Coach McChesney's running tip

Coach Steve McChesney has fielded 40 all Americans and 15 state champions in his 19 years at Newton South High School. As part of our coverage of the South cross country team, we asked him for a few running tips, and he obliged.

"I grew up in a family in which my parents both held world and American records as Masters runners; my dad is 82 and still runs 6 miles per day. My mom runs for over an hour in the water and is also over 80. All four of us boys were All-Americans, so confidence should never have been an issue for me.

When I tell my teams stories of my past, most of them are about how I learned from my mistakes and the fears that all runners face. It all starts with positive self talk. After 71 seasons as a coach who really pays attention to the attitudes of my kids and listens to how these kids talk to each other about competition, I am even more convinced that the real need for most runners is the ability to give themselves a pat on the back.

My advice is to reward any gain and to learn from any setback. Easy and clear advice, but not often followed. Smell the roses of the well done and learn and forget the bad days.

I work a lot on positive self talk. I am famous with my kids for asking them to find a positive out of any negative that I hear from them. I tell my kids to not even get on the bus with the negative.

I constantly teach kids how to replace negative self talk with looking at the same situation in a positive way.

Proper practice at positive self talk can go a long ways in calming the nerves. I believe with all my heart that is why so many of my kids are big-meet runners.