Cleary Looks Ahead to 2020 Season
October 14, 2020 01:17 PM | Cross Country
2020 Season Preview
As the West Virginia University cross country team prepare for its first meet in the 2020 season on Oct. 16, it's time to hear what head coach Sean Cleary expects to see from his team this season.
Entering his 14th season with the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams, Cleary has led the Mountaineers to six NCAA top-10 finishes since 2007 and has coached 10 runners to a combined 13 All-Big 12 honors since joining the conference in 2012.
The Georgetown, Ontario, native is no stranger to winning championships, as he coached the Mountaineers to an Atlantic 10 title in 1994 and a Big East championship title in 2007.
Cleary sat down recently to preview the upcoming 2020 season.
Can you talk a little bit about the freshmen and how they may be adjusting to the team?
I think the freshmen are doing as good of a job as anybody could ever expect for an incoming athlete into the program. Their lives are just different. For teams across the country and all sports, they must adapt. For those that cannot, they'll probably struggle severely. What I am noticing with our kids is that they have had a few rough moments, but overall, I am extremely proud of the way that they have handled themselves through this process. From team bonding, to the athletic training room, to basically just getting to know each other and really being able to lean on the upperclassmen, as all my teams have been able to. It's just more difficult because we're training in pods, and we're basically living in pods. I know they are looking forward to the day where things can return to normal, but for now, I would think that their adjustment into WVU has been quite good both academically and athletically.
How have you and your team been preparing for this season?
So far, training has gone quite well. Since March 12, the day things were shut down back in the spring, up until the first day they arrived back at WVU, this team was incredible in terms of their preparation. From top to bottom, every single individual on this team had an outstanding preparation and outstanding commitment to try to be ready for the fall. The whole team is scattered across North America and scattered across the world. It's great to have that type of percentage of our program commit themselves to the level that they did. I just can't be prouder of how they bettered themselves for what was coming.
Since arriving back on campus, I would say things are extremely different for everybody. We are training in pods of three or four and are social distancing. We are training at different venues on the same day. The coaching staff is working extremely hard to coordinate these efforts and the girls are adapting very well. Would it be nice to have the whole team in one place at the same time doing the same workout? Certainly, but under the current environment, I feel that we've done a good job. We're relatively healthy. We're feeling confident, and we're excited just to see where we are as a program. We're hoping to be a little bit better than last year. A little bit better could bring great results.
How have you managed the team with such a different kind of season?
I would say the biggest change is that we are training in pods. We participate in four to five different practices a day and sometimes they are in different venues. Other times, as one practice is finishing, ten or fifteen minutes later we start another practice. We are just trying to be conscientious of what's happening and limit our chances of having somebody within the program get COVID. Quite honestly, we've embraced this with a high level of commitment. We're going to ensure that the girls remain safe and stay away from a positive test to the best of our abilities.
The logistics of the season are interesting. There are not big team meals, and we don't have big team meetings. We have Zoom calls. As would most teams in the country, but the biggest thing I think is that we get ready to prepare to hit the road for the season. Again, we will do our best to keep the kids safe and away from contact tracing to the best of our abilities. So, the logistics are different. Communication with the administration, the communication with the medical staff, the trainers, my coaching staff and the athletes. It's just something that we need to do for now, and I think the young ladies are handling it very well.
Obviously, everyone had a longer break this summer. Have you noticed any changes in your athletes?
I would say the biggest change that I've noticed in the group is just quite honestly their excitement to be here and the level of gratefulness that they have for getting the opportunity. A lot of their peers around the country are not getting to race. They're not getting to train the way that we're able to train with some goals in mind. Even if the whole season were turned upside down and we were only able to run in the Big 12 Championship, it's still a lot better than at least 50% of the country right now. So, I think they've done a good job appreciating that and understanding how hard the administration, the medical staff and the coaching staff have worked to put together whatever opportunities they may get. I would say that is a big difference. There's a lot of gratefulness for the opportunities that are presented to them. As we go forward, I hope that we see the commitment and dedication that they exhibited prior to coming back to town, and that they are rewarded via the stopwatch for those efforts.
Has having a shortened season affected your athletes?
This is such a unique season. We have a season ending on Oct. 30 and a second ending hopefully on March 15, which would be the NCAA Championships. I think looking at the short term, it's strange that they are only getting a couple of opportunities to put it on the line and show improvements from a year ago, but I think they understand that once Oct. 30 comes and goes, they have a few more months to prepare at an even higher level for a winter cross country season. This will be the first time that winter cross country has ever been run within the NCAA. So, we're all trying to navigate that as coaches and eventually as the athletes look towards those time periods. I think there will be an even higher level of excitement, but I think a team philosophy right now is that we are looking at Oct. 30 and nothing past it. We are looking to do our best to be in the best possible place for that day.
Looking back on last season, your third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship and fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional were the team's highest finishes at the respective meets since 2016. How can you continue to prepare for these competitions with a shortened season?
The only thing that we can do for this fall at the Big 12 Championship is to try to be a little bit better in each category. We need to be a little more disciplined throughout the season with regards to training. We need to make a few more decisions that will allow them to do their best to stay away from basic sickness and basic injury and quite honestly be, a little more confident. At last year's championship, we probably lost the Big 12 Championship in the last 15 seconds of the race and that stung. I would stay 15 seconds to go we were winning the Big 12, so that hurt. But the bottom line is that it is a new year. We have graduated some key runners and the returning members of the program from last year have done an incredible job to prepare for this year. I think the way we are approaching this is to be a little bit better in all categories associated with running the fastest they can on Oct. 30 and go execute a very mature and exciting race. They've got big goals in their minds. They understand and respect the other teams in the Big 12, and I think, as a coach, that is all we can hope for. Prepare to the best of their abilities and execute on race day, and I trust that this team can do that.
What are your goals for this season?
The goals for the season, the ultimate hope and goal is to be in the NCAA Championships in March. If we were to look at short-term goals, we would like to be a step better at the Big 12 Championship emerge from the winter and fall seasons ready and in the greatest shape of their lives. I think if we can accomplish those goals, it would be an extremely successful year. We have a window of opportunity for these things to happen. Admittedly, we will not be the favorites to win the Big 12. We will probably be in the three or four spots, but tasting that championship last year and being so close to pulling it off, I think has these young ladies inspired. I think at the end of the day, our evaluation will be based on, did we navigate the season with COVID? Did we navigate the season without injuries and big sickness? Did we line up fresh and mentally prepare for the big day just to give ourselves a shot at fulfilling our dreams?
What are you looking forward to this season?
I would say this is a very young team. It's a very young West Virginia team. We have four or five impact freshmen. Certainly, they will make an impact throughout their careers here in Morgantown. Many of the women returning to this year's basic line up, whether it is the top seven or the top 10 that go to the Big 12 Championship, have a lot of eligibility left. So, one of the things I am most looking forward to is watching them grow and really find themselves this season. I think there are several young women who can become leaders in this program and I'm excited to see who really steps up and takes control of the group to put the teams goals in front of individual goals. I have watched some improvement unfold over the last two or three months. Again, they have done what they needed to do to put themselves in the situation to have a great season. We certainly cannot control the team performances of any of the Big 12 teams, but I know we are in control of our performances. I am excited to watch us fulfill our destinies and run to our potential.
As the West Virginia University cross country team prepare for its first meet in the 2020 season on Oct. 16, it's time to hear what head coach Sean Cleary expects to see from his team this season.
Entering his 14th season with the West Virginia University cross country and track and field teams, Cleary has led the Mountaineers to six NCAA top-10 finishes since 2007 and has coached 10 runners to a combined 13 All-Big 12 honors since joining the conference in 2012.
The Georgetown, Ontario, native is no stranger to winning championships, as he coached the Mountaineers to an Atlantic 10 title in 1994 and a Big East championship title in 2007.
Cleary sat down recently to preview the upcoming 2020 season.
Can you talk a little bit about the freshmen and how they may be adjusting to the team?
I think the freshmen are doing as good of a job as anybody could ever expect for an incoming athlete into the program. Their lives are just different. For teams across the country and all sports, they must adapt. For those that cannot, they'll probably struggle severely. What I am noticing with our kids is that they have had a few rough moments, but overall, I am extremely proud of the way that they have handled themselves through this process. From team bonding, to the athletic training room, to basically just getting to know each other and really being able to lean on the upperclassmen, as all my teams have been able to. It's just more difficult because we're training in pods, and we're basically living in pods. I know they are looking forward to the day where things can return to normal, but for now, I would think that their adjustment into WVU has been quite good both academically and athletically.
How have you and your team been preparing for this season?
So far, training has gone quite well. Since March 12, the day things were shut down back in the spring, up until the first day they arrived back at WVU, this team was incredible in terms of their preparation. From top to bottom, every single individual on this team had an outstanding preparation and outstanding commitment to try to be ready for the fall. The whole team is scattered across North America and scattered across the world. It's great to have that type of percentage of our program commit themselves to the level that they did. I just can't be prouder of how they bettered themselves for what was coming.
Since arriving back on campus, I would say things are extremely different for everybody. We are training in pods of three or four and are social distancing. We are training at different venues on the same day. The coaching staff is working extremely hard to coordinate these efforts and the girls are adapting very well. Would it be nice to have the whole team in one place at the same time doing the same workout? Certainly, but under the current environment, I feel that we've done a good job. We're relatively healthy. We're feeling confident, and we're excited just to see where we are as a program. We're hoping to be a little bit better than last year. A little bit better could bring great results.
How have you managed the team with such a different kind of season?
I would say the biggest change is that we are training in pods. We participate in four to five different practices a day and sometimes they are in different venues. Other times, as one practice is finishing, ten or fifteen minutes later we start another practice. We are just trying to be conscientious of what's happening and limit our chances of having somebody within the program get COVID. Quite honestly, we've embraced this with a high level of commitment. We're going to ensure that the girls remain safe and stay away from a positive test to the best of our abilities.
The logistics of the season are interesting. There are not big team meals, and we don't have big team meetings. We have Zoom calls. As would most teams in the country, but the biggest thing I think is that we get ready to prepare to hit the road for the season. Again, we will do our best to keep the kids safe and away from contact tracing to the best of our abilities. So, the logistics are different. Communication with the administration, the communication with the medical staff, the trainers, my coaching staff and the athletes. It's just something that we need to do for now, and I think the young ladies are handling it very well.
Obviously, everyone had a longer break this summer. Have you noticed any changes in your athletes?
I would say the biggest change that I've noticed in the group is just quite honestly their excitement to be here and the level of gratefulness that they have for getting the opportunity. A lot of their peers around the country are not getting to race. They're not getting to train the way that we're able to train with some goals in mind. Even if the whole season were turned upside down and we were only able to run in the Big 12 Championship, it's still a lot better than at least 50% of the country right now. So, I think they've done a good job appreciating that and understanding how hard the administration, the medical staff and the coaching staff have worked to put together whatever opportunities they may get. I would say that is a big difference. There's a lot of gratefulness for the opportunities that are presented to them. As we go forward, I hope that we see the commitment and dedication that they exhibited prior to coming back to town, and that they are rewarded via the stopwatch for those efforts.
Has having a shortened season affected your athletes?
This is such a unique season. We have a season ending on Oct. 30 and a second ending hopefully on March 15, which would be the NCAA Championships. I think looking at the short term, it's strange that they are only getting a couple of opportunities to put it on the line and show improvements from a year ago, but I think they understand that once Oct. 30 comes and goes, they have a few more months to prepare at an even higher level for a winter cross country season. This will be the first time that winter cross country has ever been run within the NCAA. So, we're all trying to navigate that as coaches and eventually as the athletes look towards those time periods. I think there will be an even higher level of excitement, but I think a team philosophy right now is that we are looking at Oct. 30 and nothing past it. We are looking to do our best to be in the best possible place for that day.
Looking back on last season, your third-place finish at the Big 12 Championship and fifth-place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional were the team's highest finishes at the respective meets since 2016. How can you continue to prepare for these competitions with a shortened season?
The only thing that we can do for this fall at the Big 12 Championship is to try to be a little bit better in each category. We need to be a little more disciplined throughout the season with regards to training. We need to make a few more decisions that will allow them to do their best to stay away from basic sickness and basic injury and quite honestly be, a little more confident. At last year's championship, we probably lost the Big 12 Championship in the last 15 seconds of the race and that stung. I would stay 15 seconds to go we were winning the Big 12, so that hurt. But the bottom line is that it is a new year. We have graduated some key runners and the returning members of the program from last year have done an incredible job to prepare for this year. I think the way we are approaching this is to be a little bit better in all categories associated with running the fastest they can on Oct. 30 and go execute a very mature and exciting race. They've got big goals in their minds. They understand and respect the other teams in the Big 12, and I think, as a coach, that is all we can hope for. Prepare to the best of their abilities and execute on race day, and I trust that this team can do that.
What are your goals for this season?
The goals for the season, the ultimate hope and goal is to be in the NCAA Championships in March. If we were to look at short-term goals, we would like to be a step better at the Big 12 Championship emerge from the winter and fall seasons ready and in the greatest shape of their lives. I think if we can accomplish those goals, it would be an extremely successful year. We have a window of opportunity for these things to happen. Admittedly, we will not be the favorites to win the Big 12. We will probably be in the three or four spots, but tasting that championship last year and being so close to pulling it off, I think has these young ladies inspired. I think at the end of the day, our evaluation will be based on, did we navigate the season with COVID? Did we navigate the season without injuries and big sickness? Did we line up fresh and mentally prepare for the big day just to give ourselves a shot at fulfilling our dreams?
What are you looking forward to this season?
I would say this is a very young team. It's a very young West Virginia team. We have four or five impact freshmen. Certainly, they will make an impact throughout their careers here in Morgantown. Many of the women returning to this year's basic line up, whether it is the top seven or the top 10 that go to the Big 12 Championship, have a lot of eligibility left. So, one of the things I am most looking forward to is watching them grow and really find themselves this season. I think there are several young women who can become leaders in this program and I'm excited to see who really steps up and takes control of the group to put the teams goals in front of individual goals. I have watched some improvement unfold over the last two or three months. Again, they have done what they needed to do to put themselves in the situation to have a great season. We certainly cannot control the team performances of any of the Big 12 teams, but I know we are in control of our performances. I am excited to watch us fulfill our destinies and run to our potential.
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