Culture, Chemistry Drive Champlain Valley VT Success

By Brian Towey of Dyestat

Champlain Valley Union VT clinched the program's first NXN bid since back-to-back trips in 2010 and 2011 to give Vermont a representative at Nike Cross Nationals. 

CVU coach Scott Bliss, the school's coach since 1999, has seen his program ebb and flow. 

A former athletic trainer who, in the 1990s, elevated to coaching, Bliss has seen a program take shape, as he himself has evolved.

"One of the biggest changes is that I'm not a reactional coach," Bliss said. "We have a process. But I'm willing to change that. For example (on Saturday at NXR Northeast) we had a girl whose foot was bothering her. But she finished third.

"We can overreact to these things. Our process is that we're going to do the best we can every day. Some things we can't control. If we do our best, we can't do any more. I think that's really helped take pressure off the kids and really be successful."

A culture has blossomed at the Burlington-area school that promotes the kids.

"I think that one of the things that's kept up at such a high level is the culture," Bliss said. "They want to be a part of it. And that affects other kids coming in."

Adds JV coach Cari Causey: "I think part of it is the kids have created a culture. They go out and cheer the middle school kids. They go out and create their own culture of 'You want to be a part of this'."

Bliss has watched the level of competition grow around him, a jump he attributes to things like NXN and their events.

Yet to see the results Saturday, it's clear that this program's growth is attributable to more than that.

"They have an awesome chemistry," Causey said. "They all get along. They genuinely like each other. They're fun to coach."

Champlain Valley Union won the New England Championships in the run-up to NXR Northeast. Back in 2010 and 2011, the team came west to Portland and finished 21st both years. 

CVU may already be looking at a bright future. Five of the seven runners in the lineup are eligible to return next fall.