By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Kim Ray tells her girls that what they do in practice is what they will do in a meet. So practice hard, she said.
Put in the time and energy and dedication in practice, Ray said. That will come out in a meet.
Ray is the new girls cross country coach at Havre High School.
Personally, I like to run and enjoy the sport, she said. Its a great way to stay in shape and build self confidence and self esteem.
Ray is a 1992 graduate of Chinook High School where she ran track. She graduated from MSU-Northern with a teaching degree and emphasis in business education and physical education.
While fulfilling a two-year teaching stint at KG High School from 1996-98, Ray was the girls basketball assistant coach for two years, coached one year of track and was an assistant coach for the KouGar volleyball team. She also coached junior high volleyball at the school.
While in college, she was an assistant basketball and volleyball coach at Chinook. She also coached junior high volleyball at her alma mater.
Ray has not left KG far behind. Christin Smith, a standout runner from KG, will be helping Ray as an intern coach.
Im really excited shes helping, Ray said. Shes a great motivator. She knows what the girls really need to do to be on top. She was just there, she just ran it.
Smith won the girls cross country Class C meet last year, her senior year as a KouGar. Both her junior and senior year, Smith placed second in the one-mile and first in the 3200-meter race.
Having a second coach will enable Ray to see her entire team throughout the practice.
She [Smith] can run with the faster girls so I can be in back, Ray said. We can switch off, I can see how everybody is doing. I wont need to ride a bike to see how everyone is doing.
Ray said the first goal for the cross country team this season is to take five motivated runners to the state competition.
We need individuals who are motivated and team motivated to compete at state, Ray said.
