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York cross-country practice hadn't started, but the Long Green Line of runners streamed to a folding chair and table in the Elmhurst high school's lobby.
The skinny boys craved attention, and the man in charge dealt with each link. A fist bump. A "Looking great!". A demand for a note to explain tardiness.
In the short interactions, 80-year-old Joe Newton revealed a clue to the success that continues into his 49th year as head cross-country coach, 10 years after he first announced his retirement.
He doesn't use the Internet. He doesn't own an iPod. He started using a cell phone six months ago. "I hardly know how to run it," he said.
But the 180 teenagers swarmed to him as if he were part celebrity, part grandfather. After each runner checked in, Newton shouted out quotations to the group, an afternoon routine that has spanned five decades.
"Kids' needs now are nothing like the kids from the 50s, but this one guy has been able to connect with all of them," said assistant coach Jim Hedman, who ran for Newton in the 1970s. "The basic part of that is they all know he generally cares about them as a person. That's why we have so many kids, and that's why he's been able to relate to them."
In winter 2006, Andrew Smith, a freshman in need of confidence, received a phone call from Newton.
"I didn't even know he knew me at the time," said Smith, now a senior. "He said, 'I had this feeling sitting here in Phoenix: Four years from now you're going to be there [at state], and I'm going to coach you there.' "
Smith is the top runner on this season's cross-country team, which is expected to contend for its 27th team title in November. He counts Newton as one of the biggest influences in his life.
"It goes way beyond his running," said Andrew's father, Bob Smith. "He's made him believe in himself. He's turned him into a leader."
The skinny boys craved attention, and the man in charge dealt with each link. A fist bump. A "Looking great!". A demand for a note to explain tardiness.
In the short interactions, 80-year-old Joe Newton revealed a clue to the success that continues into his 49th year as head cross-country coach, 10 years after he first announced his retirement.
He doesn't use the Internet. He doesn't own an iPod. He started using a cell phone six months ago. "I hardly know how to run it," he said.
But the 180 teenagers swarmed to him as if he were part celebrity, part grandfather. After each runner checked in, Newton shouted out quotations to the group, an afternoon routine that has spanned five decades.
"Kids' needs now are nothing like the kids from the 50s, but this one guy has been able to connect with all of them," said assistant coach Jim Hedman, who ran for Newton in the 1970s. "The basic part of that is they all know he generally cares about them as a person. That's why we have so many kids, and that's why he's been able to relate to them."
In winter 2006, Andrew Smith, a freshman in need of confidence, received a phone call from Newton.
"I didn't even know he knew me at the time," said Smith, now a senior. "He said, 'I had this feeling sitting here in Phoenix: Four years from now you're going to be there [at state], and I'm going to coach you there.' "
Smith is the top runner on this season's cross-country team, which is expected to contend for its 27th team title in November. He counts Newton as one of the biggest influences in his life.
"It goes way beyond his running," said Andrew's father, Bob Smith. "He's made him believe in himself. He's turned him into a leader."
