Ms. Kuga Interview

Many of our teachers are also coaches for different sports. In the fall season, we have girls volleyball and cross country. Our cross country coaches are Ms. C, Mr. Quintero, Coach Brandon, Ms. Gomez, and last but not least our head coach Ms. Kuga. 

If you don’t know who she is, she used to teach 9th grade English at our school for 5 years. She herself did cross country in high school and has seen the KSJC XC team grow since the beginning. Let’s see what she has to say about her experience and this sport. 

 Question: What do you like the most about coaching Cross Country?

Answer: “I like seeing people look at difficult things and be scared and actually complete them. The feeling of improvement after overcoming something challenging is not only relevant to cross country but also life. As a coach, I get to see people overcome adversity in a lot of different ways. And It makes me happy”

Question: What are your goals for the team this season?

Answer: “I want to get high placements in varsity and JV divisions. I want everyone to PR as many times as possible. And I want people to feel a part of a family/community.”

Question: Looking back, how do you feel about how much this team has grown?

Answer: “I mean, immensely, I feel so proud. I feel humbled by the amount of hard work that people put in for themselves and the amount that people want to succeed. I feel grateful that I get to be a part of y'all's experience in high school.”

Question: What are some tips you have for endurance?

Answer: “Work on your mentality. You need to figure out how you are going to mentally push yourself. It’s a mental game so you have to overcome your own mentality, you have to control the way your mind controls your body. You have to get very comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Question: What are some major things that have changed in the team since the beginning of coaching?

Answer: “It's grown so much, just like in size. I feel like people have gotten more and more serious every year. I feel like I have been a stronger coach every year, people have been able to see themselves be successful in so many ways, and that's just, like, I’m just grateful to be a part of it and be able to coach for this long”

Question: How has coaching the team change your perspective on cross country?

Answer: “It just makes me realize how much this sport relates to real life. So I hear students going through tough things in their life, the same way they go through tough practices in cross country and I feel like it shows that people can be resilient in a lot of different ways”

Question: How do you feel after a cross country race? 

Answer: “Amazing. Like it's the best feeling in the world. Um, because I get to see so many people be so proud of themselves as individuals and as a team.”

Question: What is something that you see in the team that you wish you had in your cross country days?

Answer: “Oh um just, I don’t know. I think I had such a positive cross country experience that I tried to bring that into the team here, because I felt like cross country was such a huge part of my high school experience, and building that same thing here just reminds me how special it was for me back then.”

Question: What’s one of your most fondest/unforgettable moments from cross country?

Answer: “Um, I think whenever we can have… I just can't, there’s too many. Anytime after a race it feels the best.”

Question: Do you miss being a teacher here?

Answer: “Yes. Very much. Because it was very special to see you all in the classroom and practice. It was such a privilege to support you in different ways, because I love being an educator. And it's important for me to support young people in a variety of spaces or environments.”