At Garaway, the sports teams strive to be more than just a team but that doesn’t always happen. The Garaway cross country team has proved that it is, in fact, achievable. There are some students that don’t participate in a sport because of a coach or a teammate dislike they may have formed. Some coaches show favoritism and make the other teammates left out, making it impossible to be more than just a team. Whether on a court, a field, or track, you need to know that your teammates have your back and will support you, not leave you in the dust. A team and their coach has to support, motivate, and listen to each person’s goals.
     When asked “How do you keep yourself motivated,” Ariel Wentworth, a sophomore on the cross country team, replied,“I am motivated by two things; God and my teammates. My teammates are a huge motivation to me because I know that they are working hard and sacrificing for me, and I know that they are counting on me and I really really try not to let them down.” Motivation is hard but when you have supportive teammates, like on the cross country team, motivation becomes so much easier because you have people who are not going to let you give up and who are going to continue to push you to reach your goals. Coach Zobel at Garaway is described as more than just your average coach. The question is, how is he any different from any other coach? Caleb Morehart, a senior on the team, says, “I think coach, by many, is a role model; not just because he has been successful, but because he’s very faith-driven. He believes in us so we believe in him.” If a coach really listens and believes in their teammates, it makes the training and competing much more fun. “He is a father like figure to all of us because he cares about our needs. For example, if we need to miss practice to study for a test he will let us. He always asks how we are feeling and cares about our injuries. He also takes so much time out of his schedule to be at every meet and have an individual plan for all of us,” Lindsey Goehring describes.
     Rachel Wentworth, a junior on the team, was asked what she missed the most at the end of the season and responded, “I miss getting to be with the team every single day. During the season, we all grow so close to each other- we’re like family.” Coach Zobel also describes his team to be very close and more than just a team. “The kind of the bond that holds them together is the suffering. If we didn't have a team or family aspect it wouldn't be a team because there is no one holding you accountable. Running is different from everything else. Its all about doing what you say you'll do. Talent plays a part but not as much as every sport.” Having the opportunity to call your teammates family, is something every athlete longs to do. Coming from my own experience, it is so much more challenging to motivate yourself when your teammates aren’t there to push you and when the coach doesn’t pay any attention to you.
     The cross country team has a very special bond and that is their mutual love for God that they have. Coach Zobel doesn’t just want to make better runners, he wants to make stronger Christ followers. Zobel has a very successful rate of high schoolers that don’t give up cross country and run throughout their high school careers. The key to this, from Zobel’s perspective, is, “Not overwhelm somebody, you don’t make them go out and run 10 miles the first day, because if you overwhelm them, then they won't want to do it. Plus you are working with an activity that people think they can't do. Its a building thing. The extras such as trying to be better Christ followers makes the running tolerable.”
     The cross team is not just about running long distances, its about learning to glorify God after winning a race. Ashley Schrock, a sophomore,  describes how Zobel uses God to motivate them, “Before a race he always has a verse and a little speech to encourage us before we go run our race. He then says a prayer for us, then we go to the starting line to begin our race.” Motivating the runners by praying over them and sharing verses with them will help them grow in their Christianity and will also help them give the praise to God after a race. Without having a supportive team and coach, it makes dedicating yourself to the sport much more difficult.
      A coach should know his players limits, listen to their goals, and help them achieve those goals. A teammate should encourage everyone on the team and focus on team improvement instead of individual improvement. “I think that in order for any team to be successful, people need to submit to something and need to think of others before themselves. You have to enjoy what you want to do. if you're not going to enjoy it there is no point to it. And a coach or another person shouldn't get in the way of something you enjoy. Just the basic principle of trying to think of other first. if you stick to that principle is usually works itself out. Its about encouraging others to go from where they're at to where they want to be. Were all in the same boat,” explains Zobel when asked about his perspective on students not being involved in a sport because of a coach or a teammate. Ariel replies to the same question, “I could definitely guarantee that they will be hard pressed to find such problems on the cross country team.  I think we keep cross country a welcoming environment by making sure to include everybody.  Coach Zobel has a rule that nobody runs alone, and by running with somebody five plus days a week, there is an automatic friendship formed just within the training group.”
     Both Zobel and his runners have a great system of including and encouraging new members and that is what makes the cross team at Garaway such a welcoming environment. The runners not only have self motivation but also have motivation from their teammates and coach. The runners train in and out of season and have learned to dedicate themselves to their goals. The cross country team is not just about improving themselves through running but also improving their lives by relying on God for their strength during the season.