By Robert Paul
“Cross Country is not for everyone,” Coach Wrubbel said several times. I joined the DDHS XC (cross country) team in the summer before my freshman year. I thought I could “run” but by the end of the season, I greatly respected the sport. As difficult as it turned out to be, it helped me a lot in life experience and boosted my ability to endure with stamina in other sports such as basketball and baseball. I wondered if the benefits were unique to me or if they were true for the sport in general. I reached out to Coach Wrubbel and asked him a few questions. Before DDHS, he coached in a district with State XC teams and state-qualifying individuals. Coach Wrubbel himself was an All-Conference runner back in the day as well. He was able to bring that experience over to DDHS.
One of my questions was if it was true that XC had benefits for other sports. Coach Wrubbel answered in the affirmative and said, “It’s an aerobic sport where you are running — constantly working on lung power and legs. This builds stamina for sports such as basketball, swimming, and wrestling where endurance is crucial.” He also stated that being a multi-season athlete helps the conditioning for each season.
When I joined the team, plans were underway to move DDHS from the Southern Lakes Conference to the Rock Valley Conference. Curious of any challenges and opportunities from the move, I asked Coach Wrubbel about it. He stated that the SLC conference was larger compared to the size of RVC. The bigger the schools are, the more likely they are to have several good runners for their teams. However, RVC schools have as much talent as bigger schools. Athletes still had to work hard and put in the time; nothing would be given to them simply because we are facing smaller schools like ourselves.
There are different types of sports, from individual to team sports; however, cross country can be both. Coach Wrubbel explained that cross country is unique because the team can compete for championships as a team but there are opportunities for the individual athlete to compete and earn the top places in meets for medals. As a team, it takes individuals working together and putting in the work to be a successful team. Then the individual athlete puts their best running foot forward for individual recognition.
The main takeaway from this interview with Coach/Mr. Wrubbel is that while the cross country sport is not for everyone there are benefits for everyone. Also, athletes need to focus on their talent for themselves and the team when competing against other schools’ teams and athletes, regardless of the conference level.
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