Written by: Julia Baily, Staff Writer
RUNNERS: Success is seemingly inevitable for our Boys Cross Country team.
Motivated, driven, determined! These are words cross country Coach Phil Orr uses to describe this year’s Poly Boy’s Cross country team. After 50 years of cross-country running and more than 30 years of coaching, Coach Orr is no amatuer. In fact, he is currently #1 Ranked CoachUp Running coach in California and #4 nationally. Not only has he coached cross country, but a variety of other sports, including soccer, football, and baseball. However, he happily focuses on running – his true passion.
With Orr at Poly for two previous years, 2022 marks his third year coaching Poly’s Boy’s Cross-Country team. Orr attributes his considerable successes to his commitment to his players, love of the sport, and thorough running program. After years of accumulating experience, Orr’s impressive resume helped bring his team from failing to make it to the Ivy League Finals in 2019 to winning 1st in 2021. In the future, he hopes to lead his team to CIF finals and even State, adding how he hopes to pass along his “vast knowledge” in the process. He reassures parents and kids alike that as “ long as they [hold] trust in the training program, [they] will progress.”
Freshman Jace Deledonne, a “well liked kid with a lot of personality” as described by Coach Orr, already began to make his mark on the team this year. Several weeks ago, he placed 1st in the Boy’s Frosh D1 race at the Laguna Hills Invitational and soon began preparing for his next race in Carlsbad. Coach Orr explained that Jace will “have the chance to really prove himself,” with Carlsbad being “his first opportunity” in a varsity race.
Jace credited his improvement so far this season to his coach’s “great training schedule,” emphasizing how he “really likes” Coach Orr and expressing his excitement for the upcoming season. Part of his excitement stems from the team atmosphere, which Jace described as “very supportive” with many “really nice” kids.
Both Coach Orr and Jace are prime examples of how hard work, communication, and the love for what one does can help them succeed. Jace’s advice to any freshmen looking to excel in sports is to “keep working hard, stay dedicated, and don’t quit.”
Phil Orr, Cross Country Coach