The Cross Country program has added an esteemed five time State Championship Coach to their staff who will be working with the long distant runners in cross-country and track and field, John Goldman.

Goldman who is a director for the Long Beach Marathon and the Rivalry Run attended USC where he ran competitively and graduated in 89.

After college Goldman had an interest in coaching and became a track and field coach at a high school in Placentia.

Goldman’s interest in coaching came from his high school track and field coach, Mike Butler.

Goldman feels he gained so much from Butler, even now Goldman still remembers and uses training techniques he learned, which he believes are very valuable techniques and are the types of training a good runner needs.

From 1992-96 Goldman went in and turned the program around, bringing the school three CIF Championships.

While coaching Goldman was able to receive his teaching credentials and set out to work for Orange Coast Community College, where he was made a coach.

From 1996-2002 he brought the cross-country team Five State Champions.

In the women’s division the team won State in 97,98,99, and in 2001 they placed second in the state.

As for the men’s, the team went and won state in 1999 and in 2001 the men’s team placed fifth in the state.

Doug Wells, director of the cross country program, has a clear vision of what he hopes for the long distant runners to be and strongly feels that John Goldman will bring the runners up to the level of the sprinters.

“He’s gonna take us to the top and have our long distant runners equally ranked with our sprinters,” Doug Wells, Director of cross-country.

Wells is not the only one who is impressed by Goldmen, but the athletes are as well.

Goldman has shone his athletes he is here and dedicated by practicing with the athletes by running and doing exercises with the team at the Cerritos Stadium going up and down the stairs on both sides making sure no one misses a set of stairs.

At the moment Goldman is concentrating on the teams conditioning rather than working on their speed.

This is to make sure the athletes will not burn out half way through their run.

“He’ll rank us up. He is concentrating on our conditioning which is what we really need right now rather than speed.” Mellisa Dixon, long distant runner.

Not only is Goldman a coach, but he has been recruiting runners for Cerritos College.

In three weeks Goldman has managed to find six runners who intend on running for Cerritos.

Goldman has great plans and high expectations for the runners of Cerritos College.

“I hope that when runners are looking into two year colleges that the first name that comes to their mind is Cerritos for the best long distant program in the state,” John Goldman.