Chris Cota’s first two years as coach of the Dana Hills girls cross country team hadn’t gone as he wanted.
The Dolphins finished eighth at the CIF-SS Finals in both seasons and missed out on competing in the CIF State meet. Dana Hills was ranked second in Division 1 going into the 2015 finals.
“As long as we pull something from this, it was a big learning moment for them,” Cota recalled of last year’s defeat. “They learned to never underestimate anybody. They can’t go in thinking ‘we got this.’”
Cota refocused his team this season, and it won the O.C. Championships then surged at the end to grab the runner-up plaque in CIF-SS Division 1 and a fifth-place showing at the state meet.
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ALL-COUNTY GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
- Girls cross country athlete of the year: Erika Adler, Northwood
- All-County girls cross country team: First team selections
- Girls cross country coach of the year: Chris Cota, Dana Hills
- All-County girls cross country: Second Team
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For his work this season, Cota is being honored as the Register’s Orange County girls cross country coach of the year.
While his young girls team was disappointed after their finish at the CIF Finals last season, it was Cota that might have taken it the hardest.
“Later on in the evening (after the meet), I was feeling pretty bummed out,” Cota said. “My wife, Andrea, and I went over to (Dana Hills boys cross country coach Craig) Dunn’s house. Coach Dunn told his daughter Riley to give me a hug because I was sad. Then when that happened I lost it. Every emotion came out, defeated, disappointed in myself, I felt I let this girls down and failed.”
As a walk-on coach with a job, Cota said he was stretched too thin last season and made some late-season training mistakes. He realized he needed more help on his coaching staff.
Cota brought on three assistant coaches to help and reinforce what he and the team’s other assistant coach, Ryan Crane, had already done.
“We always knew they were good,” Cota said of the team’s runners. “When I got all this help, other assistant coaches, that’s when I knew we’re going to do something great.”
The Dana Hills girls did not have the luxury of an individual standout, but they made it work.
“We told them ‘together is better,’” Cota said. “When they believe it and when they work together, I kept telling them they can do remarkable things if you work together and do it for someone else.”
Cota thought the team benefited from a schedule that was adjusted around his work schedule.
“They learned that patience and working together, and sometimes you have to sacrifice things to get to a common goal,” Cota said. “For every one of those kids and all the work they put in, that’s how I get through it.”
