Monk, Rajlich and Plotner learn life lessons through “How Bad Do You Want It”

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

The path to becoming a captain for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team traveled through the library.

Aspiring captains had required summer reading.

And then, head coach Jason Retz asked the captain candidates to answer questions about the book.

The girls’ team captains – Ally Monk, Hannah Rajlich and Jillian Plotner – found the journey enlightening. All three runners are seniors.

The book they were asked to read was, “How Bad Do You Want It,” by Matt Fitzgerald.

The entire process served a purpose, Retz said.

“As far as the questions, they relate to the book and our team,” Retz said. “Many of the questions connected our team to the book and understanding why reading the book was beneficial for them going forward leading our team.

“In the book we read, every chapter was about the adversity a different person had gone through in their life to find athletic success.  Our goal was to show our leaders everyone struggles from something different. It’s important to understand that to try to connect with them to lead.”

The teen-agers found the book to be an eye-opening experience.

“The main reason for reading the book and answering questions was to show our coaches that we are willing to invest our time into something bigger than ourselves which, in the end, will lead to a stronger team,” Rajlich said. “From the book, I was able to learn that all athletes go through different struggles to get to where they are.

“This book allowed me to get an insight on some of the struggles my own teammates might experience and how I may be able to help them.”

Monk liked that the book detailed issues from real people as opposed to hypothetical examples.

“Within the novel, each athlete overcame some type of adversity and I talked to my teammates about how they could overcome adversity in similar ways as the athletes did in the book,” Monk said. “Personally, the book changed my mindset because it taught me that even professional athletes go through and deal with some of the same things as me and my teammates.

“As a leader, I hope that me giving my teammates knowledge about the athletes and their adversity helped my teammates feel a connection to these athletes. I also hope that it made them feel like they weren’t alone, and even the best of the best athletes deal with the same things as small-town high school runners do.”

Plotner said her perspectives were also altered after reading the book.

“Some of the best runners, triathletes and many more have had different life stories which helped them become what they are now,” Plotner said. “My mindset changed completely.

“I never thought throughout the course of reading this book that many people have a back story into why they became some of the best athletes, and how intelligent they are. This will help with the leader status on the cross-country team because everyone has a story; some worse than others, but they bring different aspects to the team that helps us become one whole group.”

The book, published in 2015, emphasizes the concept that strong mental fitness can provide an advantage for individuals against someone who may be superior physically.

The focus is on relearning principles involving sports psychology. A wide range of athletes – from a variety of sports – told their stories.

“The book dealt with the adversity of many individuals, and how each overcame it,” Retz said. “It was a great read for our leaders to understand that everyone comes from a different place and has had several challenges to get to where they are.”

Plotner found the stories to be relatable.

“What I learned the most is that average people have life-changing stories and that’s what got them into doing what they either have done before and got back into it or wanting to try something new,” she said.

There are multiple levels to leadership, Plotner said.

“A leader in cross-country is someone who is willing to communicate, give an all-out effort, and is willing to help show our younger – and sometimes older – kids all different kinds of methods and strategies to help improve not only themselves, but others,” she said.

“Our motto for this year is ‘others first.’ A leader does that in every aspect. They simply put others before themselves.”

Monk believes that one characteristic of leadership is keeping everyone together.

“To me, being a leader means being someone that my teammates feel as approachable,” Monk said. “Or in other words, if my teammates feel they need someone to talk to for one reason or another, I can be that person.

“As a leader, I also feel that I am someone that needs to set an example and raise the bar for the betterment of the team. I feel that the title leader means I must encourage my teammates and help them realize that at the end of the day, no matter who beat who out on the course or during the tough workout, we are always family.”

They can take the best qualities from team leaders in the past to help the program move forward.

“I have learned many things from the alumni who have preceded me in this leadership role,” Rajlich said. “I was able to see the amount of work it takes, but also how fulfilling this role is.

“I had great role models to look up to, so they showed me exactly who I wanted to be once I earned this position. They showed me how to put others first and they showcased the strong tradition of a championship culture that our running program has.”

Monk remembers what it was like to be the newbie on the team.

“Going into the program as a freshman, some of the things we do in practice seem a bit scary or even insane,” Monk said. “With these thoughts and feelings, it’s easy to think negative thoughts.

“As a leader, it’s important to be positive and because of this, I’ve tried to spread my positivity within the team.”

Plotner said one emphasis is to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“I believe that one of the major roles I play on the team is a communicator,” Plotner said. “I love communicating with everyone I can talk to. I try to talk to as many of our teammates as much as possible so that they know they have someone to talk to in case of needing help or just wanting to talk.

“Hannah Rajlich and I have been working together this past summer to not only better ourselves, but set those communication roles so our younger kids can follow also. A lot of responsibility comes with being a leader. We try to help our younger kids learn how to properly stretch, warm-up before a race, and know the difference between having fun and getting work done.”

The simple definition of expectations for the leaders, Monk said, can be summarized in one sentence.

“Providing positive energy, setting an example of hard work and being an advocate for those who need help,” Monk said.

One key, Plotner believes, is to not be overbearing.

“I learned that you try to have fun with it as much as possible,” she said. “Many of our old leaders stressed and felt like they were pressured to do everything right.

“All you have to do is take it day-by-day, and have fun with it. Don’t stress about it, have fun. But, know when to have those serious aspects, also.”

Rajlich enjoys and appreciates what cross-country offers.

“To me, cross-country is an opportunity to prove myself while also becoming the best version of myself,” Rajlich said. “This sport allows me to push myself beyond what I ever thought was possible and taught me that I am always stronger than I think.

“No matter how my last race went, each new race is an opportunity to show who I am both to myself and my coaches, teammates and opponents. While I have many goals for the upcoming season my biggest is to enjoy my final season at S-O and make the most of the time I have left.”

Monk said cross-country was not her original sport of choice, but she is glad it is one she pursued diligently.

“Cross-country is a sport that means more to me than I ever thought it would when I first started,” Monk said. “I first joined cross-country in fifth grade because my mom told me I had to choose between it and basketball, and I have no coordination whatsoever.

“So, to that little fifth-grade girl, I learned cross-country is a sport full of perseverance. Because of cross-country, I was able to realize how fun and rewarding something so tough can be. But, without my amazing teammates and coaches, I wouldn’t have been able to realize these things.

“My cross-country team is definitely like a family to me and for that, I am forever grateful.”

Plotner has both individual and team goals for her final prep season.

“I set the goal of wanting to be in the top 25 in the state meet and to help our team get a trophy,” Plotner said.

Distance running is an endeavor Plotner grew up around.

“Cross-country has always been in my life,” she said. “My father (Corey Plotner) is the St. Joseph Middle School coach. He has helped me learn to love the sport and have that competitive attitude since Day 1.

“I’ve been loving the sport more and more as I continue to grow. The family aspect of the team is such a wonderful bond to have also. I enjoy going out and knowing I gave it my all on the race course while having those teammates, coaches, and family members on my side.”

Retz shies away from using the word ‘captain.’

“We call our kids leaders, not captains,” Retz said. “Captain is just a word.  The actions of that individual are much more important.”

In previous years, he never officially designated anyone in leadership positions.

“I gave responsibilities to different athletes and the ones who were good at their jobs, we counted on more to be leaders,” Retz said.

Some of the current team leaders would not have considered themselves as candidates for that role, but said the sport has helped them to reach that designation.

“I would say I have more of a shy personality until I really get to know you,” Rajlich said. “However, cross-country has really let me grow into the person I am today.

“With my team, I bring positive energy and an organized personality to keep us on track while still enjoying the sport.”

Monk, too, believes she has grown into her position.

“As a leader, I’ve learned the importance of team bonding,” she said. “As a result, I’ve become more outgoing because I’ve gotten better at helping plan hangouts.

“I’ve also learned to be more considerate and flexible with such a big group full of various thoughts and opinions.”

Rajlich hopes that she is helping to establish a culture that will carry on long after she graduates.

“I enjoy getting to be a mentor for our team and hopefully leaving an impact that will continue to improve our running program in the future,” she said.

The Spartans entered the fall practice season with renewed confidence based on summer workouts and conditioning.

“The summer allowed me to show our team how I can be a dependable and reliable leader,” Rajlich said. “Through planning many team-bonding activities and showing up to daily morning practices (at 6 a.m.) the team was able to see I was invested.

“This summer I was also able to accomplish my highest summer mileage ever with 435 miles and over 60 hours of running put in. My team has also accomplished successful summer training while also building a strong team-oriented atmosphere.”

Plotner said she did more than go through the motions while running.

“I was pushing some of my easy runs to be faster runs to get back into shape,” Plotner said. “Our fellow teammates have seen that in order to get a (state) trophy this year, we need to become faster.

“So, not only have I been speeding up during some of those runs, others on the team have also. On some of the days where I would average 7:20 for over four miles, some of the younger ones would run with me once or twice a week.”

Plotner was leading by example.

“They saw the determination through myself and saw how we all have a goal we all want to reach,” she added. “The team has gotten faster, along with myself. I see the improvements from last year.

“All I have to say is ‘look out.’ ”

SJ-O will open its season on Saturday, Aug. 31, at Paris in the Doc Acklin Memorial Invitational.