When Jason Miller begins to talk about what the Maryvale cross country program was like when he began coaching there as an assistant in 2004, it makes what the Lions have accomplished in recent seasons even more impressive.
He became head coach in 2005, but in 2004, the program had 13 girls and no athletic trainer. There was no track for the girls to train on, so the team would have to settle for training on soccer and field hockey fields.
"Our cross country course at home was challenging and annoying -- you had to run four loops around the top field, three on the bottom, and it was alternating," Miller said. "We didn't have any injuries though, which, with 13 kids and no trainer, was really fortunate."
