The SHS boys track and field team had not one, but two coaching spots open up during the offseason due to Chris Stevenson, former head coach, and Craig Ray, former sprint coach, leaving to continue their coaching careers at Mooresville High School.

“(Ray and Stevenson) have been my coaches since seventh grade,” junior Lucas Willoughby said. “We had a bigger relationship.”

For the Class of 2019, Ray and Stevenson can be considered a package deal where they moved up each year coaching football until their sophomore year.

It wasn’t a secret that Ray had wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach. This was finally achievable for Ray when the position became available in Mooresville.

The duo knew how to push kids to get their best out of them. According to both Willoughby and newly named head sprint coach Andrew Geller, last year’s practices were a lot more strenuous compared to this year. Yet, every day wasn’t exhausting running.

Last year, the team would have team bonding days. One of those days were when the players had to find a partner,learn three things about them then dress and act like them. Or another day was playing basketball for practice. According to both Geller and Willoughby, the practices compared to last year are easier. They haven’t done much inside running due to the stress it causes on the runners shins.