The Countryside Cougars boys track and field team took a two-year hiatus from relevance. They’re back this year and in a major way.
In 2011, the last time the FHSAA Track and Field State Championships were at Showalter Field in Winter Park, the Countryside boys track team was at its zenith. They wound up finishing seventh in the state in Class 4A, scoring 25 points. 800m champion Ricy Brown went on to run at Bethune Cookman.
Then the train de-railed. Six-year head coach Eileen Givens decided to step down as the coach and the team fell into anonymity.
“I needed to take a break from something,” Givens said. “I thought about walking away from coaching all together.”
Givens already was a full-time PE teacher at Countryside. She was and still does hold down a job working for the City of Saint Petersburg at night. She switched to coaching the cross-country team to ease the strain of the long days at track meets. The track meets were cutting into her hours working for the city. That’s not to mention the friction she endured from the former football coach at Countryside.
“It was very difficult,” Givens said. “7on7 season is in direct conflict with track and it was put in a way with the kids that if they didn’t play 7on7, they weren’t going to play in the spring game. It was something held over their head, a threat.”
So for two years, the program was adrift. The only male athlete that even made it to states in 2012 and 2013 was Paul McKenna. However, Givens was never far away. She still taught at the school, she still coached cross-country. She still could not resist helping kids on the track team.
“The distance runners still wanted me to coach them,” Givens said. “But you can’t just tell one kid you’re gonna work with him.”
Givens coached McKenna in the 1600m and 3200m. McKenna placed fourth at states last year in 9:36.31.
“But then the sprinters saw the success that Megadeth (McKenna) had and they started asking for help,” Givens said.
Inch-by-inch, Givens was being pulled back into it.
Then, in January of this year, the Countryside head football coach resigned and the school promoted offensive coordinator Eric Schmitz. 
Now the tug-of-war for athletes was no longer an issue.
“(Our relationship) is beautiful,” Givens said. “I can truly say that we’re working together not against each other.”
Givens says Schmitz recognized the value of track and how it can improve speed and stamina for football players. So Givens is back at the helm and the 2014 Cougars are taking no prisoners.
In the first meet of the season, the Early Bird Invitational at East Lake, the Cougar boys edged a stout Land O’Lakes team 140 to 139. At the Richard Allen Relay in Pinellas Park, the Cougar boys edged Largo 79 to 77. At the Anclote Invitational in Pasco County, the Cougar boys won 181 to 81 over Ridgewood. At the Ed Wells Kiwanis Meet at Clearwater, the boys won 103 to Lakewood’s 75.5. Then at PCAC just last week, the boys prevailed 128 to Gibbs’ 74.
The dominance locally has been complete. However, it’s just Givens’ first year totally back and the team is still very young. The Cougars head into a meat-grinder of a district on Thursday with the likes of Sarasota Riverview, North Port, Manatee and East Lake with hopes of advancing as many as possible to the week after’s super regionals at Leto but Givens is back, at least for the time being.
“I will probably keep doing this (coaching track) until I retire from the county,” Givens said. “It’s fun, there’s always somebody coming up.”
Givens has six years left before she hits the 30-year retirement benchmark, so expect the Countryside Cougars to be a force for the next several years.
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