It's not easy taking 21 high school boys halfway across America for two weeks, but, then again, neither is changing a culture in a cross country program to develop the best team in the history of Louisiana. Jesuit head cross country coach Cullen Doody knows a little something about both.
Twenty-one Blue Jays are waking up in Flagstaff, Arizona this morning, where they have been training at their annual pre-season camp since Wednesday, July 19 preparing for the 2023 season.
What's the most challenging part of the trip?
"The biggest challenge is they're all teenagers and it's a lot of them-and that's hard," Doody said.
While there are challenges, Doody has help from several people--including his wife--to pull off the Arizona pre-season camp.
"My wife does a really good job," Doody said. "She makes the whole itinerary for us, so we really couldn't do it without her."
Doody also couldn't do without Jesuit assistant cross country coach Nick Accardo.
" In our second house, we have coach Nick Acardo up there so he is doing a great job too with their kids," Doody said.
" It's not just me, it's a lot of people who make it happen including some of our parents, who come up and help us cook breakfast and things like that."
Despite the challenges, there are benefits in Flagstaff that keep the Blue Jays coming back for more.
"I think it's the camaraderie and team-building, and these guys get exposure to a running scene and running community that doesn't really exist-- definitely in New Orleans--and maybe even the South," Doody said. "There are a ton of runners up here. Running is the cool thing to do here. So you come up here and get to see professional and college runners. So we build a lot of chemistry and I think our guys get a view of the bigger picture of running in America."
The trip isn't for every runner in the program. It's a reward for those Blue Jays who make a commitment and get up every morning and put in the work at Jesuit's 6 a.m. workouts at City Park in New Orleans.
Doody is happy about the work the Blue Jays have put in this summer as they prepare to win their third consecutive LHSAA State Cross Country title. Last year, Jesuit made history with a perfect score. Not only that, the Blue Jays had all seven of their runners finish in the top ten.
"I think they've done a great job," Doody said. "It's a different team this year. We graduated a lot of crucial seniors so we have a lot of kids stepping up who want to work hard. We know there are some other teams that return a lot of runners-a lot of senior-heavy teams coming back. We just want to do our best to compete with them. I think if everybody is working hard, we will do our best. And whatever our best is--it's good enough for us."
While the Jesuit lost some crucial seniors last year, they will have one--Michael Vocke--with four state championships (one cross country and three outdoor 1600m titles) under his belt, who is looking to enjoy his final flight with the Blue Jays. Vocke has been soaking up the good stuff on his last trip to Flagstaff with the team.
"I'm going to miss the times that we have together," Vocke said. "Siblings fight each other a lot cause just being together, and that's what it kind of feels like here. We're all like brothers fighting. While we fight, we also create bonds. I've had some of the best laughs I've ever had just talking to my teammates here. I'm definitely going to miss all of the bonds we have made."
Some of those bonds in Flagstaff are made in and around the kitchen where Jesuit teammates join forces and have competitions to see who can prepare the best meals.
When asked which Jesuit runner he would like to prepare his last meal and what the meal would consist of, Vocke was quick to respond.
"Definitely Lucas Sampedro," Vocke said. "And the meal would be tacos."