Keeping up with Coach Peter Hopfe

 

 

 

 

 

     “I ran in high school (Longmeadow, Massachusetts) and college (Bentley, in Waltham, Massachusetts).  I started in an age of great American runners. I had coaches that were good guys, but not knowledgeable. I saw a lot of burnout in different programs.  Kids were dropping out in college, when their best years were ahead of them. There were lots of (magazine) articles, but they watered things down. I remained true to the sport, which led me to the path of self-study. I continued to improve until I was 33, which is when I ran my best times (14:54 for 5K, 24:50 for 8K, 31:40 for 10K and a 2:28 marathon).”

 

     As the result of a “change in climate,” Hopfe the runner ventured onto a different road.

 

     “In 1987, we started a house in Flagler-Palm Coast.  We moved in 1988, and opened a restaurant—the Bunnell Restaurant—right after that.  Now it’s called the State Road Diner.”

 

     Among his “special” customers were runners from the nearby high school.

 

     “I invited the cross country team over before races and tried to help them out.  I offered my help, basically advice, to the coaches. They, in turn, invited me to ‘come along as a coach.’”

 

     Although he was certainly busy with the restaurant, any attempts to resist—as may be suggested—were futile. 

 

     “They wore me down. I began coaching in 1995. These kids were wrestlers and basketball players, who were more interested in general fitness than cross country.”

 

     The message got out that a new coach was in town.

 

     “The next year, I started to get a handful of runners, and I was able to implement my training philosophy.”

 

Buying into the philosophy...

 

     One of those first “runners,” was Kelly Walker, who attended FPC from 1996 to 2000, and graduated class valedictorian.

 

     “I always felt that the girls who I ran with set the stage for the state champions to come.  We were up at the crack of dawn to run.  We ate dinner at the Hopfe’s.  We went to summer camp in North Carolina.  We weren’t the most talented team, but we were definitely the most committed.  We drew in the runners that made the teams of the future.”

 

     She also has fond memories about Hopfe’s eatery.

 

     “We were always calling over there, saying; ‘Hey coach….’ I remember, before I even got my driving license, I wrecked my car. He never said anything to the team about it, but let me work at the restaurant to help pay it off.  

 

     “Mostly, I cleaned tables. I tried to serve once, but I spilled food on a biker. I’d never been so scared in my life! I acted like I didn’t see it.  The guy kind of brushed it off.  I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ but stayed on, cleaning tables.”

 

     She can attest to his competitiveness.  

 

     “When he was first coaching us, the boys couldn’t beat him in a road race.  I think Mike (Ciunciulli) was the first. He’s (Hopfe) built to be a runner, and is a very, very competitive person.”

 

     What came through most, however, was his love for the team.

 

     “I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Hopfe.  He was like my dad.  On the track, I’d say ‘Hey Dad!’”

 

     At the root of his coaching philosophy, Peter Hopfe sees running as a lifetime sport, something that allows for progress at a rate that depends upon the athlete. Walker illustrates how he first explained it to her.

 

     “When I look back, in my freshman year, he sat down with my parents and laid out the whole plan.  He said, ‘We’re not going to go full throttle, because we want to make it a lifetime sport.’  My senior year (1999-2000), I was a state champion (11:14 in the 3200). So he did it.” 

 

     She also won the 5 Star XC Conference Championships twice, in 1998 and 1999, and came in fifth in the 1999 State XC Meet with a time of 18:03. 

 

     Goals were always clearly explained.

 

     “His training methods were very instructive. You never felt aimless.  Every single workout had a purpose and we knew what that purpose was. He was always up on the research…every aspect.  He never left anything untouched; like running tangents to go the shortest distance. He was immersed in the sport. He would introduce trivia and events in the running world.  He would tell us what to eat, and why.  How much to rest. When someone, like Hopfe, is so committed, you can’t help but buy into the program.”

 

     Walker, like many of the athletes with whom he keeps in contact, left the program feeling that their relationship was especially close.

 

     “He was a high mileage coach.  On long runs, you can’t help but get to know people, and in high school we always had a close relationship.  We’d talk on the phone.  He was more of a life style coach.  There were 20 of us on the team, and he made each of us feel like we were the only one under him. 

 

     “I’m sure that coaching girls is a lesson in being sensitive.  I can remember countless times while I was supposed to be concentrating on the track workout, instead my mind would be somewhere else; on pressures from school, worries about boys, or arguments with friends.  He was training with us and in phenomenal shape.  He’d say, ‘Life will go on; things will improve.’  He was so much like a father figure that I could talk to him about anything and he would really listen, and know what to say.”

 

     Kelly went on to run for the University of Florida.

 

     “I just ran two years, and then decided to be a college student at Florida.  It was very different.  We didn’t have the same family atmosphere. At Flagler the boys and girls ran together; we were like brothers and sisters.”

 

     While Walker and those first runners were hard at work being adolescents, Hopfe was hard at work fine tuning what would soon be a legendary program.

 

     “I thought, from Day 1, I was getting results.  The basketball players and wrestlers saw their fitness level drastically improve.  I was teaching them an active life style: (a balance between) running, recovering, proper nutrition, family and academics. If (on the other hand) you focus on a particular event, you get off-balance, and you burn out.

 

     “In the beginning it was more about getting my philosophy out.  It was more important to teach about a healthy life style that included the love for running, so that they would run faster times later on.”

 

     I asked him to describe it.

 

     “To be a good runner, you have to have a healthy life style, which includes scientific training, proper recovery time, proper nutrition, and cognitive stimulation.  These have to be balanced with your life, and the other purposes or passions of your life.  For example, meeting family obligations, and spiritual, social and academic needs.  That’s what I tried to push through while coaching on the high school level.

 

     “A person needs to find his purpose in life. Once you find it, then either try to make it fit your passion, or be your passion.  That’s going to provide you with order, and set you in to a position where everything is going to fall into place. Then you will truly enjoy life.”

 

     Rarely, however, does an adolescent—or even a young adult—have the experience necessary to develop a clear path to their future on their own.

 

     “I’ve seen kids follow paths that were not part of their passion, only to find out they do not like what they are doing.  Have they wasted their time?  Probably not, but if they knew their purpose and passion ahead of time, they could have invested that time into developing their true path.  Their time would be better served.”

 

Following your passion...

 

     A case in point is Jen Haydt, who attended FPC from 2002-2005. 

 

     “I actually played lacrosse there every year but my sophomore year. The (track) team was such a phenomenal family that I wanted to see why. 

 

     “The first day (that) I ran two hours I became a runner. I was doing about 50 miles a week.  We did double workouts in the pool; 5:45 AM runs in the pool. Hopfe was big on pool workouts.  

 

     “Our girls were so close; they got together, ate spaghetti dinners and watched ‘Without Limits’ (a movie about Steve Prefontaine) every Friday during cross country (season).

 

     “That fall (2002), cross country was my first running experience.  I was awful; I ran about 24 minutes. I (found that I) was a 400/800 kind of girl….In track that spring, I was seeded last in the (800 in the) at the 1-3A Districts.  I was asleep in the back of the bus (on the way to the meet)….

 

     “I remember, he came over to me and woke me up. I said, ‘Coach, what do you want from me? ‘He asked, ‘Are you ready?’ I said, ‘What, are you kidding?  I’m seeded last!’  But he told me what to do, and I won (2:32.91).  We actually had three or four girls in the race (Chris Zingi was third in 2:33, Jen Knapp fourth in 2:34, and Jenissa Vazquez fifth in 2:36).  It was a real team event.  It was cool.”

 

     Hopfe’s encouragement did not end that day.  Heydt followed him to Embry Riddle University—which will be discussed in Part II of this interview—where she chose a major that may not have reflected “a clear path to her future.”

 

     “I actually graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, but heard my calling to coach.”

 

     She goes on to explain, “With him, running is not what you do, but who you are. He wanted to make sure that we were a good investment. He invested in us as people, rather than as athletes.  If you do the right thing, by investing in your body, the times will be a reflection of what you put into yourself.  The times come naturally.”

 

     Was she describing Hopfe’s philosophy, or now, her own? Jen is currently attending Shorter College, in Rome, Georgia (just outside of Atlanta), while exploring what she hopes will be her future career.

 

     “I’m a graduate assistant. I coach distance runners.  I don’t necessarily design a lot of the workouts.  I’m kind of a sounding board, but when I graduate, I’ll have a Master of Arts and Leadership, and will be able to coach.”

 

     A second athlete, who not only followed Hopfe to ERAU, but also wishes to follow him into coaching, is Sammy Vazquez.  It wasn’t the first time.  

 

     “I spent a year and a half at Pine Ridge, in Deltona, and then transferred in January of 2001.  I did so because I wanted to run seriously.  (At Pine Ridge), I’d give it my all, and FPC would have multiple athletes in front of me. My family was gracious enough to pack everything up and move to a house in Palm Coast.

 

     “Before I moved, I didn’t know anything about training, or why they were so good.  When I got to Palm Coast, (I found out that) Hopfe knew what made everyone good, and designed the training for them.  I was probably the first one on the team who had natural speed.  Coach Hopfe recognized that, nailed it on the head, and designed a pretty good program.”

 

     Sitting out a year due to FHSAA eligibility requirements, Vazquez wasn’t able to compete with his new team that first track season, but he experienced almost immediate results.  On May 11, 2001, he competed, unattached, at the FSU Twilight Meet.

 

     “I ran the 1500 in 4:08.77.  Then I ran the 800, maybe an hour later, in 1:54.7.”

 

     The good times continued. 

 

     “In 2002, I got the Florida 1600 record (4:09).  My senior year, in 2003, I was attempting to get the 800 meter record, but I just missed, by a little less than a second (1:50.77). 

 

     “It was my high school goal to win the National Meet, which I did in 2003; then it was called the Adidas Outdoor Championships.  Hopfe gave me the right workouts, I peaked at the right time (in July), the competition was outstanding, and I was focused.”

 

     His time, 4:03.8—the fastest mile (equivalent to a 4:01.5 1600), all time, by a Florida runner--was about a second and a half fast enough to beat an athlete from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, named Chris Solinsky. (Now where have we heard that name?)

 

     No interview with a former—or current—Hopfe trained athlete ends without a glowing endorsement of his character.

 

     “He was crazy about running. He lived for running. He was also a guy who made everyone happy.  He taught us character.  He taught us to be a good person, even away from running. He also taught us to be humble.  Even when we lost, we didn’t pout about it.

 

      “He did not play to favorites.  Guys on the JV were just as important as guys on the varsity. Bryan Anderson, for example, probably didn’t get the publicity that he deserved, but he was happy and his parents were happy.”

 

     Sammy also found, that, once earned, Hopfe’s friendship was lifelong. 

 

      “When you…are part of the team, or part of his life, he never gives up. I can say that because I quit running for several years, but we still talked.  He never gave up on me.  That’s why I’m here, getting my bachelor’s degree.  I owe that to him.  He’s like my Dad.  That’s what I’d like to teach my kids, and when I coach, teach my athletes.” 

 

Legacy of excellence...

 

     Probably the athlete who almost single-handedly led the program onto a super-highway of success, was Matt Ciunciulli.

 

     As Kelly Walker explains, “I think that it definitely happened with the guys team first.  It probably happened because of Eric Francis.  He was a senior when I was a freshman. He was one of the first people to win a race. He had a couple of breakthrough races.

 

     “Then he got hurt and Mike (Cianciulli) took over.”

 

     Next came his younger brother Matt.

 

     “We were expecting Jerry (Rechert) to do well,” added Walker, “and all of a sudden, his freshman year, this kid came in and did phenomenal.  He was an animal.”

 

     Matt’s time, in the 1998 FHSAA State Cross Country Meet—as a freshman--was 15:47.88, and he finished eighth in the 5A race. He finished second in 1999 (15:24) and first in 2000 (15:14). 

 

     Cianciulli finished fifth, in his senior year (2001), with a time of 15:34, but FPC had a new leader, Sam Vazquez (third in 15:12.31). Also moving up was Bryan Anderson, whose state meet times were, respectively, 16:41 (34th place in 2000), 16:11 (12th place in 2001), 16:17 (ninth place in 2002), and 15:29 (third place in 2003).

 

     Hopfe picks it up from there.

 

     “I coached Bryan in the pool.  He is bow-legged, and always had problems with his shins, and with mileage. So I developed his cardiovascular system in the pool.

 

     “Justin (Harbor) came along at the same time.  (He ran his freshman year at Deland.) Justin was a really hard worker, and was very meticulous.  He suggested that maybe Bryan wasn’t working hard enough to prepare for the State Championships. His (Bryan’s) progression showed that he improved by a minute in the last three meets.  Justin said, ‘I know, you told me so.’ 

 

     “By the State, he smoked Justin.  He (Bryan) caught up to Justin and (Scot) Hans (Ridgeview; second in 15:26, but didn’t figure in the team scoring), and took the lead. He chased down Alex Militech, racing him neck and neck down the home straightaway, and ended up third.  Justin came in fifth (15:45). We had three guys in the 15s (Clint Bentley was ninth, in 15:52), and two in the 16s, (Marvin Moore was 30th in 16:34, and Chris Welter 54th in 16:59), and finished second (2-4-7-30-57; 100) to Chiles (1-3-10-12-17; 43).”

 

     Two hour runs? Weight vests? Pool workouts?  What was the magic formula?

 

     “Training depends upon the athlete,” explains Hopfe.  “As a coach, it is my job to evaluate the athlete to determine the best way to meet their short and long term goals.  Every person/athlete is a little bit different, so their training and racing should be different.

 

     “For example, Matt Cianciulli thrived on high mileage.  He had very little speed—most track athletes could have beaten him in the 400—yet he was a state champion in the mile (4:16.62 in 2000, and 4:12.42 in 2001). 

 

     “Sam Vazquez was more speed oriented.  He thrived on it.  Give him speed and he excelled. He could not handle high mileage.  He too, was a state champion (4:09.44 in 2002 and 4:12.68 in 2003). Same event, two different approaches.”

 

     That is the one of the things that Justin Harbor, who ran for Hopfe from 2003-2006, remembers most about his former coach.

 

     “His coaching technique is definitely different than that of a lot of coaches.  His workouts are very, very individualized.  He likes to see the workout that the athletes are doing, not just pass out the workout sheet. He wants to see how you handle it and how your body reacts. If you’re not ready to go one day—for example when you’re warming up and can’t quite loosen up—and he notices that you are not quite recovered from the previous session, he’ll push it back a day. He did that the entire time he coached us.  I like to refer to him as a running guru.

 

     “He’s coached athletes since his twenties, including four women who were preparing for the Olympic trials, but high school kids are still growing up. One day they might “want to run,” the next they might not. Although you can’t coach determination, while he was coaching at FPC, a lot of our guys were very determined, and determined to compete well for him…we knew mediocrity was not an option.

 

     “If it wasn’t for Hopfe, I probably wouldn’t have achieved nearly as much success as I have thus far in my career.”

 

     Harbor relates a humorous tale that illustrates Coach Hopfe’s dedication, once committed, to an athlete.

 

     “My sophomore year, I totally bombed at the South Regionals (of Footlocker; 137th place in 16:31). So in my junior year, when I made the trip, that Thanksgiving we flew to Boston, and went to Worcester, where he’s from.  Flagler is not as cold as it was up there, so he wanted me to get used to the change in weather before I raced.

 

     “We got in about 9:00 PM, and he said ‘You got a 45 minute run.’ It was something like 30 degrees outside, and I said, ‘How about a little shake out run instead?’ He answered, ‘No, you’re going to run for 45 minutes.’ 

 

     “I went upstairs and got all dressed up in the warmest clothes I had; tights, long-sleeved shirt, jacket, gloves and skull hat. When I came back down the stairs, he looked at me and said, ‘Take off the jacket, long sleeved shirt, tights, and gloves.’ Now I’m standing there wearing just shorts and a tee shirt…and a hat; he let me keep the hat.  That’s how I went out, in 30 degree weather, to run in a place I’ve never been, and didn’t know where I was going.

 

     “I came back with red knuckles, a wind chapped face and frozen forearms.  He laughingly asked, ‘How was it?’ I said, ‘It sucked.’ He said, still laughingly, ‘Why do you think I moved to Florida?’

 

     “He had me spend the whole week working outdoors.  In the evenings, for my interval sessions, I ran at the WPI (Worcester Polytech Institute) track, the closest one with lights.  It was like a refrigerator. There was snow on the sidelines.  After every repeat, he’d have me run off the track and up a hill, like the one that was in the upcoming race. He was very good at race simulation. He would tell me that cold weather makes tough runners.”

 

     That November 27th, Justin finished third in the Footlocker South Regional, in a time of 14:57.  He returned in his senior year, finishing seventh, in 15:01.

 

     “As a person, he always tried to be a good teacher. He reminded us not to be ‘popping off’ (about accomplishments). He helped us to grow (respectively) to be a man, or a woman. He also underwent a change when he became a Christian.  He became more of a role model. We still talk about once a week.

 

     “First and foremost, we’re great friends.  When he went to Embry Riddle, we continued to maintain contact. Of course, Halliday (Hopfe’s successor at FPC) was my coach at that time.

 

     “My father died when I was a senior, and although Hopfe was already coaching at Embry Riddle, he helped me through that. He actually lost his dad when I was a sophomore in high school, so he knew how difficult it is to lose a parent.  It hit him hard, and he took a step back. But both he and Halliday stepped in right away and helped me as much as they could. It was like I had two dads.”

 

     Justin is currently running at Florida State University.  His most recent race—at the time of this writing—was a 25:01 fourth place finish (tops for his team) at the October 9, 2010 FSU Invitational.  His team won the invitational with 41 points (3-8-9-10-11-12-14).

 

     In 2005, a position as assistant coach opened up at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona Beach.  

 

     “The job here became available.  They had a cross country program, and were starting a track program.  Coach (Mike) Rosolino, whom I met through his recruiting, asked me to participate in an interview.  The process is pretty extensive.  They offered me the job.”

 

     Two of his former FPC women athletes played a role in this decision: Kelly Walker and Jennifer Haydt.

 

     “When he was thinking about applying for the job at Embry Riddle, I wrote a letter to the athletic director,” explains Walker.  “One of the things that I told them is that, if they wanted to win a national championship, he would do it.  He’s there, what, five years, and they’re currently ranked fifth in the NAIA (in cross country).”

 

     Jen Haydt’s support of Hopfe was even more emphatic.

 

     “I actually followed Mr. Hopfe to Embry Riddle.  He made the transition in 2005, and I enrolled there in 2005.  I trusted in him because we both believed in same long-term ideas.”

 

     “It took me awhile to come to a decision,” said Hopfe.  “It was a hard decision. The biggest problem was my loyalty to my FPC team.  I had made a lot of promises to Justin and the team. I took some of my athletes to meets during the summer; high performance meets and national championships.” 

 

     As a condition of accepting the position, he requested—and was granted—time to work with these kids until it was a good time to break, which was decided would be the track season.

 

     “I sold the restaurant, and started on February 1, 2005.”