| | charissa chmielewski | service ak
10.21.09
By Laura Magee
After recently earning their first Alaska 4A state cross country championship in thirty-seven years, the Service boys moved up in the Northwest regional ranking from #9 to #5. The Cougars are coached by former Service student and runner Charissa Chmielewski. "Coach Charissa" is the name she adopted when she first started as an assistant coach in 2006 and stuck with to keep things simple, with her husband also coaching cross country at Service; it does seem far less confusing to avoid having two Coach Chmielewskis. Charissa coaches both the boys and girls teams at Service, but it is the success of the boys program this season that will have them packing their bags and heading to Boise ID to compete in the NXN NW Regional in November for a chance to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals.
DyeStat staff writer Laura Magee tracked down our Running Warehouse Coach of the Week, Charissa Chmielewski (photo, below), who shared a brief history of her personal running, her visions for the future of both the Service program and Alaska running, and some of the daily ins-and-outs of training for this top Alaska team.
 1) Service High School played a part in your early involvement in the sport of cross country. Can you share how you found yourself competing as part of the Service team as a prep athlete, a little about the experiences you had in your high school career, and how they have affected your coaching?
Coach Charissa - I started running in middle school and loved it. I was focused, hard-working, all of the things I needed in order to be a successful athlete. By the time I entered high school, the sport had become more of a social activity than a competitive activity for me. I was one of those kids who would skip practice and not check in with my coach - the flaky athlete that is on every team. Now that I am on the other side, I see how frustrating that is for a coach. So, my heart was not really into it. Then, junior year I transferred to a new school that did not have its own team; I would have had to drive back to Service everyday after school to compete. Instead I opted to get a job. I still ran on my own, but didn’t train or compete with a team.
Many high school athletes have very high expectations for themselves and sometimes it is easier not to try than to try and fail. I think that was part of my problem as a high school runner. A couple things that I do as a coach, or try to do, is make it clear to the team that every athlete is valuable. I think it helps that we have an individualized plan for each runner, so that every athlete knows that the coaches took time to calculate his/her training pace. We create ability groups for the team, but we always talk to the team as whole, do all warm-up and post workout activities as a whole, so the entire team really connects. As far as regrets, I don't have any. I ended up getting involved in theatre and that was a very rewarding experience for me. I met great people and had many positive experiences.
2) When did you start your coaching career? How did your interest in the sport eventually lead you to coaching?
Coach Charissa - I have always enjoyed both running and competing. Running is my meditation. Life deals good and bad times, and running has always been there for me. When I feel great, I want to go for a run and feel even better. When I feel awful, running makes me feel better. I began coaching running in the fall of 2006 as an assistant. The following season, the head coach resigned two weeks before the season began. I was not interested in being head coach, not yet anyway. I wanted to gain more experience, but the season had to start. I was the only coach on staff with any experience coaching high school, so my activities principal said, 'You are the new head coach'. It was sink or swim, and I survived. I had a great time actually, and have never regretted it.
3) Many of the great high school running coaches are lifelong coaches and often stay with a program for their tenure. Where do you see yourself as a coach in five years? Ten years? Twenty?
Coach Charissa - I want to stay with the team as long as I can. It is a very rewarding job. I just had my first baby and that changed my life tremendously. My husband and I want more children, and as long as I can manage it all, I will continue to coach.
4) As an athlete you have trained in both Alaska and the lower-48 state of Oregon at Linfield College; what are some of the challenges of training and competing in Alaska? As a coach, how do you work to combat these difficulties?
Coach Charissa - The length of our cross country season in Alaska is challenging. We only have eight weeks, which provides minimal time for base building. It is essential that our athletes do some training over the summer, so that we do not have to spend weeks building a base. The benefit of training up here is that we have a wide variety of beautiful terrain. In our backyard, we have access to thousands of acres of trail running. We did not have anything like that at Linfield. If we needed trails, we had to drive to them.
5) What are some of the changes you have noticed in the Alaska running scene over the years, between your early involvement to your current role as coach?
Coach Charissa - There is a substantial running community in Anchorage, which is great because there are many opportunities for high school athletes to train and compete outside of the high school season. More and more high school athletes and high school teams are traveling outside of Alaska to compete at a regional level in big meets around the country. It is great to see talented kids training year-round for the sport.
 6) As the head coach at Service, you coach both the boys and girls. Do you train them in the same way? What are the differences you see between your male and female high school athletes?
Coach Charissa - Each of our athletes is on an individualized program based on their most recent date pace. Also, we offer a range in sets, and then advise the athlete based on their current fitness level. Boys and girls are on the same training program. As far as the difference between high school boys and girls, thus far the boys team has been more competitive. They really enjoy pushing each other, and they have to fight for a spot on JV or Varsity. The female athletes are more nurturing. A male athlete will finish a hard workout or race and tell a fellow athlete that he crushed him or that he beat him by eight seconds and rub it in the other guy’s face. A female athlete is more likely to say, good job or don’t worry about it, you did fine, when in reality, the athlete bonked and didn’t do her job. Boys are less worried about hurting someone’s feelings.
7) The Service boys claimed the Alaska 4A state cross country title this fall (photo, above) for the first time in 37 years. What do you attribute this major accomplishment to? Looking forward, what are some of the big picture and/or long-term goals for the Service running program?
Coach Charissa - First, we had a new addition to our coaching staff, my husband, Thaddeus Chmielewski, and he helped tremendously. He managed all the stats and calculated the weekly date pace for all of the athletes. He has 18 years of coaching experience, so naturally he brought a wealth of knowledge to the program. The two assistant coaches, La Piper and Eileen Foley, also have specific strengths that they bring to the program to make it well-rounded (photo of Coach Piper and the Chmielewskis, below). Piper leads yoga and guided relaxation, which helps the kids to focus and visualize before race day. Foley is the drill sergeant, and reminds athletes to work hard, remember good form, etc. So, this year the staff just felt like a great combination of personalities and strengths to create a strong team.
Second, we have a very talented boys team. Last year we only graduated one varsity runner, and we had so much natural talent join the program this year. Two freshmen boys made the varsity team, and four freshmen girls made the varsity team this year. The boys were incredibly dedicated this season. Last year, we were region champions, and we were hopeful for a state championship, but we lost to Kodiak. I think that loss really impacted the boys team and made them even hungrier for a victory this year.
 A couple of our long-term goals are to send our teams outside to compete at more big meets after the season. This November, the boys team will compete in the NXN Regionals in Boise. We have many multi-sport athletes, and it is great when they realize that if they focus their time and training on running, they will see huge gains, versus only training for eight to ten weeks a year and then moving on to another sport. Also, we would like to see our girls team develop into a more competitive team. We have many young female athletes, so the potential is there. We will offer a training program over the summer, so that the team can start strong next season.
8) Special athletes and memorable moments seem to be the main reward for coaching positions, which require time, energy and commitment with hardly-comparable monetary compensation. What has been the biggest challenge you have faced as a coach? What has been the greatest joy?
Coach Charissa - One major frustration is when athletes over-train. Like I said, we have many multi-sport athletes, and there are some who attend cross country practice and then go to another practice for two more hours. Many high school athletes believe more miles equal faster times, which is incorrect if you are training for a 5K. We have some amazing athletes, but they wear themselves out over the course of the season with over-training. It is a battle we are constantly fighting. I guess another program goal is to shift that mindset, so that our athletes understand that rest is as important as any other component of the program. We are not running a marathon here; we are running 3.1 miles!
The joy comes from the daily interaction with the kids and seeing them succeed. I teach high school English because I like teenagers. Every experience I have had with cross country runners has reinforced that they are an amazing group of kids. The vast majority are polite, hard working, and energetic. And of course, there are always a few athletes that you really connect with as a coach, and then you get to spend four years with them, watching them grow as an individual and an athlete. It is bittersweet when they graduate and move on to compete in college because by then they feel like part of your family.
9) As a relatively young and new running coach, what wisdom and advice would you wish to glean from more experienced coaches? Have you worked with any coaches in a mentor-type relationship? Are there any coaches in particular who you wish would reveal their 'tricks of the trade'?
Coach Charissa - In Anchorage, we have some fabulous running coaches. Most are more than willing to share ideas and training tips, so if there is a ‘trick of the trade,’ I would feel comfortable asking about it. One thing I see in the more experienced coaches is tremendous confidence in what they do. My confidence has definitely grown since I started as an assistant coach four years ago, but with each season, I feel better about what I do and the decisions I make for the team. As far as a mentor coach, I know it sounds cheesy, but I would have to say my husband. We met coaching track at Service in the spring of 2007, and it was my first season coaching track. I was coaching the 800, mile, and 2 mile. I was a bit overwhelmed with the idea of coaching three separate events, especially the 800 since my experience had been with the longer distances. He gave me some great ideas, various programs to investigate, and some basic pointers from his own experience coaching sprints. I could not have survived the season without him. And now we coach cross country together; it is great! We brought our four month-old daughter to practice every day this past season.
First and third photos submitted by Charissa Chmielewski; middle team photo by Phil Walgren
|
