Name: Doug Crist, Head Boys and Girls Track and Field Coach

Coaching Experience:
This season will mark my 22nd year of coaching high school track and field. Much of it at
Waynesboro, but also at Littlestown and Gettysburg - where I began coaching right out of
college. I came back to coaching in at GHS in 2023, after 10 years away from the sport.

Athletic Experience:
I competed in cross country and track and field throughout high school and college, and
continued running and racing through most of my adult life. I’m a proud graduate of
Gettysburg Area High School, Class of 1982, and was part of the first district champion cross
country team at this high school. More importantly, those experiences and the friendships that
I forged in those years have remained impactful on my life to this day.

Favorite Coaching Memory:
I think the reflexive answer would be to list one of the championship seasons, one of which
was last year with both the boys and girls teams finishing undefeated - - but for me, it’s really a
compilation of seemingly infinite moments over the course of 22 seasons wherein athletes of
any ability overcame some adversity or achieved something that didn’t seem originally possible
to them. Those moments light me up and make me feel so good for those kids. Those small
triumphs will reverberate throughout the rest of their lives.

Coaching Philosophy:
Establish structure, build relationships, maintain flexibility, never ‘settle’.
Head coach of track and field can be a deceptively difficult coaching gig, because there are so
many events (18 different ones x 2 teams), and so many athletes, and so much swirling at
once. It takes a lot of work to effectively stay organized and on top of everything.

Coaching at Gettysburg:
I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to return to my alma mater and coach. I feel like I’m lucky
to follow in the footsteps of some past coaching legends like George Forney, Monte Illick, Mike
Lilley, Jack Harbaugh, Terry Gobrecht, Jim Lauritsen, and other more recent coaches. Carl
Swinn, who has continued to coach throwers at this school for over 40 years, is an active
embodiment of those legends. I’m thankful for all of my assistant coaches and privileged for a
brief time to be able to guide this generation of athletes and connect them in some small way
to the long and storied past of track and field at this school.

If your student has any interest in participating in Track and Field this year, feel free to reach out to Coach Crist at doug_crist@comcast.net.