Pre-Season XC Q&A: Davis Head Coach Corbin Talley

Johanna Gretschel

Corbin Talley (pictured on the right) has had only one coaching and teaching job in his entire life - that's at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. He found himself in his dream job in 2003, after a full track career that saw him compete at the highest levels of the sport - in Foot Locker Nationals as a prep and the NCAA XC Championships as a collegiate harrier. He also competed in the 2004 Olympic Trials in the marathon. Coach Brad Anderson (pictured on the left) joined the Davis staff in 2006 and the two have guided the Darts to six state titles on the girls side and two state titles on the boys side. The Pre-Season No. 7 ranked girls have qualified for NXN the past three years straight and the Pre-Season No. 7 ranked boys for five years straight. Oh, yeah, and they may run the nation's No. 1 ranked high school Track & Field/XC Twitter: @davistrackandxc. Learn more about the Davis way below in the exclusive interview with Talley.

How has summer training been going for your team? What does Davis focus on during the summer months?

The summer has been going very well. We have the largest group we have ever had, and we have logged the most miles we ever have. In our 12 week summer training period, the boys are going to end with nearly 40,000 miles logged as a team, and the girls should be close to 23,000 (both team records). We focus on staying healthy and getting stronger. We really want to build a base that we can work with going into the season. We also focus on unity - we have many activities and runs that are designed specifically to make us a closer team - which is a huge task with about 60 girls and 75 boys on the roster. It has been one of our best summers though, and we are looking forward to what we can do this fall.

Who have you been most impressed or surprised with their improvement and/or fitness from their summer training?

We have quite a few athletes on both the boys and girls squads who are coming along and showing a lot of improvement over the summer. Our top returners are putting in solid work, and the young ones are learning to do the same. We will save names for the first few cross country meets, but we are planning on having a few "secret weapons" who have made huge strides this summer.

Who are your team captains or leaders and what stands out about them as examples for the rest of their teammates?

We have a great senior class this year. Our boys captains are Logan MacKay, Colter Blanchard, Colton Rimann, and Bryce Ferguson - with a bunch of other very strong leaders. Each of them have unique abilities and strengths, but as a whole they are great examples and they do a good job looking out for their teammates. They are a group with experience and high expectations (3 of those boys have already been to NXN 2 times as sophomores and juniors). On the girls side, our captains are Courtney Wayment, Sam Hedquist, and Sydney Zaugg. They are doing a very good job leading a team with a TON of young runners. One of the things I look for most with the girls captains is their ability to stay calm and confident on race day. They are definitely the example to the other girls, and they bring a toughness that our team really wants to follow. We have a group of junior girls who are also very experienced and are stepping up as leaders as well. Aubrey Argyle has been our top runner the past two seasons and is really developing into a great leader.

What do you attribute as the main reasons for the success of your program?

I think the success comes from a number of things. The main reasons are teamwork, hard work, tradition, and a desire for excellence. I have some very motivated, driven athletes who want to be their best and want to create something great as a group. They are willing to work hard and sacrifice because they have seen that the rewards are awesome (both intrinsically and extrinsically). We also spend a lot of time developing the JV athletes and preparing them to step up into those roles. We like to refer to it as "The Pipeline".

Obviously both boys and girl’s squads are competitive on the national level - how do you go about coaching both the boys and girls team? Do you approach coaching them differently, if so, how?

I love working with both groups and I love having them together through most of what we do. Of course there are different approaches/coaching styles, but for the most part we try to be very united among the two squads, and much of what we do is similar. The top boys are running (on average) 15-20 miles per week more than the girls, and occasionally the focus at workouts is different depending on what we are working on for upcoming races.

They really do learn a lot from each other. Our girls are often teaching our boys about heart, togetherness, and having fun; and the boys are teaching the girls to be competitive, to take some things seriously, and to be tough through pain or discomfort. Or vice-versa as the teams and individuals may be. I don't think I would split the teams if given the opportunity - I feel like it has really enhanced our program. Both teams have done a very good job showing genuine support for each other. The best years at NXN are the years when both squads have qualified.

I saw this has been your only job you’ve ever had - what makes this job so rewarding for you?

Davis High is an incredible place to work. I have great support from administration, parents, and the community, and I have been very fortunate to work at such a great high school. The athletes are very focused on running and their school work. There is a lot of character at our school, and I like to think that some of the very best of them are running cross country. I was lucky to get a job here in the first place, and lucky to get to work for 4 years with Utah coaching legend, Roger Buhrley. I learned a lot from him and from his approach.

What have you learned in your 12 years of coaching?

Wow, that question would require a lot of space. I think the main thing I have learned is patience. Success/improvement/greatness is not going to come overnight. It is going to take time and work, and it is important to not get too anxious. I have learned that all athletes develop at different rates and in different ways. I think it is very important to keep a long term perspective with each of my athletes and with the program as a whole. No one single race or workout is ever going to define who we are as runners or as a team. I have learned not to put limits on what an athlete is capable of.

I have also learned to love running more and more with each experience. There is so much to learn from running and coaching. I am still learning so much as a coach and as a runner.

What are some staple workouts the Davis team does during the season?

At this point in the season, we like mile repeats and tempo runs. Through the summer we have a 7 mile trail run (the Vita Course) that we do each Monday. It is a hilly out and back course that can be extremely challenging. As the season progresses, we have a few favorites - 20 x 400 under the stadium lights with music blasting; 3 x 1.75 miles in Nichols Hollow (with the first 2 at tempo pace and the last one all out); and 8 x 800 on the grass.

What are your core beliefs in your training plan and workouts for your cross country squads?

General Core Beliefs: the TEAM comes first; it is important to find a love for running; it is important to work hard, work smart, and to work with a purpose; you have to take care of your body and live a healthy lifestyle; and it is more important to be YOUR BEST than to be the best.

With our training plan and workouts, we believe it is very important to train with racing in mind. A lot of our workouts are set up to simulate a race and to build race-specific strength. A lot of that deals with starting in control and running with patience and increasing the effort and intensity as the workout progresses. We also feel that recovery is very important and we make sure to set priority on recovery in addition to intensity.

Any impactful freshmen or transfers to join the team this season?

We have a very solid group of freshmen on both sides. There is some definite talent that we are excited to see develop. We may or may not see any freshmen on the varsity squads this fall, but we expect them to make some noise in the years to come. Courtney Wayment moved in from Northridge High School last winter, and already had a huge impact for our girls in the spring (2nd at state in the 3200 and 3rd at state in the 1600). Courtney was an NXN individual qualifier her junior year and should really help us out this season.

What do you view as the strengths of both the boys and girl’s teams this year?

Both teams have experience. 6 of our top 7 girls raced at NXN last fall, and 8 of our returning boys ran varsity at one race or another last year (with 5 coming back from the state and NXN squad). For the girls, we are very strong at the top, and we have really been working on closing that gap with our 5-10 runners. We also seem to be healthier than we were last fall (as we dealt with quite a few mid and late season injuries). The boys strength is really going to be our depth. I have never seen so many guys who are capable of running in our top 7. It is fun to watch them push each other. I also think we are showing a lot of unity and purpose on both sides this summer so far.

What are the goals you have for the boys and girls team this season?

The goals are similar this year as in past years - have both teams win our Region Titles, both teams bring home some state hardware (top 2), and have both teams running with a shot at qualifying for NXN when we get to the Southwest Region. More importantly, we have been talking about enjoying the journey and learning from our experiences. I would also like to see them stay calm and patient through ups and downs. And one of our primary goals is to continue to come together as a team. I think this can be our greatest team ever for both the girls and the boys - in more ways than just being our fastest team.