With a smile on his face and a his 4-year-old daughter on his shoulders, new boys’ cross country coach Scott Bang is easy to spot as he cheers on his athletes during workouts around the track.
Bang replaced former coach Dan Ambrico and JV coach Peter Jordan after both stepped down to pursue other interests.
Girls’ cross country head coach Danny Moon, who has been friends and teammates with Bang on the same running club for 20 years, asked if Bang would be interested in being the head coach for the boys’ cross country team.
“I had a meeting with [athletic director Tim] Lugo the next day, and he put on a good sales job for me so I accepted the job,” Bang said. “This all happened the Friday right before school started.”
Prior to coaching here, Bang was an assistant coach for cross country and track at Los Gatos from 1998 to 2004. He has also coached post-collegiate individual runners for both cross country and marathon races.
Bang grew up in Minnesota, where he started running at age 11. After competing in middle and high school track and cross country, he ran at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., a Division III school. In college, he ran the 800m and 1500m in track, with personal bests of 2:01 and 4:11 minutes, respectively. His times qualified him for the All-Conference in the 4x800m relay team in his sophomore year.
Bang continues to run all ranges of distances, from 400m sprints to marathons. He has run the Boston Marathon twice with a personal record of two hours and 51 minutes.
Bang’s experience in running has helped his coaching.
According to senior Matthew Peterson, a top runner for the team, Bang has structured workouts to help them reach the state competition. Before each meet, Bang sets specific goals for individuals, such as proper form when running downhill or endurance while running hills.
“I try to look at my main goal for the team, which is to just keep improving so the boys can peak at the right time — the end of the season,” Bang said. “Mental toughness is key at big meets, so I’m continuing to focus on that in workouts, as well as running as a team and helping one another out.”
The boys’ cross country team placed fifth out of 13 teams at the Lynbrook meet on Sept. 29. The team will compete at Baylands Park, a 3.1-mile course, on Oct. 20 and at Lynbrook on Oct. 29.
The team won’t have a chance to qualify for the state meet until the CCS meet is held in El Toro Park on Nov. 14, but senior Stephen Law, said the team is starting to show potential to make it to the state meet. Other top finishers for the Lynbrook race were Petterson with a time of 10:53 and sophomore Amit Nag, who finished at 11:03.
Adding to the camaraderie, Bang often goes on the runs with the team.
“It’s really encouraging that [coach Bang] runs with us,” junior Austin Cai said. “It’s as if he’s in the same shoes as we are.”
Bang continues to run and compete on post-collegiate corporate track teams and his local running club, the West Valley Joggers and Striders, based in Saratoga.
“Running helps me stay healthy in mind, body and spirit, and I simply love the competition that it allows a person to do at any age or ability,” Bang said. “I love running, and I’m not sure where I would be without it in my life.”