Once a coach, always a coach. Sarah Rich, who accompanies her parents to many meets, waited until the meet was complete, then proceeded to drive her wheelchair to the top of the finishing stretch at Rocky Grove. As she was driving toward her own personal finish, Rocky Grove coach Drew Gavlik left his spot tallying results to encourage her. Just as in basketball, you can't coach height... in coaching, you can't coach caring."
Anyone who has ever been around school sports knows that the most valuable coaches are the ones who take the long-term view of their jobs -– preparing young adults to become successful, hard-working adults. And there are few sports which offer more remarkable opportunities for lessons than cross country.
This story is about one of those coaches and the program he has run in the mountains of western Pennsylvania for over three decades. But it very well could be about any of the state's high school coaches who, after the last spike mark has been bandaged and the final award handed out at the team dinner, calls it a career.
Drew Gavlik has taught math at Rocky Grove High School in Franklin (near Oil City) since 1970. He'll retire from that job after the 2004-2005 school year. But he chose this year to retire from coaching XC, so that he had time to groom his successors, and then a full season to sit back and actually watch the meets. For him, it's always been about working hard to achieve success. "Cross Country is a great way to view life. If you can't get a good work ethic from running, you can't get it for anything else."
But Rocky Grove has always had a few handicaps when it came to running. First, they are small. Very small. The senior class is about 80 students. Several sports compete for those few students, including golf, girls volleyball, and soccer. With just a few hundred students in 9th-12th grades (110 boys in 10-12, down from a peak of 150), that's a tough place to start.
But thanks to continual subliminal reinforcement with tons of running photos adorning the walls of his classroom, plus team members who exhort their peers to give running a try, Gavlik was able to pull together a squad of 38 this season. Many years during his tenure they've had up to 50.
The other problem the program has faced over the years is the lack of a track & field team. They have several athletes who compete through a co-op program with Franklin High School, but there isn't a coach anywhere who would want to try to build a distance program without track. "Track would have added so much."
Despite those odds, Rocky Grove has had their share of success over the years, driven in large part by the competitive nature of their coach.
"I wish I had had the opportunity to coach at a big school for a couple of years to see what kind of results I could have had. Not that I'm not grateful for this opportunity, but the size of our classes has worked against us over the years."
The school competes in District 10 in AA, and has been to the state finals six times, finished just out of the running for a state slot at Districts about ten times, and has sent many individual competitors to States. "I've always had the fire to go to States. You have to have a goal, and that's what we aimed for every year. And if we didn't make it, I was bummed."
Two or three of the six they just missed a spot on the team podium. "Our first year we went to Fort Indiantown Gap. It was the first or second year for the girls championships, and State College won with just 15 points."
Rocky Grove has gone to the state meet 15 or 16 times with individuals. The best individual performances were in the late '70's and early '80's. "One of the slowest kids was Dave Mora. But he worked off-season, and went to States his sophomore year when he came in 7th. His junior year, he moved away to Ohio and became a state champ. He eventually qualified for the Olympic Trials in the Marathon." The year Rocky Grove was 4th at States, Mora was their 4th or 5th man. A year later, without him, they were 9th. Another standout athlete was Shannell Peters, who was top 20 in the late '90's.
Gavlik ran track in junior high, and both track and cross country in high school in District 7 against Penn Hills, Upper St. Clair, and others. He loved cross country the most. "I ran against some difficult competition and had exposure to good cross country. In those days, we didn't start training until the first day of school, so anything we did during the summer was all on our own." One of the things he developed for his program over the years was summer practice. "We went to Two Mile Run Park, and to Cook Forest in Clarion County. We've run a summer camp for over 20 years, and it has included parents and coaches.
Gavlik went on to college at Clarion University. "I didn't have time to do college track. I spent my time on math, and keeping my grades up. But I ran recreationally."
The downhill finish at the Rock Grove Invitational.
When he arrived at Rocky Grove, he was determined to coach. So in his 2nd year of teaching, he took on the cross country program as coach. With no experience in building a program, and high expectations of his own, he sought advice from a fellow Rocky Grove coach who he observed was driven to succeed, and who coached the tennis team. That coaches' advice to Gavlik, "…have them come to you. Don't go to them."
And the Rocky Grove Invitational was born. 2003 was its 30th year.
That first year they had just five teams. It grew to 12, and stayed at about level for several years. Along the way, Gavlik added little things, and again, it started to grow. Their high point was 43 teams. In 2003, it was 41.
And the meet has seen its share of high caliber athletes. Foot Locker Finalist and Olympian Amy Rudolph of Kane, two-time Foot Locker Finalist Mike McWilliams of Grove City, Foot Locker Finalist and NCAA Division I XC All-American Andy Weilacher, 2002 PIAA AA and AAA Girls' State Champs Heather Wilmoth of Eisenhower and Christine Taranto of West Allegheny; and 2003 course record-holder Jed Christiansen of Greenville. McWilliams had the original course record when it was 2.8 miles, of 14:09. Slippery Rock All-American Eric Wafflin also competed at the Rocky Grove Invitational.
Gavlik hasn't been without personal success, as well. He has completed 19 marathons, including 11 Pittsburgh and four Bostons. plus 30 half-marathons and hundreds of 5k's and 10k's. "My children and wife have always been very supportive. They have allowed me to coach all these years, and always wanted me to do it well. Now it's time for the grandchildren."
Gavlik acknowledges that kids have changed over the years. "They used to run until they dropped. Now they don't have the dedication, probably because there are so many things pulling at them."
But he remembers nearly every athlete he has ever coached, and considers himself a member of an unrecognized fraternity of coaches. "There are lots of great coaches in small programs. I just wish they got more recognition."
Bonnie Gavlik has been a supporter of the Rocky Grove program since day one, here taking photos to record Drew's final meet as head coach.
Editor's Note: Every year, Rocky Grove and Twin Valley exchange meets. Rocky Grove travels to Berks County to compete in the Twin Valley Relays in late August'; then in October, Twin Valley goes west to the Rocky Grove Invitational. Athletes stay in each other's home.