By Stephen Henderson
Coach Lyne Deckel has just finished up her first season as Patrick County High School’s cross country coach; however, she is not letting grass grow under her feet. She has just completed the first week of winter track for the Cougars. This, too, is her first season leading the winter track team.
“I’m hoping to grow the program this season by implementing programs and routines that develop athlete ownership and athlete leadership,” she said. “I’m looking to see the whole team succeed rather than have a few standout performances,” she added.
Deckel has competed in a variety of track events—giving her a wide range of experiences in competitive track. “It helps when you are trying to coach different athletes in different event groups with various strengths and weaknesses. In track, I mainly came from experiences in all relays and mid-distance events,” she added.
This year, the winter track team consists of eight girls and 15 boys. According to Deckel, some athletes who will have an excellent season include Brandon Rohrbach, Monroe Morse, Kirby Shockley and Kristian Reynolds. “I hope to see a lot of personal breakthroughs for everybody,” she said.
After the first week of practice, she has observed some hard-working athletes. “These athletes have the potential to beat some long-standing school records,” she said.
One of her goals is to have the team represent well at the region meet and have some relays and athletes achieve all-state recognition.
“So long as we stay healthy and continue working hard, I don’t see why we can’t see some big things by the bigger meets,” Deckel said.
The team’s first event is the JDL competition, Dec. 8.
