When asked about the sports available at Wayne Valley, most people’s first reaction is not Cross Country or Track and Field. Despite the lack of publicity the two get, they are some of the most positive and fun sports to participate in. Coach Doug Flower has had a huge hand in this experience for over a decade. He has coached at the school for 25 years, from football to cross country to track. He is a history teacher and extremely popular in his classes, but after school he becomes a mentor to dozens of students in a different way.

When asked what his favorite part about coaching was he responded that he really loves “interacting with the kids and getting to know them in a different way than in the classroom.” 

He takes his job very seriously, yet never fails to put smiles on all of his athletes’ faces. One of his sophomores let us know that “One of the best parts about track is Coach [Flower]. Even when I had a really bad race he always has a cheesy dad joke or witty joke to lighten the mood and remind me that it’s gonna be ok.” 

Coach Flower was and is an athlete of the highest level. As a student himself he played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. His love of sports carries over into his coaching and gives him the knowledge to improve his kids form. When asked what his favorite memory as a coach was over the past 25 years, he was unable to come up with one. Instead, he said that he just remembers “laughing a lot.” This is such a great indicator of the type of person and coach he is as he focuses on the positives in every situation. 

Flower claims that he attributes the successes of the program to the hard work and attention to detail the athletes pay when he’s coaching. He is the head coach of track and field, which means he interacts with both boys and girls every day. According to him, there are “small differences between girls and boys. Girls pay attention better, where boys think they already know what [he is] trying to say.” As he has been with the team for many years, he has experienced all different types of groups. When asked about his preference he said that “I would rather have a big group of everyone than a small group of more talented athletes because it would be more fun.”