Middle School math teacher and cross country Head Coach, Jane Repp has been coaching cross country at the middle school for at least 10 years.
In previous years, she has coached soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball; however, Coach Repp’s passion is running and cross country. As a student, she played field hockey in high school; she began running after graduating college. Coach Repp loves running because she enjoys spending time outside and exercising.
Coach Repp continues coaching cross country because it’s a different kind of sport and more like swimming. “Everybody is supporting each other and helping each other be better, but everybody’s also focused on how they can better themselves,” she said. As a cross country coach, Coach Repp does her best to teach runners proper form. “I sometimes forget about making sure to teach breathing because to me it’s so normal to breathe when I’m running,” she said.
Coach Repp also focuses on teaching new runners to pick their knees up while running. “It’s about really almost fighting your body’s impulse to stop and walk,” she said. While at meets and practices, Coach Repp enjoys watching the runner’s progress throughout the season. “We notice if somebody even if they aren’t running faster, they are running stronger, their form is better or they can run farther,” Coach Repp said. She finds it interesting to observe runners improve their times throughout their middle school years.
Runners on the team appreciate practices that Coach Repp plans out. A new seventh grader to the team, Jessica Mulligan said that Coach Repp mixes up practice routines. “Mrs. Repp works really hard to have interesting practices that are very diverse. We go to the reservoir, Elizabeth Park, and we do a bunch of different campus runs. She works very hard to make us better runners ,and she pushes me to get faster and faster each practice,” she said.
Also new to the team, eighth-grader Tommy Vumback likes the advice she gives before a meet. “She shows us the course and tells us what spots we have to run on our toes or heels,” he said. Part of the team’s success can be attributed to Coach Repp’s strong knowledge of the sport. Thanks to her expertise, the team had a fantastic 2019 fall season.
