Gary Derks knows cross country is not the most glamorous of sports. The veteran Cinco Ranch boys coach also knows he is blessed with a group of guys who not only love to run competitively, but are pretty darn good at it.
"We have a dedicated group, no doubt about it," he said. "Now we have to challenge them to get the most out of themselves. That's really what cross country is about. When you're running five miles and it's brutally hot, you've got to motivate yourself and know how hard you can push yourself. Right now, that's what we're trying to teach a lot of our guys because we have a lot of young runners."