Melissa Coughlin, Girls’ Track and Field Coach, replaced Natalie Sells, World Language Teacher, as Girls’ Cross Country Coach.

Coughlin wanted to coach girls’ cross country and track and field because she grew up as a runner, and wanted to inspire athletes to work as a team and support each other during difficult races, she said. Cross country is challenging mentally, which teaches athletes the true meaning of team building and bonding, Coughlin said.

“There is more joy that comes from running if you’ve done it with someone,” Coughlin said. “Our main focus this year is to achieve more teamwork, which is something so simple, but harder to do than it is to say.”

Senior Meghan Kramer, who has run cross country since middle school, noticed that  Coughlin prioritizes a strong mental base and good physical recovery. Coughlin centers practice around exercises to ensure the team is at their healthiest, Kramer said. To prepare for race conditions, Coughlin moved speed workout from the flat track to grass fields, allowing runners to train on terrain more similar to race courses and introduced visualization techniques a day or two before meets so runners could mentally map out their strategies, Kramer said. Daily practices also include 30 minutes of foam rolling and resistance band work targeting injury prevention, she said.

“She wants to bring out the best runner in everyone,” Kramer said. “She wants you to improve in your running, and gives you the tools to do that.”

In addition to everyday training modifications, the Loyola Flight Night meet was added to the competitive calendar this season, Kramer said. This scheduling change allows younger athletes the opportunity to learn how to manage field positions, Coughlin said.

“I have made our freshman and sophomores race in different positions to learn how to compete,” Coughlin said. “This is  allowing our younger athletes to develop at the front of the race, as opposed to just running in the middle or the back.”

Kenneth Brown, Girls’ Track and Field and Cross Country Coach, has been working alongside Coughlin for three years and described her as gritty, optimistic, and zealous. Coughlin is well-organized and prepared in advance, Brown said. Brown noted that the smaller cross country roster lets Coughlin to display her strengths in her natural habitat, where she can maintain a relaxed but direct grip on the program, Brown said.  In contrast, the chaotic track season forces her to rely heavily on her assistant coaching staff to manage 18 different skill events, he said.

“I love working with her, so when she was presented with the opportunity for head coach, I had no second thoughts of going and joining her as the assistant coach,” Brown said.

Coughlin’s experience as a runner and a coach has taught her to enjoy the journey in her career, as well as inspire her athletes to do the same, she said. She strives to empower athletes to push through and overcome difficulties by explaining how life is filled with tears and happiness, Coughlin added. Coughlin said she encourages runners to surround themselves with the people that they want to be most like as well. Brown has witnessed this leadership firsthand and the immediate impact that Coughlin has made on her runners, he said.

“I really do believe in her ability to motivate and get things going for this team, because I’ve seen it already with the four or five weeks that we’ve been out there,” Brown said.