01/02/2018
2017 BHSXC Year in Review
Dear BHSXC family,
As 2017 concludes, I hope that you all have time for catching up on some of the more important things in life - spending time with family and friends, reflecting on your accomplishments and adventures from the past year, making big plans for 2018, and maybe getting a little more sleep than you’re normally allowed. To touch briefly on running, I hope that athletes are taking advantage of this time to train “unstructured” in whatever way is best for them to be stronger, faster, and more confident the next time they toe the line in that Barrington jersey.
Being a part of the Barrington XC family certainly means different things whether you’re a student-athlete, parent, coach, etc. I can speak somewhat from the perspective of a runner, having played through that role as a high schooler, but far more now from where I stand as a coach. My personal coaching journey has consisted of several years as a volunteer assistant coach under/alongside truly great coaches, and now four years as head coach working with some of those same great veteran coaches plus some “new guys” who are truly passionate for this sport and are perhaps THE driving force behind where this program is heading.
When I first took over from one of the greatest educators in Barrington, Ty Gorman, it was a bit overwhelming as I attempted to “hold on” to everything I knew was great about Barrington XC. An enormous help in accomplishing that was something/someone I never planned to have to help make that happen. Tim McAuliff was one of those great alums/leaders on the XC team who I had coached as a young assistant and who was now in his last years of college, helping out with the Marquette XC team and very much still involved in the running world. He initially was just an extremely enthusiastic kid who helped out with summer camp at BHS but couldn’t get enough of coaching and grew into an insanely valuable assistant and asset to our XC and track programs over these first years of my head coaching tenure, as he graduated college, moved back home, and always made sure that his employment allowed him to keep coaching.
To be honest, I could have titled this post “Ode to Coach McAuliff” and I’m not going to shy away from structuring everything else I have to say here around this man. He embodies perhaps the biggest and most important lesson I have learned in the last few months and years. That lesson is that a great leader is at his or her best when they simply strive to be their absolute best selves, nothing more, less, or different than that. I have seen more and more recently that much of what we might see as our shortcomings stems simply from not being true to who we are and giving our absolute best effort to being the ultimate best version of whoever that may be.
Coach McAuliff/Tim “shipped off” in mid-December to begin his enlistment and training as a Navy Seal. Many of you are aware of his many speed bumps in this process over the last couple of years but I’ll leave it here simply by saying that he persevered through far more than most individuals would be capable of. He would absolutely back me up when I say that coaching is what kept him both sane through that process and INSPIRED all through that time. Coaching was the best part of his day and what got him up and at it most mornings. And he LOVED it. He worked his butt off for every person involved in Barrington XC because he knew the truth that many of you have also come to know - that giving your all for something greater than yourself is perhaps the greatest pursuit in life.
And that is what led him to this next stage in his journey, even if it meant tearing himself away from the family he grew to love as an athlete and on a whole new level as a coach. He is taking his service for others, betterment of self, and devotion to a cause bigger than himself to an ultimate level with the Seals. Seeing Tim go has been particularly difficult because of the close and trusted friend he has become. He and I took many a run together (particularly when we needed a little escape from giggling/ridiculous high school boys on runs) and on my late afternoon “morning loop” through Citizens’ Park the day after he shipped off, it hit me hard that I wouldn’t be seeing/consulting with/growing alongside/running with Tim for a very long time. And it hit me just how much of a loss that has been for us all. I stopped at a high point in the middle of the trail where you can look out over just about the entire Cuba marsh area. The sun had just gone down, so it was particularly gorgeous out there. The run that I had taken through there prior had been with Coach McAuliff and he had requested that we stop at that point, breaking our rhythm but allowing us both to just take in the beauty around us that only runners can really appreciate as we explore all of the most beautiful off-the-beaten spots around our community on a daily basis.
As we enter a new year with fresh track and XC seasons and countless other new challenges and experiences ahead, I know that the greatness that Tim has been a part of with our team will continue to grow, pushed by the tremendous momentum he helped build. And not that he can be replaced, but in the last year we’ve continued to see the likes of Barrington running greats like Mike Rappleye, Konrad Eiring, Erik Peterson, and Marc Machete, continue to come back to coach/run with/support the family that helped make them the men they are today, and that continues to positively shape the lives they lead as they move out into the world.
So in conclusion, let’s all take a moment to take account of the countless challenges we’ve stared down, pushed past, and allowed to make us better, stronger people this past year. And welcome the many potentially unattainable challenges ahead that we can only accomplish by leaning on, trusting in, and pushing forward with one another. Here’s to becoming better runners, members of our shared and varied communities and families, and the best PEOPLE we can possibly be. And lastly, make sure at some point to pause on a run to think about how fondly BHSXC alumni like Coach McAuliff look back on what we get to do on a daily basis. I know I’ll also stand particularly tall during the National Anthem that plays at our weekend track meets thinking about Coach McAuliff out there striving to be his absolute best self in service of us all.
Good Health, Happiness, and my warmest regards to every one of you and your families in 2018,
Coach Root
