Each year, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) recognize one coach in each sport in Missouri with its highest honor – the Coach of the Year Award. This award is presented to an individual who has made a life-long commitment to the ideals of coaching.
In September, Ryan Long (’11), who is the Notre Dame track & field head coach, was surprised with the 2023-2024 NFHS/MSHSAA State Girls Track & Field Coach of the Year award at a pep assembly at Notre Dame.
“I was absolutely surprised,” said Long. “The award has never even crossed my mind as a possibility to win.”
“Ryan puts his heart and soul into the Notre Dame track & field program,” said Athletic Director Jeff Graviett. “His passion for young people and track doesn’t go unnoticed. He is so deserving of this award.”
Long, always humble, says this award isn’t about him.
“To me, being coach of the year means that our program is growing and headed in a positive direction. Without my coaching staff and all the athletes who continue to try our sport, no award like this is possible. This award says the Notre Dame track program is doing something right.”
While his work with his athletes on the track is impressive, it is perhaps the emphasis he puts on faith and family that is most impactful to his athletes.
“Ryan leads by example in everything he does, and this includes his faith life,” said Graviett. “One of his gifts from God is finding ways, through his words, to tie faith and sports together.”
Long says that his coaching staff strives to involve God in practices and meet settings.
“I know that sideline pep talks and pre-meet prayers help us as a staff to connect and build confidence in our athletes through the constant reminder that we are following God’s timeline, not ours,” he says. “Faith allows us to look forward to what God is planning in our lives when sports end, and to remember to be grateful for the tremendous talent and possibility that God blesses us with as athletes.”
Lasting Impact
While speaking in front of her parish during last year’s Notre Dame Sunday, Emma Duenne, a 2024 graduate of Notre Dame, shared how her time on the track & field team influenced her faith.
Like all sports at Notre Dame, the track and field team prays before practices and meets. Before big competitions, the team meets in the Chapel for prayer.
“We had a couple of opportunities to gather in the Chapel before leaving for meets, but our time spent in the Chapel before state sendoff was always very special,” Duenne recalls.
One particular instance stands out for Duenne. During her junior track season, the team met in the Chapel for prayer and mediation before leaving for the state meet. Duenne remembers Coach Long giving each athlete a word, and then instructing them to highlight a verse in his personal Bible that connected with that word.
“My word was ‘hope,’ and finding a verse that resonated with me at that time was proving difficult,” she says. “I highlighted 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, but ended up finding another verse that truly resonated with me later on during that prayer time.”
It turns out that Coach Long had the athletes’ parents write letters to their children.
“Coach had our parents write us letters, which were very meaningful and dear to my heart. I read my mom’s letter last, and at the end of her letter she had included the verse Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ This verse, when I read it, immediately brought me to tears,” said Duenne. “My mom had somehow written the exact verse I needed to hear. It truly was one of the most important moments I’ve had in my faith.”
Duenne says she never would have had that experience without Coach Long.
“I am so glad that I had the opportunity to experience that,” she said. “That truly left such an impact on me that changed my character for the better.”
Duenne, now a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University, says she thinks about track often.
“Track has been, without a doubt, the best decision I’ve ever made,” she stated. “It truly transformed me as a person. I joined track hoping to make friends and learn how to throw [discus and shotput], but I got so much more out of it. Coach Long always cheered me on and encouraged me to do my best. He knew I had so much to achieve, and I’m so proud to have been able to call him my coach.”
Family at the Forefront
Long says he wants his athletes to learn work ethic, patience, determination, how to handle failure, and how to stay humble even when experiencing success.
“Most importantly, I want my high schoolers to know how to let God lead their lives and be loving and supportive of their family and friends,” he says.
When asked to describe his coaching philosophy, he focuses on the word “family.”
“In my 13 seasons with the track program, the one thing that has remained constant is the support of my family at home. I want my athletes and coaching staff to leave this track program feeling like they are not only part of the Notre Dame family, but the Long family as well,” he says. “I want to continue to see the program develop into a family environment that feels support in everything they do.”