The USTFCCCA recognized the top high school boys and girls coaches this past week, and to very few people's surprise, the honors went to Mark Popp and Dave Emmans, coaches of the boys and girls Wayzata teams respectively.
Popp and Emmans both led their Wayzata teams to state titles and births at NXN Nationals, where the boys placed 11th and the girls finished 7th. This award marks the end of yet another remarkably successful season for coaches Popp and Emmans. Wayzata has been, and continues to be, a cross country/track and field powerhouse that consistently performs at the top level in the state, and in the nation.
Coach Popp:
2017 marked Popp's eighth year with the Wayzata team, and third year as head coach. In that time, he has seamlessly taken the torch and carried on the legacy of the legendary Bill Miles, Wayzata's head coach for almost 40 years.
To Coach Popp, receiving this award was nothing more than a 'recognition of our team's success.' "The kids deserve the credit," Popp said. Wayzata's top seven runners were able to consistently put together great races, and Popp was quick to acknowledge how the entire varsity squad put forward a collective effort and attitude that propelled the team to the level it reached.
When asked about what makes the Wayzata team so special, Popp acknowledged that while having such a large selection of students helps, however there had to be something else that was behind the continuing dominance of the program other than the size of the school:
For us, Bill Miles established a winning culture/tradition over the 40 or so years that he coached at Wayzata. That was something that I became a part of as one of his assistants, and have attempted to carry on as the last few years have gone by. Continuity as a program is also key. Our entire coaching staff is knowledgeable, we have a great feeder program in the middle schools, we make a huge effort to emphasize a team-first approach; and while our training plan undergoes adjustments from year to year, our general philosophy (which has proven to be successful) is the same.
The standout moment of Popp's year was seeing the progress of his upperclassman runners. Over the course of the year, Wayzata had six different athletes ranked in the MN Coaches Poll, and Popp pointed out that, "we never would have anticipated that 3-4 years ago. For me, as a coach, the best part was to see the boys take their focus, dedication, and leadership to the next level," Popp remarked.
Looking ahead, Popp hopes to simply 'keep things rolling. "We have good talent in grades 9-12 once again next fall, and it will be interesting to see how things develop."
Coach Emmans:
Dave Emmans has been coaching for 27 years, and he is no stranger to success. His Wayzata team in 2013 was the only team in recent history to beat the legendary Fayetteville-Manlius team to the Nike Nationals team title. He has won numerous state titles, and developed dozens of numerous top-level athletes throughout his career.
Similar to Popp, Emmans puts little stock in this award on a personal level, but rather uses it as a signal that the Wayzata girls program is 'doing a few things right!'
When asked why the Wayzata girls have been able to be so dominant, Emmans also credits Bill Miles for 'setting the bar so high', and he admits that they have to work very hard to even come close to some of Miles' accomplishments. Emmans went on to credit the parents of his runners for putting their full support in the children, as well as athletic director, Jamie Sherwood, who 'provides a fantastic support for athletics, which creates a culture of success across activities.'
No one moment stood out for Emmans this year, "It was like each moment would build on the next until we had a finished masterpiece at the end of the year. The totality of the year and the journey we took was the 'takeaway of 2017' for us."
In 2018, Emmans is hoping to build off of the team's successes at State and Nationals, and hopes to use them as a catalyst to do even better. Emmans closed by acknowledging the incredible seniors he has worked with year in and year out:
You don't win four State Championships the last six years without having great seniors, year in and year out. It is crazy how much pride these ladies have of continuing that legacy. It took me twenty-five years to learn that the more people that you can get involved that give value to what you are trying to accomplish, the more fun and success you will have. This award is not about me, but all of the people that contribute to Wayzata's Girls Cross Country.
Congratulations to Coaches Emmans and Popp, as well as all those involved in the successes of the Wayzata program this past year!
Happy Running!
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