, one can count on seeing another victorious year for this remarkable community.