As the trend of the past few years has gone, with another school year comes a new cross country coach. At the helm this year are Head Coach Bob Hepler, Associate Cross Country Coach Erick Camodeca, and Assistant Cross Country Coach Joanna Friesen.
Diverging from past trends, Hepler firmly intends on being around for the long haul: “I’m going to coach until I die. I envision myself cheering on EMU athletes at a meet and screaming, ‘Come on! You can do it. Go!’ as I exhale for the last time, keel over, and land on the great track in the sky.”
Prior to this position, Hepler coached and directed the Herrington Patriot Center at The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) for 14 years. However, he was not able to give as much time to coaching as he wanted. “UT Tyler was a blast, but I always felt a little guilty that I wasn’t giving more to the student athletes. I love that I am able to give more of myself to the students at EMU,” he said.
His athletes have noticed his passion for coaching. “He’s going the extra mile to make sure we are taken care of physically, emotionally, mentally, and even religiously to an extent,” first-year Alijah Johnson said “I appreciate the amount of consideration that he puts into [coaching].”
“I’ve appreciated the fact that Coach Bob listens,” senior Derrick Chirinos said. “That’s all I ever wanted in a coach these past three years. He’s direct and tells you what the purpose of a certain workout is so it gives training a sense of meaning. You’re able to then give feedback about the workout to tweak it so it fits each runner best.”
Although Hepler wants to create athletes that love running, he wants them to be students first: “While Coach Cam and I want to win, it will not be at the expense of providing opportunities for current and future EMU students.”
Over these first few weeks, Hepler and Coach Cam have found a cohesive stride. “His knowledge, love of the sport, and ability to communicate are unmatched … He is going to help create great students and athletes at EMU,” Hepler said.
Their athletes see the mutual respect that exists between the coaches. “They are constantly talking to each other. They complement each other very well. It’s really good for us to see that because we haven’t had that example in the past,” junior Emma Hoover said, “What Coach Cam implements one day, Coach Bob is sure to use the next.”
“They work together very well. They come together to make some great workouts,” Johnson said.
“From the get-go, both Coach Bob and Coach Cam made it clear that they want to restore the team to what it was during my freshman and sophomore year and better that. At the time, we were placing [in the] top 75 percent consistently. They made it simple: if you want to succeed, trust the process or don’t bother,” Chirinos said.
As the season continues, both the coaches and athletes are looking forward to watching the season unfold, especially with the improvement they have seen since the first week. “They not prepared for the start of practice. We did a fitness test that was catastrophic. At first, I thought the bad smell was from one of the local feed facilities. I was wrong. The stink was coming from our first practice,” Hepler said, “The last three weeks have been tremendous. They get better each day. They are focused and having fun. I am so honored that I get to be their coach.”
