News & Views

Student Athlete Profile: Jack Johnson

As luck would have it, Jack Johnson chose to try Cross Country in the 5th grade. “Really, it was a process of elimination. We were required to choose a competitive sport in Middle School,” explained Jack, now a ninth grader, during remarks he made at the Upper School Fall Sports Assembly on Nov. 13. “Football didn’t appeal, and I hadn’t played soccer since first grade when my parents said I spent most of the game talking to myself about the shapes of the clouds. I didn’t really consider myself an ‘athlete’.” That’s all changed now. 
Over the past five years running for NCCS, Jack has steadily increased his speed, endurance and self-confidence. By eighth grade, he secured a first-place finish in a Fairchester Schools’ race field of 140 runners and completed his first half-marathon with a time of 1:53. He has handily won both of Country School’s Homecoming 5K Fun Runs and during the just-completed fall season, he achieved a personal best - and NCCS record - at New Canaan’s Irwin Park, breaking a six-minute mile in 5:52, a time which he trimmed further to 5:40:39 a few days later.

If his status as a record-breaking athlete is somewhat of a surprise to Jack, it isn’t to Upper School Teacher and Cross Country Coach Will McDonough. “I often say, ‘You only get as much out of cross country as you put in. Every step counts. Every quarter mile matters. Sometimes you don’t see the results for years.’ Since the fifth grade, Jack has done the work. He has built upon his successes and failures and has grown into a fine runner and also a person of tremendous resilience and strength.”

While Jack’s times and endurance have improved, so too have his leadership skills. “I am particularly proud of how much of a mentor he has become in his role as co-captain (together with Deyante McKinstry) to others on the squad,” said Mr. McDonough. “In our league, we do not compete as a team, instead we focus on personal goals and competitions grouped by ages or grades. Jack is nevertheless a tireless and effective leader; his passion and sheer enthusiasm for running is contagious and uplifts everyone. He makes kids want to run and be faster.”

 “I have found an athletic passion that I can pursue in high levels even outside of school, and keep on improving until I can run farther than I ever have before,” remarked Jack at the Sports Assembly. “Cross country is just you, the course, and the people around you. Once you’ve gone far enough, you stop feeling any pain. You stop feeling tired even though there’s no energy left in you—you’re just running. It’s a sport that tests your true physical boundaries and lets you push yourself further and faster than anything else can. Most importantly, however, cross-country is a sport that I never would have found without NCCS.”
 
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.