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Raffin Reports:
East Grand Rapids flourishing under Hopkins

Sometimes I wonder which is more important to the development and growth of a successful cross country or track program. Many successful programs have both great schools and famous coaches: Flint Northern and Norbert Badar, Flint Beecher and Martin Crane, Ann Arbor Pioneer and Don Sleeman and Bryan Westfield, Detroit Mumford and Bob Lynch.

Now would Badar have won all those state championships at Flint Northwestern?  Could Crane win thirteen state track titles at Flint Hamady?  Sleeman and Westfield at Ann Arbor Skyline? Or Lynch at Detroit Henry Ford?

The questions might be unanswerable, but those great schools and coaches came together and produced some memorable cross country and track teams.

Now emerging from a great school is a young coach making strong strides toward history: East Grand Rapids’ Nicholas Hopkins. A newer, younger coach is building another dynasty at another school.

Hopkins is in his tenth season with the Pioneers and has already taken the school to three Division 2 cross country titles in 2002, 2003, and 2008. This year the Hopkins’ coached girls’ team has been rated number one for the entire season and looms as a strong favorite for another Division 2 title in early November at MIS.

Hopkins became the head coach at East Grand Rapids in 2000 when the school’s athletic department decided upon separate boys and girls’ coaches for the harrier squads.

However, Hopkins was not a newcomer to the coaching profession. In high school, Hopkins competed at Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s under the tutelage of legendary coach Jim Gardiner.

After high school Hopkins did not veer far from home and spent the next five years at Aquinas College right inside Grand Rapids. While a student at Aquinas, Hopkins spent his non-academic time at Catholic Central working with Gardiner and learning about track and field and cross country.

Then when he graduated from Aquinas in 1996, East Grand Rapids hired the personable Hopkins as a business teacher and an assistant coach in track and cross country.

Hopkins was looking forward to fall of 2000 when his new East team could compete against Catholic Central in invitationals, but Gardiner died in the spring of 2000.

“Everything I do or have done academically and athletically is because of Coach Gardiner,” said Hopkins.

But the last ten years of East’s successful cross country program is because of Hopkins’ touch.

“What we might do different is that we do less in hopes of accomplishing more,” stated Hopkins.

In the summer the coach meets with the runners three mornings of the week, and according to Hopkins, “The attendance is excellent, and those morning summer workouts are done without much push from the coaches.”

On some other summer days, Hopkins uses the great swimming facility at East for some “cardio” work to keep his athletes free of injury.

“We do not go to any formal cross country camps before or during August,” related Hopkins. “And our total weekly mileage averages about 35 miles a week and with only a few weeks at 40 miles.”

Hopkins begins his team’s weekly training on Sunday with an optional over-distance run at 5:00 p.m. He saves Monday for repeat runs always on the grass beginning the first two or three weeks with mile runs, and as the season progresses the distances become shorter and faster.

Tuesday and Wednesday are pre-meet and meet days with Thursday reserved for tempo runs usually of five miles for his top-notch runners.

And Fridays and Saturdays are also used as pre-meet and meet days.

“We get good results with low key workouts as we err on the side of caution to keep the runners healthy,” said Hopkins.

East Grand Rapids has 30 runners on its girls’ team with 10 to 14 running after the league meet in preparation for the regional and state meets. In those last two weeks, the running schedule does not change while the coach trains the mind.

So far this season, the Pioneers have won all its competitions except for a second place to Saline in the elite race at the Spartan Invite at Michigan State; another second to Williamston at Jackson when Hopkins split his top 14 runners into two teams; and another second to number one rated Division 1 Rockford at the Kent County meet.

Hopkins speaks proudly of this season’s senior dominated squad led by Lauren Grunewald, third at the state in 2008, champion at Portage this year, with a best time of 18:11; 

Senior Jessie Baloga, a returning all-state competitor with a best time of 18:45;

Seniors Katie Samuelson, who has run 19:17, and Kat Stubbs, who ran 19:33 at the recent County meet.

And another senior, Breezy Clifford, whose mother ran at Central Michigan University, has a best time of 19:47.

This year’s last two positions have been taken by two underclass runners: junior Jill McClain with a best time of 20:18 and sophomore Kassidy Clark, a returning all-state performer who has run 20:23 with a slightly injured hip.

“We are as confident as we can be as we approach the two big meets of the year, but we also know anything can happen,” said Hopkins.

East Grand Rapids competes in the O.K. White conference against Grand Rapids Christian, Grand Rapids Creston, Grand Rapids Northview, Greenville, and Lowell with its most spirited and competitive meets are against Christian, which is only two miles away and which has won two state championships this century and others in the past century.

Hopkins credits the junior high program as a key to the school’s success. With two coaches at the junior high level, every young runner is never over-looked.

“We sometimes practice with the junior high runners, and some junior high runners come to some of our summer runs,” said Hopkins.

And of course, Hopkins knows he teaches and coaches at a nice school.

“I have a dream job at a good school with a solid administration and community that supports a balance of academics and athletics. What else good I ask for?”

Last year East Grand Rapids won five state championships giving the school a grand total of 112 state championships. Coach Hopkins and his team are primed to add to that collection next week. Then Hopkins and East Grand Rapids will be joining the ranks of memorable coaches and schools in the history of Michigan track and field and cross country.

 (If you have any comments or questions, contact Duane Raffin at draffin13@yahoo.com)