Crooker was speaking of senior Josef Holt-Andrews, who spent this fall breaking course records and winning high school championships all over Maine.
And just this past Saturday he placed fifth in the Northeast qualifying Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in New York City. That result earned him a spot in the National Foot Locker Championships Dec. 14 in San Diego.
Commitment
The life of a distance runner can by nature be solitary. Add to that the commitment required to succeed at a high level, and although Holt-Andrews’ friends can marvel at his winning ways, it’s tough to truly understand what’s involved.
That should change next year, when he goes off to college at one of the top Division I running schools that has been recruiting him. Holt-Andrews will compete in cross-country as well as indoor and outdoor track distance events. There he will be one of many top-notch runners on a team.
He’s had interest from Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Stanford and Georgetown.
Holt-Andrews made a decision in eighth grade to dedicate himself to becoming the best distance runner he could be. A good all-around athlete, that meant giving up other sports he liked to focus on running.
During his freshman year of high school, he said, “I felt it a little during basketball season.”
But he persevered, running varying distances for training for all but about 10 days a year, in all kinds of weather. He attended running camps in Florida and in the high altitude of Colorado.
He also aimed for eight hours of sleep a night and paid faithful attention to his diet, to what he was using to fuel his body.
“My family eats pretty healthy, so that hasn’t bee too bad,” he said.
All the discipline required, said Holt-Andrews, has been easier to take when it’s dished out by Crooker, a high-level runner himself.
“He knows what he’s talking about,” said Holt-Andrews. “He has the background. He’s raced with really good people. It gives me a lot more faith listening to him and buying into the training.”
Crooker, originally from Illinois, ran after college with a club team that competed at the national level.
In addition to advising on training, Crooker helps Holt-Andrews prepare himself mentally for races.
“I try to stay calm,” said Holt-Andrews. “I try not to think about it until within about an hour of the race.”
Said Crooker, “Nervous energy can be counterproductive. I try to get him to smile and laugh.”
But as the start approaches, said Holt-Andrews, “I let myself get a little nervous to get hyped up.”
Crooker said communication between runner and coach is very important.
“He needs to share how he feels and what’s working,” he said.
All the preparation has worked out very well this season, in Holt-Andrews’ last year of high school.
He won the individual championships in the Mountain Valley Conference, in regional and state Class C, and particularly impressive, the Festival of Champions in Belfast.
The festival brought together 1,400 top high school runners from across New England and Canada. Holt-Andrews not only won, he broke the 5-kilometer course record by 20 seconds.
He went on to compete in the New England Championships, where he finished third, and most recently the Footlocker race.
After the San Diego competition he will continue training ahead of spring track season, where he competes at the one- and two- mile and 5k distances.
Last July he broke the Maine all-time track record in the 5k at the New Balance Outdoor National competition.
As for the next step – college – Holt-Andrews said he is both excited and nervous. In addition to his demanding competition schedule, he also wants to major in chemical engineering.
Crooker looks forward to watching him, but admits to mixed feelings.
“It’s been very rewarding over the last four years. It’s not often a coach gets an athlete that wants to be where he is,” he said. “I’ll miss him.”
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