PETERSBURG – Summerfield has banners hanging in its gymnasium listing all the league championships won in various sports.
Some of them are crowded.
Not the one for girls track and field.
Dave Raymond noticed when he became head coach for the Bulldogs three years ago that 1990 was the only year listed on the girls track banner.
“Baseball almost has two spots because they have won so many league championships,” Raymond said.
Thanks to Raymond and a talented group of girls, the lonely 1990 finally has some company.
The Bulldogs won their first Tri-County Conference championship in 36 years this spring, placed second in their regional and took third in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association state finals.
Raymond has been voted Monroe County Region Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year.
The coach encouraged his athletes to dream big.
“We really felt like we had an opportunity to set high goals,” he said. “To do things we haven’t done in the past.
“To be honest, it I kind of felt the pressure at the beginning year. The girls had it laid out there. I wanted to make sure they got there.”
Raymond let the girls know about the enormity of the challenge to overtake strong Erie Mason and Whiteford squads to rule the TCC.
“I told them that I was nine years old the first time it was done,” he said.
Raymond put his team in position to set high goals by doing a good job of recruiting athletes for the squad. There were 24 on the roster this spring.
“We’re getting more kids coming out for the team,” he said. “A lot of kids say they don’t want to try track because they don’t like running. I say, ‘Great because a lot of the kinds on the team don’t like running. It’s third of fourth on their list things they enjoy about being part of the team.’”
Raymond was delighted to see all of the girls make history, but especially Bethany Suydam.
The senior has been a big part of building the program, but only got to compete in a few meets before an injury ended her season.
“She’s been a good trooper about it,” Raymond said. “She became what I called a student assistant coach. It was kind of cool. Her senior year was cut short, but she put her the team ahead of her needs and wants and inspired the other girls.”
Raymond previously coached basketball at Summerfield, winning two TCC championships with the boys team and one with the girls.
He took over the track team because his daughters Grace and Abby were part of the team.
“I did it for selfish reasons,” he said. “It started out as just a way to hang out with my kids, but I could see the other pieces coming together with this group. I knew they could be pretty special.”
Raymond shares the credit for making this team special.
He says former coach Kelly Thompson laid the groundwork and credits assistants Wyatt Tipping, Justen Iott, Kathy Cay, Michael LaPlante and Christine Ost for helping him with the intricacies of the sport.
“I’ve been blessed with good kids and a good staff,” he said. “I always say that track is such a beast. You are really coaching five or six different sports with the throws, jumps, pole vault and running events.
It’s impossible for one person to coach them all.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Summerfield’s Dave Raymond wins Girls Track and Field Coach of Year
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Niles Kruger, The Monroe News | USA TODAY Network
