Cross-country running, a sport that requires the fusing of body and mind, strives to make the most of runner's physical ability by testing their mental persistence. Every day represents a new struggle to beat yesterday's best effort. It is often an issue of mind over matter. The coaches of cross-country play a large part in this development. Cross-country coaches fall into three categories.
             The first type of coach is the spectator coach. This coach is there mainly to fill in the required position. This coach is usually just beginning to coach or is about to retire from coaching. Spectator coaches will rarely take complete control of the team and will often let them choose and run their own workouts. He is there mainly as a figurehead. This style of coaching does not work well with a young and inexperienced teams. It only works with a team that has been running together successfully for a long time. The runners know what they need to do to win and need little help from the coach. The head cross country coach of Georgia College and State University, Joe Samprone, exemplifies all of the qualities of a spectator coach. He is a retired teacher and donates his time to help out with the cross-country team. He organizes meets and watches the athlete's performances but does little or nothing when it comes to the training.
             The second type of coach is the verbal coach. A verbal coach utilizes his or her verbal and communication skills to assist and command runners what to do. This coach will almost always have the last word. A verbal coach can be seen and heard running back and forth to different parts of the course shouting words of encouragement or dismay. The success of this particular coaching style depends greatly on the effectiveness of the coach's workouts and the willingness of the athlete's ear. An example of a verbal coach would be the head cross-country coach at Marietta High Schoo...