In the words of Assistant Coach Darrell Brown, the James Hillhouse High School indoor track team is a “diamond in the rough.”
Football and basketball often get more attention. But Hillhouse’s indoor track team, which opens the season Saturday, holds its own.
“We have championships on championships, rings on rings,” said TIffany Bromfield, the other assistant coach.
The students on the indoor and outdoor track teams also compete on the cross-country team. Among the three teams, they have earned more than 25 championships, Brown said.
Gary Moore has been the head coach for all three track teams for 24 years. In his time, the indoor track team had 14 consecutive state championship wins from 1995 to 2013, Moore said.
The results of the 2015 SCC East sectional meet last February, submitted to track and field statistics website Athletic.net by the Hillhouse coaches, demonstrate the team’s power.
During the sectional meet, Akiel Smith, Darius Wise and Tyreise Swain took the top three spots in both the 55-meter dash and the 300-meter race. Smith took first in both, Wise took second and Swain took third.
Alethia Moore placed first in the 55 meter and Jaliyah White placed first in the 300 during the same meet. Shawn Fletcher took first place in the 55-meter hurdles for the men and White for the women.
The men’s and women’s teams finished first overall in the meet.
A number of factors go into the success of the indoor track team. Brown said Hillhouse track is known for discipline. He and Bromfield said they aim to shape well-rounded athletes.
“We want to make great people,” said Bromfield, “we’re not just here to make good athletes.”
Krystal Goethe Photo
Assistant Coach Darrell Brown.
The coaches monitor students in the classrooms as well as at practice, and try to intervene if they’re not performing in both areas, Bromfield said. The team has study hall every afternoon Monday-Friday until 3 p.m. and then head to the field house, home of a new indoor track.
“You have to commit to this,” said Brown. “This is not just something you can come do today and not do tomorrow because we’ll track you down. That’s how we do around here.”
Both Brown and Bromfield ran track for Hillhouse when they were in high school under coach Moore. After running track in high school and college, then coaching it, Moore said it was “the best sport in the world.”
“I’m very fortunate to have been an athlete under him and now being mentored as a coach under him because we try to keep a very familial atmosphere to the program,” Bromfield said.
Coach Moore has been the driving force to push students to run for the school. His daughter frequently attends Hillhouse practices, despite only being in middle school. While his children don’t have a choice, others opt to come train with him.
“We have kids transfer in, we have kids transfer that want to be here so they can run for Gary Moore and it’s probably one of the most amazing things that I’ve seen,” said Bromfield.
Teaira Edwards, a junior shot put thrower, said Coach Moore will push her to run to keep her body in shape.
“If your coach don’t push you, then he’s not making you any better,” she said. “He helps me a lot because he straight up tells me what I’m doing wrong. He tells the truth and I really appreciate that.”
A Family
Darius Wise, a senior at Hillhouse, said the team was like a family. After spending so much time together, they’ve formed that family bond.
“The girls and the boys are close. We have arguments, we have disagreements, but we work it out at the end of the day,” said Wise.
Edwards said they team was incredibly close.
“We all get along, we’re like one family,” she said. “ We do have our ups and downs, but what family doesn’t?”
Alumni remain close as well.
“I was a part of this program,” said Bromfield, the other assistant coach, “and we speak very highly of it. We have alum come back every year to help out.”
Several showed up for a banquet the team held in honor of Coach Moore several years ago, Bromfield said.
“We had athletes return,” she said, “from the first athlete he ever coached to now, and it was amazing to see so many people.”
The team will have its first meet at 9 a.m. Dec. 12 at the Hillhouse Field House at 490 Sherman Parkway in New Haven.
This article was reported by Southern Connecticut State University students as part of a partnership between the Multimedia Journalism class and the New Haven Independent.
