Fall Season Unsung Hero

The fall sport season is almost complete as many playoffs are now underway and today we want to look at one of those hero's that is doing an outstanding job in the sports he is coaching.  Today we want to feature Jeff Dodrill the Northern Nash Cross Country coach who earlier this week added another conference title to the already full banner at Northern.

Jeff grew up in West Virginia where he lettered two years in both Cross County and basketball.  His college days were spent at Fairmont State College in Fairmont West Virginia.  Starting his sophomore year he walked on to the cross country team where he ran for three seasons.

1989 Jeff taught at a junior high in West Virginia and was the junior high CC coach and won the conference crown.  Jeff got a job in Halifax County North Carolina starting in 1990 but began coaching at Northern Nash in 1991.  He moved in 1993 over to Nash County where he taught at W.L. Green Middle and stayed there until Greene closed and transferred to Red Oak where he has been ever since.

Size is no object in running and during his life Jeff has run 25 Marathons including the Boston Marathon three times.  Jeff is one of those coaches that has a special quality that can make both boys and girls want to love to run. I have a hard enough time walking 3.1 miles and even today Jeff loves to set personal best times and it has spread though out the cross country teams now for 24 years.

Those 24 years have produced girls conference championship 13 times.  Twice the girls have been regional champs.  12 times the boys have hoisted conference championship banners including this year.  They have been regionals champs three times and runner up once.

During his tenure he coached the indoor track team for ten years until 2003 and won the indoor state championship in 1994.  Through 2004 he coach track and field in the spring for ten years and won the conference crown six times and regional champs once and runner ups once.

Jeff doesn't sit on his championships after the fall.  He is athletic director at Red Oak and  coached boys basketball from 2003 up until this year and oh by the way won championships five times and had an overall coaching record  of 161-43.  Coaching varsity CC is a taxing job alone but Jeff has coached the Red Oak middle cross country seven of the last ten years and six of those years the boys won conference and the girls were champs four times.

What is it that Jeff knows to make kids want to sweat, train and want to be champions.  I think a lot of it is runners at Red Oak and Northern want to keep up the winning tradition.  Jeff has that ability to make kids want to dig deep into themselves to be just a little better today over yesterday.  That is a hard job to do today in a world of social media, face book, selfies. 

Jeff Dodrill is one of those special people standing in the background because  cross country  is an unknown sport to many.  Those who have ever just been around him or ever played or run for him know that he is a special person making our world just a little better.  You don't win this many times in what ever sport just on luck.  Jeff Dodrill has something within him that he knows what it takes to make children want to do what he ask and when they follow through with  his coaching they will be a champion.  Our thanks to coaches like Jeff Dodrill.  He's making our kids winners.