After 8 years at the helm of the Bishop Kenny boys distance squad, Coach Brian Devine announced recently he'll be leaving the program at the end of the year and moving to Portland, Oregon, to be closer to his brother and family.
Coach Devine never really intended to have such an impact on the Florida running community but he surely has over the years. After growing up in the "City of Brotherly Love", Coach Devine relocated to the Jacksonville area and started teaching at Bishop Kenny. He also started volunteering his time with the distance program and after a short while was asked to take over a program that consistently produced top-notch distance runners.
Coach Devine leaves behind a great legacy with 3 State CC championships and numerous All-State runners to include Ryder Leary's individual State Championship in 2002.
He also leaves behind a rich and deeply rooted cross-country tradition at Bishop Kenny that shows no signs of abating anytime soon. With a student population of roughly 1,600, Bishop Kenny has aptly earned the nick-name "The Army of One", by consistently having roughly 10% of their student body on the cross-country team in the fall. As someone told me some time ago about the Bishop Kenny program, "they just keep coming and coming, like there's no end in sight, like an Army" like an "Army of One".
Coach Devine touts the legacies of former great coaches at Bishop Kenny such as Dan Brown and Steve Lyons with instilling great harrier pride into the "Crusader" program. With over 10,000 Crusader alumni, a lot of second and third generation students now attend Bishop Kenny and they know the great tradition associated with being a distance runner at BK.
Coach Devine leaves confident in the direction of the program. With assistant's Josh Johnson, a student at UNF, and former Crusader icon Carlos Garcia back teaching at the school, the tradition is sure to prosper. Students can once again count on receiving the Cross-country invitation letter this summer highlighting the positives of a team sport where everyone gets to participate with a high emphasis on being truly a team sport.
Coach Devine says it was tough telling his runners he wouldn't be back this fall but told them instead to focus on their tradition, total commitment to the team, and self-less determination that has always been a part of this fabled school, once the site of an old Spanish fortress and an establishment that just recently celebrated over 50 years of existence.
Coach Devine also noted that he's going to miss the great running community of coaches in the Jacksonville area. He praised their teachings and mentoring and credited his successes to the vast wealth of knowledge the area coaches instilled on him over the years.
After talking to Coach Devine this evening, it's evident he believes that FLRunners.com founder Jason Byrne is hugely responsible for a resurgence in Florida distance running.
He fondly remembered how Jason, then a college student, started a grass roots movement to organize a meet that would attract the best teams from around the state which was a rather large undertaking.
Since the evolution of the first FLRunner's invite and the huge popularity of Flrunners.com, it's pretty obvious to Coach Devine that Jason's hard work and determination played a big roll in educating the distance running community in the state.
Although he's not exactly sure where he will end up teaching in the Portland area, it's his desire to find a Catholic centered program with a rich running tradition such as Portland Jesuit or Portland Central Catholic. If the past is any indicator, look for Coach Devine to continue having great success in the Portland area.
We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.