He had put in his time in service. He had retired from the classroom.
But at the end of the day, Ken Sayles could not walk away from the race course.
After 25 years as the girls cross country coach at Capistrano Valley High, Sayles’ passion for the sport burns as bright as ever.
Whether it has been as a teacher or as a coach, the longtime head of the Capo Valley running program has harvested a love for “the process.”
“My personality is kind of process-oriented,” Sayles said. “As a coach, I really enjoy the planning, the workouts and the details of the process. Seeing (the girls) develop and their excitement at doing well, I derive a lot from their passion.”
It is that drive to see goals through to conclusion that made Sayles the Register’s girls cross country coach of the year.
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2014 ALL-COUNTY GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY:
2014 All-County girls cross country team
Laguna Hills’ Bartello is 2014 girls cross country athlete of the year
2014 All-County girls cross country: second, third teams
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This season’s journey began in late October 2013. Sayles’ Cougars had just secured the crown at the Orange County Championships at Irvine Regional Park. Since that day, the Capo Valley coach had laid his sights on defending the title as the county’s best team.
The core of the 2013 team returned this season, with Ashley Licata, Rebecca Deitch and Grace Schafer leading the way. Still, the team had plenty of work to do before they could reclaim the title.
Deitch was hampered by a hip injury for much of the season. Mikaela Mulhall stepped up when her team needed her, and the emergence of freshman Haley Herberg as a mid-lineup asset spoke to the depth the Cougars had developed.
Capo Valley successfully repeated at the O.C. Championships, solidifying the Cougars’ spot as the county’s elite distance program.
“That second championship said a lot about our program,” Sayles said, calling it his proudest moment. “It was done in an interchangeable, team-like fashion.”
Sayles’ team went on to finish second to Saugus in the Division 2 race at the CIF state meet.
