"Coach Smolka comes off very nice and pleasant but creates an extremely toxic team environment. He cares little to none for athletes that are not a top runner on the team. He also makes everything essentially mandatory despite saying “You don’t have to go”, if you don’t attend you are berated about why you didn’t attend. Many past athletes that I spoke with either hated the sport after or couldn’t wait to leave the school. Although he does a good job scheduling meets and travel, running is first and school/community engagement is much farther down the list of priorities. If you love running and wouldn’t be swayed by a team culture that is toxic because the coach LOVES gossip then this team will be fine. You’ll be better off going to a different school with a coach that wants you to be a successful person after school than a coach who won’t help you progress into a career. "