A new track, new coaching staff and new attitude has already
revitalized the GHS track and field program
I woke up in Chicago. About 14 hours later, I found myself sitting at a Gilroy High girls soccer game.
As I walked past the concession stand toward the bleachers, I had two thoughts.
Awesome view, crappy track.
Over a year ago, I came out here to interview for this very job. I had never been to Northern California, never been to Gilroy. And the sad state of the worn-down dirt track (which I thought perhaps was used for chariot races) is the first impression of Gilroy High that still lives most vividly in my mind.
I wondered how a team could practice – let alone host a meet – on a surface like that. Once I looked at the track and field schedule a month later, I realized the Mustangs couldn’t. Gilroy had not one home meet in 2005.
So you can imagine my shock when I saw what I did Thursday afternoon.
It was a track meet at Gilroy High. But not just any track meet. It was a track meet with computerized results and a camera for photo finishes. It was a track meet between Gilroy and San Benito that did not feature the numbers-challenged Mustang squad of the past. This pack of runners, throwers and jumpers was 75 strong, almost twice as big as last year. They didn’t just look good in their brand-new royal blue warm-ups. They competed pretty well, too. And get this: The Gilroy girls almost won. That meet actually came down to the 4×400-meter relay, the last event. San Benito won the close race, which had the athletes from both schools running across the infield fanatically cheering on their teammates, to win the meet by one point.
Let’s face it, this is just plain weird to be seeing, considering the state of the program in recent years.
Jeff Garcia’s nice donation for the new fake grass football field and state-of-the-art track was the first reason the Mustangs were able to host their first meet in nearly two years.
The other reasons? New head coach Jeff Myers and assistant coaches Mark Carrick, Rich Martinez, Rich Masey, Ernesto Salinas, Ron Seanez, Art and Cathy Silva and Frank Valadez.
Ringleader Myers, a GHS grad who has been coaching for over 20 years since he got his start at his alma mater in 1985, thought he was taking a break after last season when he stepped down after spending the past five years as the girls head coach at powerhouse Archbishop Mitty. He had coached for three years at St. Francis before that. Under his guidance, the Monarchs won the 2004 Central Coast Section title. But some friends in Gilroy suggested he look into coaching the Mustangs, a team that needed help.
It set the wheels in motion. Myers, who received his first coaching break from former Gilroy coach Avis Kelley, began working with the Silvas and the cross country program in the fall. In the meantime, he built up an impressive coaching staff. In addition to the Silvas (who were already revitalizing the cross county program), Carrick and Masey, Myers was able to lure Gilroy track and field record holders Salinas and Seanez back to their old stomping grounds.
Salinas, a two-time CCS champ in the 200, came back to coach the sprinters. Seanez is coaching hurdles, an event in which he was a high school All-American. Myers brought Martinez with him from Mitty. He’s also bringing 2005 GHS grad Valadez, a jumper on last year’s team, on board to help him with the jumpers.Carrick is helping bring the pole vault back to Gilroy for the first time in five years and Masey, who has helped Bobby Best become one of the best in CCS in shot put and discus, is working with the throwers.
“The coaching staff is fantastic,” Myers said after Thursday’s meet. “The staff gets along so well. It makes my job so easy.”
The changes not only altered the face of Gilroy track and field, but also created a buzz with the student body.
“I came out and just helped the word spread,” Myers said. “The kids started feeding off that, like hey, someone cares.”
It’s going to take a while before the Mustangs start winning as a team. Or get to the point where they have several CCS qualifiers. Take a look at Gilroy field hockey or wrestling. It’s taken nearly a decade for those programs to earn their current CCS success.
But by the looks of Thursday, Myers is off to a great start.
“Championships are hard to come by. It took me 20 years to get my first CCS title,” Myers said. “Hopefully the kids will enjoy the season and have fun. It is high school.”
