As the Cross Country season begins, the team welcomes their newest assistant coach Jonathan Pingel. Pingel will be taking the place of Jerod Schnoneman, who is now a coach at Fremont. The hiring of Pingel marks a pivotal moment for the program, as he brings a renewed energy to this team, and a new direction for the future.
Pingel is not new to coaching, as he has coached cross country at the middle school level for over twenty years. He has also done distance running when he was younger, as he competed in track and field when he was in middle school and high school. But in college he did run cross country, on top of track and field.
Pingel is also known to run with the runners during practices, as he still runs for exercise and uses it as a motivator for them.
“I always did it in middle school, and I thought that would be a good thing to bring up to the high school level.”
Head coach Theresa Gosnell has been very pleased with his presence throughout the preseason, and is excited for how Pingel will continue to help out with the development of the runners.
“He has many strengths to bring to the team, such as motivation, recruitment, and overall performance,” Gosnell said. “Besides motivating every day, I think he’ll also be good to bring in recruits, because he still works at the middle school.”
Practices have also been different, of course Pingel has been known to run with the other runners, but he also has implemented different circuits to improve cardiovascular endurance during the preseason to help prepare them for competitions. Not only that, but Pingel also believes that runners should do other exercises on top of just running to improve their performances.
Pingel has been including other movements, to improve explosiveness on top of speed.
“I try to get them to do some explosive movements, box jumps, lateral movements for their hips, we do partner things for hamstrings.” Pingel said. “It might seem like maybe they’ve never done anything like that before, and it’s new and seems different for them, but I think it’s really important to prevent injury.”
Pingel also has gotten the team involved with weight lifting.
“They now do weightlifting and calisthenics and those types of things. So we do that on Wednesdays and Fridays. So that’s new, they didn’t do that before.” Pingel said.
Since it is only Pingels first year with the team, he is still learning about the highschool level of cross country, and getting a feel for what the runners can do. But he still makes his core goals clear.
“I want them to do their best. I want to keep them injury free. I want them to peak at the right times. So I think my passion for the sport and my knowledge also of body movements and just fitness in general, can help with what Gosnell and Price are already doing.” Pingel said.
Pingel has a lot of experience with training, but one of the reasons he is able to help the team so much with training is because he owned a Cross fit gym for five years, which has helped him learn so much about how to improve body movement.
“I’ve got a vast knowledge of lifting weights, biometrics and how to move your body. Those types of things that are unique to cross country can help their overall performance.”
Pingel also believes that culture plays a big role in the success of a program. He feels that the greater the bond between teammates, the better they will perform.
“It’s huge, you know, the boys’ team during the summertime would get together every Saturday, without being told to, and they ran together every Saturday, very long runs. And during practice they always run together, and they push each other. They’ve got a great team atmosphere.” The girls team chemistry is also very strong. “They’re always talking with each other. Everyones friendly.”
Pingel knows how important positivity is, and how it can impact a team. And it can help you push harder if you have someone with you, motivating you to keep going.
“You know, when you’re hurting in practice and you have another person running next to you, that’s what drives you to go further and further, and work harder and harder,” Pingle said, “Teamwork is huge. You can’t run this fast and be this good, without people running with you.”
Pingel has played a vital role in the culture that this team is building, and the preparation for the upcoming season. In just a short time, Pingel has not only improved the runners’ performance but also fostered a community where every member feels valued and driven to excel. Pingel has brought a new direction to the team, and he hopes that he can continue to develop the runners, and help them improve under his presence.
