Coach Jason Knight Fun Facts:
- Favorite Place in Metro Detroit: Anyplace where there is water. I love the water and find it to be the most calming thing there is.
- Favorite Sports: Cross country and track.
- Favorite Sports Team: Even though they don’t like me back, the Detroit Lions.
- Hobbies or Interests: Woodworking. I enjoy making furniture pieces, its very calming for me.
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L’Anse Creuse North cross country team is a growing program that has a culture of family and unity which has led them to success. The boys team has won the 2022 Autumn Classic Invite and the 42nd Marysville Invitational so far this year. The girls team has not won a meet, but has climbed the results every meet they have run in so far this year. With numerous boys and girls medaling throughout the season, most have improved with each meet.
“Both my boys and girls team are made up of mostly juniors and freshmen,” said L’anse Creuse North Cross Country Coach Jason Knight. “For some reason the number of new runners goes up and down each year. We are fed by 2 middle schools, Middle School East and Middle School North. Both middle schools seem to contribute an even amount of runners so we have a good balance of kids from each school. Family is something that is stressed to the teams so as the new runners come in they quickly become a part of the family and contribute to it from the start.”
Knight, who was a high school track athlete that ran cross country and track in college, is in his first year as coach of the LCN Cross Country Team. He has also been a coach of the neighboring middle school cross country team for the last few years. He has seven years of coaching under his belt with a style that is centered around connecting with the athletes in order to help them grow and reach their goals.
“I love connecting with the kids,” said Knight. “For me, coaching is about working with kids and helping them to become better people. It’s a chance to teach about good work ethic, about respecting themselves and others, and always pushing to improve yourself. I feel like working on these things help the kids to realize that you truly care about them as people, not just athletes. Once they know that then they are willing to work with you more which leads to success.”
The group of 14 boys and 17 girls have great team spirit and having a routine that gets them ready to run is essential prior to all meets. Knight says that the boys routine is more simple but both teams have pre-meet rituals to get them ready for the race.
“The boys keep it simple, your typical warm up and then a team huddle and chant before the race,” said Knight. “The girls do the same type of warm up and chant, however they circle up beforehand and all do the hokie-pokie. It’s a tradition with the girls that they have even started to spread down to the middle school girls.”
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