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Doherty Loves Helping East Haven’s Young Runners as Middle School Track Coach

Courtney Doherty has taught at East Haven Academy since 2008 and, this year, she’s taking on a new role in town as a track coach at Joseph Melillo Middle School. Although she had never previously been a coach, Courtney is hoping that her background as both a teacher and competitive runner will help her thrive in her position at the middle school.

“This is my first time being a track coach. I love running, and I love passing on my abilities to inspire kids,” Courtney says. “Even in the first week, having kids come up to me to say that they could run a full three laps after they needed to walk after just one, that to me is better than any medals or paycheck. Seeing them get in the groove and start to enjoy running two, three, or four miles is super cool and rewarding.”

Courtney has come across some challenges during the early goings of her coaching career. She knows all about the technical aspects of the sport, but Courtney is still developing her strategies when it comes to teaching East Haven’s runners.

“What I’ve struggled with the most is breaking down the mechanics or explaining the mechanics of running. That’s been the hardest,” says Courtney, who lives in East Haven and grew up in Massachusetts. “Obviously, I know how to run, but it’s difficult to explain the biomechanics or physics of what your body should be doing.”

Courtney ran track in high school and was a member of the cross country program at Worcester State University in Massachusetts. While she’s beginning a new chapter as a coach, Courtney remains an active runner who participates in half-marathons and 10K races on a regular basis.

“I run almost every day if I can. I love running,” Courtney says. “Running for me is almost meditative. I like to get in the zone, because I’m calm and find it soothing. I like to see how I progressed as a runner. I’ve made significant gains and have seen my mile time decrease.”

East Haven’s Director of Athletics Anthony Verderame was pleased that Courtney decided to join the town’s coaching ranks. Verderame believes that Courtney’s background as a runner should prove invaluable to the Yellowjackets’ athletes.

“Courtney will be a tremendous asset to improving our distance program here at East Haven,” Verderame says. “We are extremely proud to have such a talented educator and athlete mentoring and coaching our young athletes.”

Courtney, who specializes in the distance events, says that both Verderame and fellow coach Jake Callahan have been a great help to her thus far. Callahan not only coaches the Easties in the field events, he also lends a hand to Courtney by working with their sprinters.

“Jake has been a critical resource to help break down my meets and help me get better. Anthony has been fantastic with helping me design workouts and lessons, which has been helpful during practice. It’s great that they share my passion with the kiddos,” says Courtney. “It’s all new and interesting for me. It’s a whole new world coming just from distance running. The field events are fascinating, and I’m doing my research and watching YouTube videos of how certain events are done. Jake is willing to work with me on developing my coaching skills, and I’ll continue to do my research, because I want to continue my knowledge base.”

Courtney knows that one of the biggest obstacles for any distance runner is the mental aspect of the sport. Runners can get frustrated if they feel they’re not placing high enough, and so Courtney wants them to focus more on improving their own personal-best times.

“I try to teach them that it’s not always about placing, but beating your own time. They need to be happy with what they’re doing,” she says. “I seldom place, but seeing my own personal record and beating it is what’s important to me. That’s the value I want them to take away from running.”

Courtney is enjoying working with the kids at the middle school and says she wants to coach the team for a long time. Courtney likes the fact that she has the chance to make a big impact in the lives of East Haven’s student-athletes.

“I love teaching and being able to work with the kids in a different capacity. In the classroom, I’m in front, teaching. Here, I get to run with the kids, be a role model, and showcase how important athletics and health are to kids,” says Courtney. “I love working at this level. I would like to build a cohesive program and really cultivate a top-notch running program.”