DeKalb County Tigers Boys Cross Country Head Coach Kristen Van Vranken said she tries to teach patience and persistence the sport of cross country demands.
Van Vranken has coached for 12 years around DeKalb County. She served as the head coach until last season at the middle school while becoming high school cross country coach three seasons ago. Van Vranken said she passes down advice to those around Smithville that want to begin running cross country.
“I think I like to try to teach them, especially with running, it’s definitely a building block process,” Van Vranken said. “The more hard work you put in, the better you’re gonna get.”
Van Vranken has seen multiple athletes move on to run at the college level. Van Vranken said cross country today requires a team effort.
“It’s definitely something that you have to keep up with,” Van Vranken said. “So I would always encourage them to get in some runs over the off-season also, even if they were playing another sport, just to keep up the running that way.”
Van Vranken will conclude the Tigers regular season in October. She completed the Burnett Invitational in Cookeville with junior Ben Driver finishing in the top 20 among the 99 students who competed in the 5000 meter run. Van Vranken said she is hopeful a team or individual from DeKalb will qualify for October’s regional tournament.
“This is a hard sport and I feel like they really put in their best effort in practice,” Van Vranken said. “It’s a big adjustment but they’ve done great. I’m super proud of them.”
Driver stands as the lone junior among a group of freshmen and sophomores on the team. Van Vranken said she hopes to encourage the younger students coming up to try out and see how fast they can run before the start of next season.