Sponsored By
An organization or individual has paid for the creation of this work but did not approve or review it.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Morris has found a home with Perham cross country

PERHAM, Minn. - Perham's Jeff Morris was sitting in his 2001 Isuzu Rodeo with his wife, dog, 2-week-old first-born son, mother-in-law and father-in-law. His stepfather had just died from a rare form of cancer that killed him four months after it ...

Cross country coach Jeff Morris, seen Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, has grown the team from 17 athletes at Perham (Minn.) High School. He has helped the school earn 21 state championships in cross country and track and field.Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Cross country coach Jeff Morris, seen Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, has grown the team from 17 athletes at Perham (Minn.) High School. He has helped the school earn 21 state championships in cross country and track and field. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

PERHAM, Minn. – Perham's Jeff Morris was sitting in his 2001 Isuzu Rodeo with his wife, dog, 2-week-old first-born son, mother-in-law and father-in-law. His stepfather had just died from a rare form of cancer that killed him four months after it was discovered.

He was leaving his home state of North Carolina where he was beginning to build a running program and had just been named the head cross country coach at Western Harnett High School. He was headed to Perham, Minn.

He was 26 years old, and he had no idea what he was doing.

"I was thinking, 'This is nuts,'" Morris said. "I'm literally going cross-country to start a new life."

The 2001 Isuzu Rodeo is still with the Morris family, and that 2-week-old son is now in seventh grade. Morris, now 39, has made Perham a running powerhouse.

ADVERTISEMENT

Morris walked into practice his first day at Perham in 2002-with runners thinking he was a new teammate-and told the Yellowjackets they would make state that year. He told a boys cross country team that finished last and a girls team that finished close to last in the section the previous season they would go to state.

The boys did just that and every year since, with state titles in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and national championships in 2012 and 2013. The girls didn't make state that season, but have made state every year since 2003 with second-place finishes in 2008 and 2009.

Four runners have won individual cross country titles in that time, and Perham has won 11 individual track state titles in distance events. Morris is behind 21 individual and team state championships in cross country and track.

Currently, Perham boys cross country is ranked second in the state and sixth nationally, and the girls are second in the state and No. 1 nationally.

Morris took a Perham cross country program with less than 20 runners and transformed it into a machine with 77 runners. All this for a job he didn't really even want.

"It's pretty surreal when you think about it," Morris said. "This biggest thing is we tried to make it so kids knew they weren't just part of an athletic team. They were part of a family."

Former North Dakota State runner Maddie Van Beek was one of those cross country champions. But before she was a champion, she was a self-described nerd looking for a team.

"When I started in seventh grade, I was super shy and was the nerdy kid that was not into sports," said Van Beek, who recently placed 10th at the USATF 10-Mile Championships held in the Twin Cities. "There's no way I could have survived on any other sports team. I loved practice from Day 1 because (Morris) was so excited about it. I could see how passionate he was about the sport. What struck me is how much he cared. A lot of people just want to be part of that."

ADVERTISEMENT

As a sixth-grader in Perham, Minnesota State Moorhead runner Brady Speicher heard the speeches from all the high school coaches. Most of the kids laughed when Morris walked in with some tall, skinny kids to talk about running. Speicher was in line to sign up for football when Morris called him over and convinced him to run. Speicher was part of a championship relay and a few state cross country championship teams a couple years later.

"Everyday at practice he brings enthusiasm that I just haven't seen before," Speicher said. "He actually enjoys being there. He's excited to make you better. That's just something as athletes we catch onto. We see that he's dedicated to the sport way more than we are. That rubs off on the athletes."

In 2002, Morris' wife, Kay, who is originally from Verndale, Minn., had heard of a job opening through her aunt. Her aunt was cleaning the teeth of the Perham cross country coach at the time, who mentioned he was leaving. Before Jeff went to his first class to get his master's degree in North Carolina, Kay said there's one more job he should apply for.

"When your wife is pregnant, you do what she says," Morris said.

Morris called Perham athletic director Fred Sailer, went to class, and by the time he got back he had a response from Sailer asking him to do an interview. Kay asked Jeff a list of questions, and the two videotaped the answers. Despite there being the sounds of their dog drinking out of the toilet on the video, Sailer offered Jeff the job 48 hours after he shipped the video. A couple weeks later, he was in the Isuzu ready to go.

"I couldn't believe how strong my accent sounded on the video. My accent was so North Carolina hillbilly," Morris said. "I thought there was no chance they'd hire me. I couldn't even understand me."

"It was a little bit like watching 'The Andy Griffith Show' reruns," Sailer joked about the video. "It was the energy. The energy was boundless. It just jumped out at you that you couldn't miss it."

The winning doesn't just come from making the team feel like a family. There's a science behind what Morris does. He teaches AP Calculus. Of course everything is calculated."

ADVERTISEMENT

Morris doesn't think other sports appreciate how complex running can be.

"There's so much physiology to it," Morris said. "If I want something with a short recovery, I'm trying to improve their lactate threshold. If we do stuff with a lot of recovery, we're trying to train their body to handle the race pace. Before Day 1 of practice, I know what I'm doing every day up until the state meet."

Morris never calculated when he was 26 about to drive to the unknown that he would be someday in the weddings of his runners or even performing a wedding for one of them. He never thought that 2-week-old baby would one day pick cross country over football to be part of dad's program.

He was 26 years old and he had no idea what he was doing. Now, he's 39 and he knows exactly where he is.

"I've had people ask me if I would ever go to coach college," Morris said. "I love Perham. I love it here. I love the program. I don't know if I want to start over somewhere because I worked so dang hard to get here."

Murphy has covered sports in Chicago, Minnesota and North Dakota since 2009, working for The Forum since 2012. Contact: cmurphy@forumcomm.com or 701-241-5548

ADVERTISEMENT

What To Read Next
Get Local

ADVERTISEMENT