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Setting The Record Straight
Coach John O'Malley speaks on his star sophomore Lukas Verzbicas on how he has adapted to the Sandburg Cross Country tradition.
Michael Newman - Dyestat Illinois
Lukas Verzbicas has put his stamp on the record book already in his first season at Sandburg High School in Orland Park. In winning the AAA Boys state championship, he ran the fastest time ever for a sophomore at that race. He went on after that to win the Foot Locker Midwest Championships and then became the first sophomore to win the Foot Locker National Championships.
This sophomore has been perceived by some as greedy just going after the title. Whispers have floated around the running community in Illinois and on the chat pages that he does not practice with the team, that he is not a team runner. These statements are farthest from the truth according to Sandburg Cross Country Coach John O'Malley. Setting the record straight is what Coach O'Malley will do commenting on what his star runner achieved during the past season and how he affected his teammates.
On Lukas blending in with the team:
 | Lukas Verzbicas (left) with Sandburg coach John O'Malley
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A lot of people have asked me about Lukas blending in with the team. Additionally, I’ve often laughed at some of the whispers and rumors that swirled around Lukas’ participation on the team. I’m not a message board guy and I don’t allow the team to be either, but when coaches are asking if Lukas even shows up for practice, I just laugh and wonder where this stuff is coming from. If coaches are asking questions, I can only imagine some of the stuff random people with no accountability are saying.
We have a large team of about 60 runners, which is by far the biggest team we’ve had at Sandburg, so we had a number of new runners this year. Lukas was one of them. Anyone can join the team, but there is a price for admission. Our motto at Sandburg is: trophies gather dust but decency and caring for others grows richer with time. You need to actively contribute to the team in meaningful ways. That is an expectation. What’s great about Lukas is that he came onto the team and it was immediately apparent that he had the same mentality. He sees value in being a member of the team rather than merely an individual. He cares for his teammates and he wants to make them better. Literally, the first day of practice he was cheering for his new teammates, he finished and turned around and ran kid after kid into the finish. He picked up our equipment and garbage. All of this on day one. He is a rarity. He makes his teammates better.
Let’s be honest, there are more than enough opportunities for him to run independent of Sandburg, but his desire to run for Sandburg says a lot about him. Right around conference time Lukas was having some Achilles issues, which was truly a shame because he was running phenomenally well in practice. But when his Achilles flared up it came down to a decision: run Sectionals and State or run Nike. We could have rested him and he could have gotten ready for Nike with little risk. It was a no brainer for Lukas even though clearly he would have gotten so much more national exposure from running Nike, and he placed himself at risk by running at about 85%. That illustrates his commitment to his teammates.
What’s great is that I think the team does a lot for Lukas as well. He fits in because as Lukas points out himself: we are all committed to excellence. Everyone accepts the challenges and comes to realize that the external challenges are really about internal struggle. That makes every guy the same in that sense. We have different goals, different abilities, but a common understanding of the challenge. That realization creates a family-like bond. So Lukas gets so much from his teammates and his teammates get so much from Lukas. It’s what (North Central College Coach) Al Carius calls synergy—the notion that the strength of the individual comes from the team and the strength of the team comes from the individual. That’s when you really have something. What a privilege it is to have Lukas on the team and what a privilege
t is for him to get to represent Sandburg Cross Country. Aside from that, our school from our principal and athletic director down to our student body are 100% supportive of Lukas. I am really lucky as a coach to have that support. It’s a great environment.
The last thing I’ll say about Lukas as a teammate comes from the state meet. I waited with Lukas behind the awards area and when Lukas came off the stage he said, “I don’t want to be on that podium alone next year.” He is team centered even in his moment of individual glory. So I just said, “I’m with you, let’s get to work.”
On Lukas' training in the team enviornment:
Individuality should be a part of any team culture. It’s not about conforming kids to a mold. A doctor wouldn’t prescribe the same medication or dosage for every patient, so a coach shouldn’t prescribe the exact same training either. So individuality is a part of our system, yet we all do it for each other. Obviously Lukas is a rare talent and he can handle more work than others. A long run is different for every kid. Likewise, if we are doing something Vo2max or race specific stuff and it takes a 22:00 guy around 4:00 to complete 1k and a guy like Lukas this year or Zach Dahleen last year would hit the k’s in around 2:50 or even faster, well those are two completely different workouts even though they are both doing 1ks. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. So the 22:00 guy might do 800s instead.
So with 60 kids, we are all over the place. Coach Tarjan and Coach Struck each take a group of 20 kids a piece and monitor them as well. It is routine for us to pull a handful of kids out of any given workout, or adjust it by changing one of the major factors contributing to the intensity of the workout—recovery, intensity, duration.
With Lukas, I can remember one workout that was going pretty well for him, we were hitting 1ks on the track and Lukas had a significantly shorter recovery period because it was clear to me that he didn’t need it for what we needed to get out of that particular day. Another day, Lukas could have completed the workout but he was laboring, so I dropped his last interval down to a 400 rather than an 800. Little adjustments occur regularly, so the fact that Lukas has his own adjustments is just that: routine. No one thinks twice about it.
With Lukas, we had an even more unique situation because he had the World Duathlon to train for in early September. So, we worked out a schedule with Lukas and his parents where he could get the cycling training in needed to prepare, but also be at practice regularly. Lukas made a huge commitment to the team by getting in many of his workouts before school and at night after practice. On top of that, he needed to be rested at a point in the season where most of our guys were hitting some big efforts. Once Worlds was over Lukas’ training turned toward running heavier workloads.
Here is the bottom line with why Lukas is successful: he works hard. Period. If someone out there is looking for a way to be a successful runner and they look to Lukas for an example, the answer is not in one given day or one given workout. He lives the sport. He workouts relentlessly. Some days he works out three times. It is a 365 day commitment. Even if he is resting, he is only resting in order to be able to recovery to do more work.
At Foot Locker the kids have an ice cream sundae bar after the race, but he wouldn’t eat it, even after the race. After state he treated himself with a high fiber pseudo pop tart. If someone out there is thinking the only reason Lukas is successful is because of his talent they are making excuses. Lukas is quite talented, but as talented as he is he is even more dedicated.
As far as Foot Locker is concerned, Lukas was training completely with his parents after the state meet. I have so much respect for his parents. They are so knowledgeable and have every aspect of Lukas’ life covered. His mother was a phenomenal runner and his dad an excellent coach. They are really supportive of the team as well and they have made Lukas who he is today.
 | Lukas Verzbicas at the 2009 State Cross Country Meet. (photo C. Geiger)
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On Lukas at State and Foot Locker:
It is a cliché, but Lukas has the mentality of a champion. He doesn’t care that he was the youngest guy in the race at nationals. He wanted to win. Prior to the race I was with Lukas when he was doing some strideouts and Lukas looked a little nervous. He came up to me and said, “Coach, I need to win.” That’s his mind set. I asked him a few months ago what he would consider a successful athletic career and he said, “Olympic gold medal.” I asked if anything less would be a disappointment for him and he said, “Absolutely.” That is a tall order, and some see that as arrogance, but that is not it. It is an inner compulsion, drive and focus that makes him so great.
At state he had missed a lot of training, he wasn’t 100% healthy, it was his first state meet, there were thousands of people running around, but Lukas was completely confident and focused. He believes in himself. At Foot Locker he wouldn’t do a prerace interview because he wanted to be focused on the race. He didn’t want to get overly involved in all of the prerace festivities. Some don’t understand that or feel it is off putting, but I get it. It’s not that he doesn’t have fun or is a robot, but when it comes time to run he wants to be focused. It’s those little things that separate him from the field.
I remember going over the Foot Locker course with Lukas in school one day. His strategy at Footlocker was really centered on two ideas: 1. Win 2. Prepare for the future. Those two ideas really are the center for all that Lukas does. He wants to win and he needs to prepare for the future. At Footlocker, as it turned out, Lukas was ready on that day and could have taken the lead earlier in the race than he did, but he also needs to learn how to race in a situation where he can’t just lead from gun to tape. That is future planning and that is something I am quite cognizant about. That is always a high priority.
While Lukas' drive is unmatched and admirable, my goal is that he comes to realize
that a successful career will not be entirely dependant upon a medal or comparing
himself to someone else. |
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