Scott Simmons and Will Freeman have published Take the Lead: A Revolutionary Approach to Coaching Cross Country. The book critically examines concepts like peaking and base building and provides insights into developing a championship team, and having it perform its best at the championship race.
And both coaches speak from a rich history of championship success with Simmons, now at Virginia Intermont College, winning the last four NAIA national crowns and with Freeman's Grinnell squads winning 19 of the past 20 Midwest Conference titles.
The book has received acclaim from around the world. Joseph Chesire, coach of five-time World Cross Country champion Paul Tergat, says, "This is a book young coaches cannot afford to put aside." USA Track & Field president Bill Roe observes that the book "presents a cohesive whole with much for any coach to read with enthusiasm." Legendary high school coach Joe Newton remarks, "I recommend this book as required reading by all coaches… it moved me deeply."
The book contains a forward by chasingtradition.com's Matt Taylor as well as a prelude by Joe Newton. It can purchased on-line at www.mountainhighrunning.com
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
SCOTT SIMMONS is a five-time NAIA National Coach of the Year and was selected twice as a US national team coach. Simmons-coached teams have won 4-straight NAIA national titles. He recently coached Fernando Cabada to break Ed Eyestone's US 25k record.
WILL FREEMAN has been called a "Teacher of Coaches." A former chair of the coaching education program with USATF, he coaches at Grinnell College where his CC teams have won 19 of the past 20 Midwest Conference titles.