Coach Jennifer Graycheck

Coaching cross country was the last thing she thought she would do. When Jennifer Graycheck, a teacher in the art department at ESA, was asked to join coaches Laura Magann and Andrea Hernandez on the coaching staff, she was surprised. Having had previous experience in coaching track and field, soccer, and volleyball, coaching was nothing new for her. However, until her senior year of college, Graycheck had no distance running experience. She would even tell you herself that in high school she “hated running.” So, how does someone go from hating running to helping others find a love for it?

Jennifer Graycheck became a student at the Episcopal School of Acadiana in the sixth grade. Throughout the years she was described as a determined, athletic student, having been a member of the volleyball team and doing the triple jump in track and field. She ended up competing in both of these sports for a few years in college, after being recruited for volleyball after playing a spontaneous game against the team, and later picking up track. Her senior year, she stopped playing sports competitively, and it opened her horizons to find something new. She began to run and eventually found joy in something she never had before. 

During her high school career, she described her student life as being very “demanding.” The workload and student-athlete balance was a lot for a high school student to handle, especially those that attend ESA, where the motto is “Excellence from Within.” Not only were students expected to go to practice, play games, do their schoolwork, and somehow find a way to sleep in between, but they were also expected to do everything the best way they could at all times while maintaining a good attitude. 

Yes, it was a difficult experience for such a young student to handle, but it ended up proving resourceful to her coaching experience because it gave her a deeper understanding of her players and what they may be going through, especially having attended the very classes at the same school her players attend. She knew what it was like to have long, demanding days and still be expected to be your very best self, and that’s what made her such a great coach.

When I first joined the team, I was in eighth grade. I had gone from never having run cross country to running on varsity. It was a big change, and I could only ever think about whether I deserved to be there or not, or if the only reason I was on the team was because of my sister, who was a junior on the team at the time. I struggled to believe in myself and gain the confidence I needed to compete in such a physically and mentally demanding sport. I was struggling to balance the new student-athlete life that I had been thrown into, and I didn’t know if I could handle it. I was always intimidated by the team and having to be the youngest player surrounded by juniors and seniors. That’s when Mrs. Graycheck stepped in. Her personality and coaching style were so welcoming that I couldn’t help but be happy to go to practice. She made sure I knew that the community was like no other. The team wanted me there. They wanted me to be comfortable and confident with running; I just didn’t know that yet. Mrs. Graycheck opened my eyes and helped me become the runner I am today. 

The team would describe her as being like a “mom or like an older sister because she always knew what to say to make someone feel better.” If it was being nervous for a meet or even just not feeling like running at practice that day, she would immediately know what the runner needed. She would drop everything and start dancing to get you excited, or she would give out hugs like candy to lift our spirits and build confidence—things that are absolutely necessary for a sport like this one. 

She coached for seven years before she stopped. When I asked her why she ended up deciding to take a step back, she said that it was “because of many reasons, my hands were in so many different pots in the school.” Being a department chair and working in communications was already difficult enough, but two young children at home demanded her energy and needed her to be their mom, not ours. Being at school at 5:45 am every morning was no longer manageable.

Of course, when the only horrible words I heard were that she was no longer going to coach us, I didn’t know any of the reasons behind it. I only knew that I was losing one of my biggest support systems in the sport. I remember the moment distinctly. I had just applied to be captain of the team going into my sophomore year, and when we sat down to discuss it, she told me she would not be coaching the next year. I was distraught. Not only had I lost half of my team, but I was losing one of my coaches too. She was the reason I was able to be so comfortable around a team filled with older kids, the reason I was confident enough to outrun some of my teammates and believe that I deserved my spot as a state champion. 

At the time, I didn’t understand why she would leave a sport that we could see she loved being involved in so much. When I asked her which sport was her favorite to coach, she immediately said cross country: “The community of cross-country runners was the best sports environment I’d been a part of. I loved that it could be an individual sport while also being a team  sport." Everyone mattered, but no one person was carrying the weight of the entire team, and it’s the perfect balance. 

Now being a senior and a captain of the team, I haven’t had her as a coach for the past two years, and I can say that it’s been a struggle. Cross country is a difficult sport, and runners can easily lose their positive attitudes and determination when struggling, but with Mrs. Graycheck by our sides, losing either of those things would be impossible. She was our light to guide us through running and learning the balance of being a student-athlete. She helped us in ways that other coaches couldn’t because she knew what it was like to live our lives and be in our places. She was able to show us how to love running as much as she did and help us be the best versions of ourselves. She embodied the qualities of a person able to live their life while always maintaining the idea of “Excellence from Within.” She never let down her mask of positive attitudes, because there wasn’t one. Her unwavering support and passion didn’t just make me a better runner; they redefined my approach to life. Even without her by my side, the lessons she instilled hit hard and stayed with me: perseverance, confidence, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.