10 years of LCHS XC

10 years ago,  Liberty Charter XC was launched as one of the first sports in Liberty Charter history. Since then it has served over 300 athletes to become better young men and women of character.  A few have gone on to compete in college and many have and are attending various 4-year universities. I would like to share with you the heart of the program and my passion for coaching this great sport.

 

My name is Daniel Sanchez and I am the head coach for the Liberty Charter High School Track & Field and Cross Country programs. I have been coaching these two amazing sports for the past 18 years and have been at Liberty Charter for the past 10 years. It has been my honor and passion to help mold my athletes to become people of character and valor. I would love to share the core of my coaching philosophy and foundation of how I choose to train and develop my athletes.

​

Athletics is about competition and the relationships that result from a shared commitment to excellence. How a coach approaches these two factors is of the utmost importance and makes all the difference in the athletic experience of individuals. Athletics should be a transformational experience for an athlete that is guided by a coach who cares about the athlete’s personal development more than the transactional events of winning and losing. A coach is successful when he/she is able to influence the physical, emotional, social and spiritual development of students while producing excellent athletic results.

​

Athletics is not an end unto itself but an opportunity for training and developing character in the unfolding story of an individual’s life. Coaching should provide a transformative experience for young people by fostering the development of trust, confidence, self-respect and a positive self-image. Team members need to know they are cared about as an individual so that they can develop a sense of trust that allows them to take risks for improvement. A transformational coaching style is about relationships and should encourage, challenge and guide young people through an important transitional time in their lives. Competition is the vehicle of this pursuit. Relationships are the outcome of athletic endeavors.

​

The process of training and competing will help team members to gain insights into their character and provide a means for their personal growth. Through the athletic process, I guide my athletes toward becoming more cognizant of living transformational lives that are not defined by what they do in the transactional results of winning, losing, grades or personal prestige. Whom they are becoming as people and the value they place on relationships are outgrowths of the athletic experience that reflects much more than winning and losing. The process should reflect people who are grateful and exhibit a positive self-image full of character and living with integrity. In this outcome, Athletics has served it’s most subtle, yet noble purpose.