Andy Canegitta is kicking it up a notch. Why not?

With only one full year of coaching the Loyola Cross Country team under his belt, he has one runner who qualified for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics nationals, and is looking to bring the whole team in her wake this year.

“I’m not going to take all the credit for it, I’m just there to help guide them, maximize their talents, and motivate them to reach their full potential. [Madeline Falcone] put in the work and it paid off… I think this year with the workouts, they’ll have, overall, a better chance at qualifying as a whole team.”

With these high expectations, lofty goals, and new training techniques, Canegitta is entering his second year as cross country coach, and for the first time in his Loyola career, he’s doing it full-time.

Canegitta servedc as the part-time coach for the 2009 season, but this fall is Canegitta’s first opportunity to take total control of the team as the full-time head coach.

While that responsibility includes training and conditioning, it also comes with the task of building relationships with his team.

 Freshman runner Christopher Graugnard said, “Coach Andy has a wonderful relationship with all of the runners.
He listens to what we have to say and he trains us hard so we can be the best.”

“I like the fact that [he] will be out on the courses we run each day to motivate us to run faster. He is always there to help us out,” Graugnard said. 

Canegitta believes he and his runners have always had a strong relationship despite the short amount of time they’ve been together.

“I think from day one everyone seemed to feel comfortable with each other, it didn’t take weeks or months or whatever,” he said.

“It took a few days and we eventually just became one big family. We all are comfortable and trusting of each other,” he said.
Since last semester, the team has naturally grown more comfortable with the team members and Canegitta’s coaching style.
And their performances in practice and during the meets have reflected it.

“They have responded well and put in more effort. They make sure they are coming to practice on time, just giving a 100 percent effort everyday trying to improve consistently,” he said.

“Pretty much since the end last year, everyone is pretty much motivated and have been extremely excited about this season from the start.”

According to Justin Fecke, business management sophomore, Canegitta’s coaching style has helped everyone improve.
“His techniques… are conventional. They seem to be working, and the team is doing really well this year; [it’s] paying off already in our races that we have run so far,” Fecke said.

Two years may not seem like enough time to make huge strides for the cross-country team. Andy Canegitta, however, is making a career out of it. His goals are simple.

“For myself, with a year under my belt, [I’d like to] add more knowledge of what’s going on, and express my expectations to the team,” he said. “As far as the team’s expectations this year, the main goal we are working on is winning conference.”

The women’s team captured first place while the men’s placed third in their first meet of the season.

For Canegitta and the team, they are inching closer to reaching their goal.

Melanie Ziems can be reached at [email protected]