We’re very excited that Dr. Jeff Messer has agreed to be our featured coach for August, Season 1. Coach Messer is one of the most accomplished coaches in the country (his Desert Vista girls team is currently ranked number three in the country in the pre-season cross country rankings). He combines his in-depth knowledge of exercise physiology to inform his training plan, yet he’s a very personable coach who cares deeply about his athletes, as illustrated in one of his sayings, “Boys have to run fast to be happy; girls have to be happy to run fast.” Coach Messer coaches in an extremely difficult environment for cross country in Phoenix, AZ, where they practice at 5 am.

A telling statistic is that in his previous coaching position at Xavier College Preparatory School, twelve female athletes average 5:13 for the 1,600m on the same night at the Mt. Sac Relays in California.

This will be a great month of learning for all of us. Here is Coach Messer’s bio.

From 2006-2012, Dr. Messer served as co-head coach for cross-country and assistant coach (distance) for track-&-field at Xavier College Preparatory, Phoenix, Arizona. The Xavier College Preparatory cross-country program has earned six consecutive (2007-2012) Arizona high school girls’ state cross-country championships. During the three-year period from 2010-2012, the Xavier College Preparatory cross-country program concluded the associated cross-country seasons ranked 22nd, 8th, and 21st in the United States. During the 2012 Arizona high school track-&-field season, Xavier College Preparatory had twelve (12) student-athletes averaged 5:13 for the 1,600-meter distance.

In February, 2013, Dr. Messer began to serve as head coach for girls’ cross-country and assistant coach (girls’ distance) for track-&-field at Desert Vista High School, Phoenix, Arizona. The Desert Vista High School cross-country program earned the 2013 Arizona high school girls’ state cross-country championship. In late-May 2014, the Desert Vista High School girl’s distance program was ranked by MileSplit US as one of only two programs in the United States with “top ten” groups in each of the 800-m, 1,600-m, and 3,200-m events.