By Kira Yates ’16

Cross country and track and field Coach Dan Reeks began his long, successful coaching career in 1970, when he was a student teacher at Banning High School in Wilmington, California. There, he helped out head coach Pete Zamperini, the brother of Louis Zamperini whose story was told in the book and movie “Unbroken.”

In late 1970, Reeks taught and volunteered as the cross country and track and field coach at Paint Branch. He then moved to Eastern Middle School where he started girls’ track and cross country for middle schools and later increased their racing distances. Reeks also taught and coached at Northwood and Wheaton before coming to Sherwood in the fall of 2002. He taught social studies for 39 years and briefly taught physical education. Reeks has always viewed coaching second to teaching.

Although he prefers coaching cross country because there is a huge team connectedness and many different ability levels that lead to growth and teamwork, he also enjoys coaching track and field because of the various disciplines it encompasses.

“As a coach the biggest payoff is watching the development of these athletes,” said Reeks. “Every year when new freshmen come in, I decide to work with them through their senior year,” said Reeks, emphasizing how much he loves coaching.

So far, Reeks has helped athletes for over 41 years and doesn’t know when he is going to stop. “He’s a really good coach because he cares so much about it and puts in a lot of work to help us improve,” said senior Jackie Noland, who has trained with Reeks for all four years of her high school career.

While wanting the kids to have fun, Reeks also stresses the importance of discipline. “Talent only goes so far if you don’t train,” he said. Reeks also emphasizes the use of the Puritan work ethic.

Reeks coaches for many reasons, including his love for the sport. “It’s fun to be around kids who are smarter than me. This program brings smart, motivated kids, and it makes my day even if I do get pissed off,” said Reeks.

“He’s a really nice guy, and makes really bad dad jokes, but we all laugh anyways,” said Noland, affirming his fun attitude.

One of Reeks’ most memorable moments as a coach was winning the state championship with the girls’ cross country team in 1975 at Northwood. He also was especially proud when the boys’ cross country team won in 2003 because the year before, the team had really struggled but worked extremely hard and managed to win states.

Over his career, Reeks has won many awards including the “Metropolitan XC Coach of the Year 2003,” after his team improved significantly, and the “Brooks Coach of the Year Award” in 2014.

He most recently won “The National Federation of High Schools Coach of the Year 2015” award after being nominated for his dedication to the school’s athletic community by Athletic Director Kathy Green. “Coach Reeks was nominated because he is often a fixture at SHS athletic events such as basketball games and regional/state championships. He wants all student-athletes to excel and is supportive of all student-athletes, not just his teams,” said Green.

“I always cheer for the other runners, as long as my kids are beating them. It’s really important to develop and grow the sport as a whole,” said Reeks.