Finding Their Stride: A Team of Young Runners and Their Season of Triumph

by Sally Pont

In Finding Their Stride, Sally Pont, a runner, teacher, and second-generation coach, tells of her first year coaching a co-ed cross country team to victory, both on and off the course. A surprising story of triumph, as well as an endearing tale of driven athletes, Pont shares the highlights and heartbreak of her young runners at Moravian Academy, a small, independent school near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Every page is infused with Pont's affection and respect for her runners, and as the season unfolds, we see the team beginning to find a new stride. While the boys struggle, the girls soar to new heights, going from last place to first. “Uplifting and engaging, Finding Their Stride is "about attaining and teaching excellence, whose metaphor happens to be a high school running team" (Kirkus Reviews).

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 1999

Reviews

[Hannah D · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Finding their stride is about Sally Point and she is a runner, teacher and also a coach. In this story she is talking about her first year of coaching co-ed cross country team to be victorious both on and off the course. This is a motivating fairytale of driven athletes that are determined for success. Point shares moments of her running career at Moravian Academy. This book is her talking about running and her respect for all athletes. While her boys cross country struggles her girls team soars going from first to last. This book shows how good sports and athletes really are. Point was very big on her cross country team on teaching excellence. This book is about competition and talking about the heart of an athlete and this seems an intriguing book to all people especially athletes. This book had a good varied of talking about her personal experiences and her coaching career. Overall if you are into running and even into a good dramatic and heartwarming story I suggest reading this one.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full of awkward and inappropriate metaphors. They were distracting. The story was decently told.

[Allison Mafodda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this point, though admittedly it is not for everyone. I am a Lehigh Valley Native and have been an assistant coach on a XC team for a few years now. The kids that race are much younger, it is a kids league, but so many of the references and points made I've see happen right before my eyes with the kids that I work with my own daughter included. Some of the analogies were a little bit much and more often then was necessary, but many of them ring true in the world of XC running and racing. I found myself routing the team on as they went through their season, and even teary eyed towards the end as their final races are described. Again though, I can relate to this experience, I've watched many kids have ups and downs as they run, good days and bad. I would think that if you were unfamiliar with this (slightly insane) world this book would not be for you....BUT if you're a runner or love a runner it's a worth the read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while waiting for my kids' buses every afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. Whoever had owned the book before me had marked it up and made comments like "really, this is too much..." but I loved Sally's writing. I understand the connection she had with the kids AND how running begets philosophers and artistic turns of phrase. Really, it does! After my runs, my writing is always more creative.

I wish I knew where all these kids ended up.
I hope their lives are good.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book- the subject matter is very appealing to me- and maybe I'll give it another shot someday. But I gave up when I got to the sentence about how the coach and one of the runners "bifurcated" from the pack so they could talk. Seriously, bifurcated? That's a reach, the kind of reach you make when you want terribly to sound literary, and try way too hard.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sally Pont writes clearly, and she writes well. Her story of guiding a high-school cross-country team through its season resonated with me. Most importantly, her writing engaged me, so much so that I tore through the book in a day.

Sally, an English teacher as well as cross-country coach, writes with extremely proper grammar, so her writing comes across as somewhat stilted. As a fellow student of English, I appreciated her writing style, although it probably seems to most readers a little archaic.

A previous reviewer described the book as full of confusing metaphors; I disagree strongly. Pont waxes melodramatic about her runners and their season, but she is so obviously earnest that I found the metaphors compelling rather than confusing.

Read this book. If you find yourself struggling through the metaphors, the proper grammar, and the melodramatic sections, just know that the struggle (as with running a race) will be worth it.

[Ancöre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading to refresh my memory :)