Teacher and coach Jason Oswalt shares his story on how he manages his job as a coach for Cross Country and Track and a teacher for math and computer science at Amador Valley High School. No matter how many challenges he faces, he still keeps his role contained.

“There’s tons of challenges, but no matter what you’re trying to do is develop the talent that’s out there, whether it’s in cross country or whether it’s in a classroom. You kind of look at the people that are in the room, and a given year, are the people that are out at the practice, and figure out what they need in order to get them as far as you can,” Jason Oswalt said.

Differences between Oswalt’s Teachings and Coaching 

Despite the difference in activities, Coach Oswalt’s experience in Cross Country and Track makes him a professional instructor. They are different in training, but athletes in either activity share the same advice from Oswalt. 

“Track is contained in a stadium, but it’s all in the same building. Cross country, you’re out in a park somewhere, but it’s longer running. Especially for track, you have sprints. That could be 100 meters, or the longest distance where you’d run 3,200 meters. Everybody’s running between 48 and 5,000 meters in cross country. Everybody’s doing the same thing,” Oswalt said.

Teaching classes and coaching running can be a challenge for Oswalt. As a teacher for math and computer science, he has a lot to prepare for every day. Still, he still finds a way to prepare for each of them. 

“I look at track or cross country, it’s just kind of another thing I have to prepare for each day. It’s a totally different dynamic than sitting in a classroom. But the preparation that goes into this is pretty similar, actually. And as I go through my gaze it’s like, okay how am I gonna prepare for my math classes, and then how am I gonna be ready for cross country?” Oswalt said.