Standing in the middle of the stretching circle is a lengthy, grey-haired man whose clothes indistinguishably indicate a coaching roll. Coach Tom Rapp dons a black tracksuit with the Mason insignia and a grey cap, as he engages with his athletes, or as he calls them, “characters.”
Rapp joins in the amicable atmosphere before the day’s training. For the boys, preparing that day for the district meet at VOA Park in West Chester Twp., it is a much earned recovery day after two challenging workouts on Monday and Tuesday.
The boys listen attentively to their coach, who has built this program to one of the perennial powers in Ohio high school cross country. They too are hoping to follow a long line of Mason success as the postseason begins.
“I still try to remind them that this is a sport and sports should be fun,” Rapp said. “The fundamental idea behind sport is fun and I also try to remind them that winning is fun.”
It’s this approach, a cultural balance of competitiveness and what some of his athletes define as “goofiness,” which has earned their admiration and led to continued success. Since his tenure began in 2005, Rapp has led the Comets to athletic scholarships, 12 consecutive district championships, and two cross country state championships. The Comets barely finished behind St. Xavier on Saturday to finish second in the state meet.
For Rapp, his running career began after a successful elementary school physical fitness test.
“I was an average at best athlete in other things,” said Rapp. “Once I got into middle school and high school, I had a good bit of success thanks to some really good coaches.”
He first became a dominating figure in Ohio distance running as a runner at Trotwood High School. His personal bests of four minutes and nine seconds in the mile and nine minutes and two seconds in the two-mile earned him an individual state title and a scholarship to Penn State.
During his time as a Nittany Lion, Rapp earned All-American honors and met with wife, Mary. He also found his calling in coaching. Although it was not athletic coaching, Rapp says Athletes in Action, an international faith-based sports organization, gave him a better sense of how he would lead his life.
Serving as more of a life coach, Rapp said, “I felt it was kind of a calling that God put in my life to be using the athletic background I had to be a positive influence towards others.” Serving in varying capacities over 23 years, Rapp also continued his running career, representing the United States in meets overseas and domestically where he ran a time of three minutes and 44 seconds in the 1500 meters.
Rapp and his family eventually moved to Lebanon, which was then the headquarters of Athletes in Action. Rapp’s son, Chris, began showing promise as a freshman runner in 2002 on Mason’s team, which prompted his coaching career at Mason.
His role with Athletes in Action was changing, giving him more time to pursue coaching. He still helps with the organization, but his full-time position is now as a Spanish teacher at Mason.
Rapp asked then-Mason head coach, Marty Zach, if he could join the staff as an assistant coach. When Zach was open to the idea, Rapp had to work his way up from unpaid assistant to paid assistant to finally head coach in 2005.
Rapp brought about a cultural and training change that has built the program from 25 runners to a team of at least 100 over the past few years.
One of Mason’s latest highly decorated runners, Nick Grismer, says that the personal connection Rapp has with his athletes creates continued success for the program and to more well-rounded young men. Grismer ran for Rapp between 2011 and 2015, leading Mason to a cross country state championship in 2014 by placing eighth overall.
Dealing with a hamstring injury, Rapp admires Grismer’s selflessness once it appeared that his chance at individual glory would not happen.
“When you start seeing that you are drifting back to fifth, sixth, or seventh place and that’s not going to happen, it’s really easy for that to go in the tank,” says Rapp. “Nick did nothing of the sort, he kept battling and fighting the whole way.”
Grismer says that a commitment to a higher standard, not cutting any corners, and Rapp’s awareness of both his physical and mental health kept him engaged that season.
“What helped me was when coach took pressure off my recovery, by placing more emphasis on the need for team success,” said Grismer, who now works as a nurse in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Grismer ran at the University of Cincinnati and thanks Rapp for being respectful of his wishes in his decision. Grismer looked at Rapp’s alma mater, which boasted a strong distance program. Yet, when he decided to run at UC, Grismer says that his coach understood and was glad that he chose what was best for him.
Lucas Sagraves, Class of 2014 graduate, has been able to witness Rapp as both an athlete and now as an assistant coach and has since gained a greater sense of appreciation for Rapp’s role in his life.
“Through this role, I get to see how he is able to take overthinking off athlete’s soldiers behind the scenes,” said Sagraves, who is also the Student Ministry Director at Eastside Christian Church.
Sagraves also acknowledges that Rapp does a good job of including all assistant coaches in the decision-making process and their personal connection through their Faith.
On average, Rapp has his runners run six days and 40 to 65 miles per week to develop their aerobic base. He has built this training philosophy through personal knowledge, coaching clinics, books, and conversations with the highly revered distance coach, Jack Daniels.
Rapp says he gives such a range in mileage because their number one priority is staying healthy. “We run a team concept, but we individualize within that team concept,” said Rapp.
“At Mason, it’s easy to be big, it takes some work to be fast, it also takes work to be classy,” said Rapp. “I try to be an example of a coach who is very much encouraging when other teams do well.
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