I am the Head Cross Country (running) Coach at Finlandia University in Michigan. We compete in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference and are part of NCAA Division 3. We are building a winning program with athletes who want to be the best and have the drive to be successful. We want athletes to win on the course and in the classroom. The goal for the team is to maintain growth every year as a team and as individuals. We want every student to race at the National Championship while they are at Finlandia University. We believe to do that, we as a team must set new goals every season to push ourselves and others to be the best we can be. Besides winning races and becoming national champs, we want our teams to be all academic every semester. The most important thing to me is to see my athletes become leaders in the community and in the community, grow as individuals, and enjoy running so they continue to run even after they leave Finlandia University.
Finlandia University- Finlandia University offers several unique tuition initiatives, numerous merit-based scholarships, and one of the most affordable tuition rates in the upper Midwest for a private university. 100 percent of our full-time domestic students receive some sort of financial aid. In 2020-21 that added up to Finlandia investing more than $3.2 million into the future of our students. In 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 Finlandia was named a Best Value School. The class is about eleven students, Finlandia’s campus is in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost point of land in Michigan. Natural beauty, mining and immigrant history, a thriving arts community, and year-round outdoor recreation opportunities are plentiful in this region known as the Copper Country. Finlandia students enjoy miles of public beaches, more than 25 local waterfalls, and easy access to Lake Superior, the largest body of freshwater in the world. Adventurous spirits find inspiration and enjoyment on miles of local hiking and biking trails, at two national and four state parks, and on acres of pristine, natural forest land. Finlandia students enjoy mountain biking, hiking, fishing, camping, canoeing, and boating, and with an average annual snowfall of 250-300 inches, snowboarding, skiing, and ice hockey.
Academics- Finlandia University our small classes and active learning environments allow students to enjoy an intensely personal interaction with faculty. Faculty members are recognized within the larger higher education community as leaders in active learning techniques and regularly speak at or lead active learning sessions. Finlandia University offers scholarships to help with tuition. The grade point average required by Finlandia for scholarship eligibility is 3.0. Athletes falling below a 3.0 at midterms during the first semester participate in study hall. All freshmen have mandatory tutoring that they must do. We offer a $10,000 transfer scholarship and a $1,000 visit scholarship The tutoring is for two hours per class. After freshman year it goes down to one hour per class. Also, Finlandia has a program called TRIO. TRIO is a student support service to provide academic services to empower students to achieve their personal, educational, and career goals. - Finlandia offers academic programs of study leading to associate and baccalaureate degrees in the disciplines of art and design (BFA), business (BBA), liberal studies (BA, AA, AGS), and health sciences (BSN, AAS).
Cross Country Program- What we are looking for in a runner is a great attitude, willingness to work hard, and someone with a passion and the DRIVE to be successful. Our training style is based on the team we have in that particular year. Each year will most likely be different from the last. I am very flexible and believe each year to grow you need to change so you can grow as an athlete and a person. The only things that will be the same are the phases. The running schedule example is the summer before they enter Finlandia their schedule is based on what they did during high school. During the summer, the first phase is to build the base for success. Like a great mansion, they need to have a solid foundation, and so do runners who desire to win at the highest level. We have four different phases, the First phase- Summer base, the Second- Transition between the summer meet phase, the Third phase- Meet phase, and Four-Phase- Championship. The workouts will all be based on the different phases and where we are mentally and physically.
As a college coach, I believe to build a successful team you need athletes who work hard, listen well, be a teammate through the good times and the bad and are willing to push themselves further than they can imagine. Athletes that do all that we ask, will be successful on the team and in life. Being an athlete and a student in college creates chances for lessons to be learned. A college is a place where a student can learn their lessons with a little safety net before their wings become fully formed and fly on their own. Finlandia University gives those students a chance to do exactly that in the community, class, and team. We want the students to do well when they are out there on their own. We want the students to be successful in the classroom, and in life and we will do anything to help them to be successful. The class sizes are small, which gives the students more one-on-one time with the professors, giving them a better chance to be successful.
During their final year, at Finlandia University, I will help them look for jobs during and after their time here. The athletes can graduate in three years with their bachelor's, stay on scholarship, and finish their master's in two years. I believe that as a coach, I am here to help with whatever they need to be successful after their time here. Finlandia gives its athletes a chance to compete and live big in a small school setting. The students won’t be overwhelmed, lost, or just a number as they can be in a bigger school, especially in the first years. Our athletes will travel to big meets and see some of the best universities in the area and the nation.
Now, this will be my first year at Finlandia and the beginning of a new cross-country program. I want to build the beginning of a successful program. I am looking for hard workers, someone who is a good teammate will have the power to push themselves as an individual and as a teammate. I want someone passionate about Cross Country with a good attitude and who is very teachable. I have attached the names that I am interested in talking to. Also, if you have other MALES/FEMALES athletes on your team that are part of the Class of 2023, that you think fit the bill, I would love to talk to them too. If you have any questions, please call, or text me. I would be happy to talk with you about the program or about any questions you may have.
