Charles Reichert is in his second year leading the boys and girls cross country teams at Westmoore High School. He says that he enjoys coaching because he enjoys the sport but also because of the impact he is able to make on the students.
“My favorite part of coaching is witnessing the progression of the athlete,” he said. “I’ve coached young athletes who can barely run for 10 minutes when they show up on the first day and by the time they’re a senior, they are varsity material and signing to run at the collegiate level. That is one of the best parts of this job; seeing kids accomplish more than they ever thought they would.”
One reason that coaching at Westmoore is special to him is because that is his alma mater. His life was influenced by his coach and he is proud to be able to carry on that tradition.
“I ran for Westmoore, I was fortunate to have a dedicated and inspiring coach who made a significant impact on my life. Through coach Laura Clay’s guidance, I learned the importance of teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. This experience inspired me to pursue coaching as a career, allowing me to positively impact young athletes in the same way my coach did for me. I have the best job in the world.”
During his time as the Westmoore coach, Charles has had some exciting moments. A few of his favorite highlights are when the Westmoore boys placed state runner-up in 2019, Elijah White breaking the school record, 15:45 at the 2022 OSSAA state meet and placing sixth overall. Also, when Eva Tice broke the girls’ school record at the Deer Creek Field Festival this season running 19:09.3.
When he is not coaching his own team, there is another team that Reichert likes to keep up with.
“I really enjoy keeping up with Mike Smith and the Northern Arizona University team,” he said. “I love his coaching style. He’s created a monster program at the D1 level. He said ‘We play a trick on our athletes, they think this is all about their PRs and how fast they can run. The trick is later they realize it had nothing to do with that. It’s more about who they become as humans. Running fast ends.’”
