LUCAS, Tx. — Lovejoy High School of Lucas, Texas has phenomenal girls and boys cross country teams as evidence by the fact that girl’s cross won the state championship last Friday while the boy’s team finished third at the 5A State Championship. The successful 2021 season was the first time Lovejoy High School had both the boys and girls team on the state podium.

Lucas Lovejoy is led by Logan Kelly, the head boys cross country coach. Kelly was the 2017 Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas (CCCAT) 5A Boys Coach of the Year and was the 2017 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Texas Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year.

“My coaching philosophy is simple — consistency is the key,” Kelly said. “That may sound simple, but simple isn’t always easy. I tell our runners, if they want to be great runners, they have to make great sacrifices. Sacrifice time and effort to show up every day and put in the work that is required.  The majority of our team starts training for cross country once track season ends in May. We practice as a team Monday – Friday and they all show up and do the work all summer and fall. Once the Cross Country season ends, we take take a one week break, and repeat the cycle and start training for track.”

Coach Kelly continued to speak on what it takes to become a top tier program.

“About 98% of our runners will run track as well and this keeps the cycle of training and progression moving forward in a positive way,” Kelly said. “Our kids know what is expected to win and what it will take to be a top program in the state. They know if they take off and are not consistent other teams move ahead of us. There are all sorts of training programs, and the good programs do very similar things in regards to training, we pride ourselves on being consistent with our training and that is what separates our team from the average teams. There is a price tag to be paid if you expect to be a podium team at state and our kids are willing to work hard to pay that price.”

Regarding his own personality, coach Kelly shared that he is more of a laid back coach with his personality, but his athletes know he expects excellence, which is what they are always striving for.

“I show up each day and so I expect them to as well,” Kelly said. “No matter if you are the fastest or slowest runner on the team, we are all pushing each other to raise the bar each day, season, and year. I also like to get input on how the runners are feeling that week or after a race and am willing to make adjustments in our training plan if needed based on runner feedback. I’m a big believer that the kids have to believe in what they are doing if they are going to buy into a program.”

Kelly attributed the boy’s success this season on their hardworking and determination.

“Our guys put in the work,” Kelly said. “We knew going into the season Grapevine and Denton would have strong teams. I have been fortunate to be part of two state championships, one state runner-up, and one third place team before this year’s podium finish. The past two years we placed fifth at state. Making it to state and placing fifth is great and all, but our goal was to get back on the podium this year. We had some ups and downs with runners getting sick or injured and everything came together at the right time for us to get back on the podium.”

Coach Kelly also said that some of the keys to his successful year pertain to the runners who are willing to work hard and also the support of their parents for the running program.

“You have to have runners who are willing to put in the work, some talent, supportive parents, and a little luck for all things to go right at the state meet and thankfully that happened for us,” Kelly said. “The team calls me the numbers or stats guy. I showed the team at the beginning of the summer where they would need to run at the state meet for time and placement if they wanted to be a podium team. I keep track of the state meet finishes from the past ten years or so and its somewhat crazy to see how accurate it is from year to year. Our kids knew what we were working towards and that always helps.”

Coach Kelly is one of the most serious and dedicated running coaches in the entire state of Texas and his hard work and dedication has paid off in state championships and placement on the podium as evidenced by Lovejoy High School’s third place finish in the state championships this year.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.