Kids In The Hall: Coach Mark Popp, Wayzata MN

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The boys cross country coach at Wayzata High in Plymouth, Minn. offered some insight into how he and other coaches bring new students into the program. 

Here is Mark Popp, in his own words (edited for clarity):

We try to get kids out before they are in the hallway, which means letters and phone calls to middle school or younger high school kids who might be on the fence. Our middle schools conduct an online survey where kids express interest in different activities. I then sort through that data, plus previous results in track or cross country, and send out a mass letter with a personalized note.

That way, if and when I call a kid, they have already thought some things through.  It makes the convincing a lot easier.

Khalid Hussein was a phone call coming into his ninth-grade season. He had run a partial season in both cross country and track as an eighth-grader, but didn't finish up either time.  We knew he was obviously talented, but also that our program would be a great place for him to develop as a runner and person.

Khalid ended up being one of the top runners in our program's history. (He finished 10th at Nike Cross Nationals last December, leading the Wayzata team to 11th place). Khalid had a buddy who was also on the fence, Liban Jama, and Liban ended up being a major player for us his senior year and is now competing collegiately (at St. Olaf College).  

Both of those young men told me later that without those phone calls, there is a good chance they never would have done it.

I have no idea what I said to actually convince them, and I don't know that it mattered. While we are never going to beg or bend over backward to try to get a kid out, there is a lot of value in making a kid feel wanted.