Credit to Kaylin Mort

Senior Jillian Hoelting poses for a photo during media day.

Coach Kyle Morse – Track and Field

Q: What is your name and how do you spell it? 

A: “Kyle Morse”

Q: What sport do you coach? 

A: “Track and field.”

Q: Have you been doing anything to prepare for this season? 

A: “I’ve been recruiting. I’ve been mapping out our schedule and trying to plan out workouts for the season.” 

Q: What goals are you hoping to achieve this season? 

A: “So I’m the pole vault coach specifically and that’s like the only area that I oversee, but in general, I would like to see a few more athletes qualify for state. Last year we only had two qualify for state. I’d like to see a couple more, but then specifically, in the world of pole vault, I’d like to see a little more success at the conference and district level with some of our other kids. And then we have Becca (McGuire), the returning state champion. So we would hope to win state again this year.” 

Q: Is there anything you think North will need to improve this season? 

A: “I think we would want to see more people join us, and more people use track to get better at their other sports.” 

Q: What are you looking forward to for this season? 

A: “I think I am most looking forward to seeing how much improvement some of our younger folks will have from last year compared to this year. I’m excited to see how much better we’re gonna be. It’ll be great.” 

Q: Is there anything that you think makes this season different from others? 

A: “Yes, we have all of our facilities now, so we have our throw area, and jump area up and ready to go, so hopefully that helps. They’re super nice facilities from what I can tell. So hopefully that helps bring a few more kids here that don’t have to drive off campus to go to practice. Maybe we’ll get some more numbers there and we’ll just get better getting to use really good facilities now.” 

Q: Where were the facilities last year? 

A: “So all the throwers and long jump and triple jump had to go to Central to practice and that sucks.” 

Q: What was the season like last year? 

A: “Overall, pretty good. Like I said earlier, I wish we would add a couple more folks, sneak into the state meet and qualify for state. In the pole vault world, we had Becca who was super successful, and was able to win state. So that was pretty good.” 

Q: Was there a big leader on the team last year that you noticed? 

A: “I think Becca is a good leader, Becca McGuire. She kind of is not a super vocal leader, but she leads by example, and setting the tone on how she carries herself in practice. That’s really nice to see.” 

Q: What’s the team’s history been like over the past couple of seasons? 

A: “The answer is bad. We’re not usually very good. So we’re kind of trying to work our way on the up and up. I think we’re going to see more kids come out for track, and I think we’re going to be more successful. I know that’s going to happen. So I think we’re going in the right direction, I think, based on what I saw before I got here, we were maybe not so good. I’m not saying I’m the difference, but I’m just saying, I think with the new school and new facilities and more kids showing up for track, I think we’re gonna be better.” 

Q: Did you have a favorite part of last season? 

A: “Yeah, I mean, anytime you win is great. So winning state is always the goal, right? That’s the goal. So that’s pretty cool. Becca qualified for the national meet in Philadelphia over the summer, so we flew out there and she competed and got ninth at the New Balance Nationals meet, which is pretty cool too. So those are the highlights for sure.” 

Q: Did you have a favorite meet of last season? 

A: “No, not really. Nothing special. But I’m looking forward to this year, the Francis House Central Relay Meet, which is a little bit dumb, because usually I don’t like relay meets, but I think we’ll get to show off our depth this year. And I think that’ll be a fun meet. I think we’ll surprise some teams, because we’ll be deeper than we have been.”

Q: Do you have a favorite memory of coaching? 

A: “No, not really. I think it’s always my favorite thing when an athlete, PRs, personal record, does better than they’ve ever done before, and they’re super excited about it. Because then, as a coach, then, I can get super excited about it. So it doesn’t matter if it’s Becca, PR, and to win the state meet, or like, a freshman boy that’s never jumped before and he’s finally jumped higher than he did, you know, a month ago. It’s super exciting to see anybody excited about their improvement.” 

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add to the interview? 

A: “No, I don’t think so.” 

Q: Thank you for your time. 

A: “Yeah, of course.”