McCafferty paving his own path at CBA

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

LINCROFT, N.J. -- A  raucous throng of several hundred spectators filled the Christian Brothers Academy 2.9-mile home cross country course last Tuesday afternoon.

The fans came in droves to Lincroft, New Jersey to see if CBA could continue its national record dual win streak. Or, to see if Colts Neck could pull off what no team has done in 42 years.

September 13 also happened to be Sean McCafferty's head coaching debut for CBA -- taking over for legendary coach Tom Heath, who retired last winter after 45 years.

No pressure, right?

"Last week was very, very stressful, not just for the kids but for me," McCafferty explained. "(The team) wrote down two goals at the beginning of the year for me, and that was one of them."

Despite being down two of its top runners, CBA dug deep to defeat Colts Neck 27-32 and added a 15-50 victory against Manalapan.

The victories extended CBA's dual meet win streak to 345 – an absurd figure that began in 1974. According to NJ.com, the five-point victory over Colts Neck was the closest in the streak's history since 1981, when CBA defeated St. John Vianney in a tiebreaker.

"Dual meets have sort of taken a backseat to a lot of invitationals," McCafferty said. "If people saw this, they would rethink it I believe. It was fun, really stressful for me, but a lot of fun for the kids."

McCafferty steps into a role that Heath occupied with enduring excellence. McCafferty, who was the head coach at Holmdel before taking over as an assistant for two years at CBA, ran for Heath as a prep.

He said the transition to head coach has been fairly easy. The difficult part is making sure that his own bar for the team is where it should be at all times.

"Tom strove for perfection," McCafferty explained. "That's really hard to do."

But McCafferty has no plans to be Tom Heath.

"One thing (Heath) really showed me, and I don't think he knows he did this, when you're coaching, you have to be your own person," McCafferty said. “And that's something I'm taking into every day of practice. And realizing I can't be him. My style has to be my style; that has been very, very important."

McCafferty's style is goal-centric. A teacher first, McCafferty uses that method to motivate, inspire and ultimately keep the wins coming.

"I'm trying to help a group of teenagers achieve something that they desire to achieve," he said. "I try and help them achieve their goals and hopefully when they wake up every morning they strive for those goals."

A typical practice for CBA starts with a meeting. McCafferty explained they can range from two minutes to an hour. The Colts will warm up, stretch and then go for a run. They do all their runs together. McCafferty is a big believer in group runs. He said it really enhances the team atmosphere. The practice continues with ladders, hurdles and any additional rolling or rehab related work. A second meeting -- rehashing what was achieved and what went good and bad -- finishes the day.

While McCafferty said CBA's hard work is a reason for its legacy of success, it's the environment that has been a vital part of the reputation.

"There's a brotherhood that's quintessential not only to the school is, but what the team is," he said. "Part of it being an all-boys school and there's no football there. There's a camaraderie that comes with the cross country team and excitement that comes around that I haven't seen at other places."

Since last Tuesday, the Colts added two more wins to their streak. The number is now at 347 as CBA heads into the competitive Bowdoin Classic this weekend. McCafferty said rather than shying away from the streak, they've embraced it. 

"We have a white board in our locker room and after each meet, someone who won the meet or someone who did something good they erase and put the new number up, so it's a pretty big deal," McCafferty said.

McCafferty said the dual streak is an amazing accomplishment. He said the fact that it's lasted so long is a testiment to Heath and every runner in the program. But during the season, there's really no enjoying the big picture.

“I guess when you do take that step back you kind of see what has been done, it's fascinating,” he said. “But I think when you're in it, you can't have that moment to take that breath because if you do, that's when you start to slip up a little bit.”

McCafferty said by October/November they will no doubt be full strength – including  No. 1 runner Drake Anzano back in the lineup.

Running into December at a national meet is realistic. The boys set the goal of competing for a national title.

“It's really about them, their journey. It's not about showing up and winning, it's about showing up and competing and getting muddy, getting dirty and doing the best you can to beat the guy next to you,” McCafferty said. “And that's what makes high school sports so good.”