Dearborn cross country coach Bob Bridges, center, on Aug. 10, 2016.
There he sat, early Wednesday morning, in his white 2004 Chevrolet minivan, waiting to begin his 61st year of coaching.
Bob Bridges, a mere 85 years old, guesstimates that he has been Dearborn’s cross country coach for only 35 or 40 years because, before that, he coached football.
He retired from teaching math in 1997, but he remains coaching cross country and track because, well, he can.
“My kids are good and the parents are good,” he said. “Let’s face it, in my two sports, parents can’t say much.”
On his way to the high school, Bridges passed senior Riad Rababeh, who was running a 10K (6.2 miles) before taking part in Dearborn’s opening practice.
A year ago, Rababeh wasn’t running before practice. A year ago at this time, cross country was just another school activity for Rababeh.
“Last year for cross, I didn’t even run in the summer,” he said. “I went into cross season and it turned out really, really good. When it came to cross, I just started running seriously and just progressed on itself from there.”
It turned out ridiculously well for Rababeh, who finished a surprising eighth in the Division 1 state championship meet, in 15:30.8, easily the best time he’s recorded.
Dearborn cross country coach Bob Bridges on Aug. 10, 2016.
“I was hoping for top 30,” he said, laughing. “And I was just hoping to run faster than 15:50, my previous best. That was a huge day for me. I definitely didn’t expect to get top 10. It definitely changed everything.”
Suddenly, running became the focus of Rababeh’s life. He ran a 15:16 indoor 5K,15:08 outdoor 5K and finished third in the 3,200 meters at the state track meet, after failing to qualify as a sophomore.
Rababeh spent the summer running and did more than just a series of long runs.
“I do a bunch of base mile runs,” he said, “and I have one tempo fast run where I do a 10K at 5:23 pace and I do a long run of 14 of 15 miles either Friday or Saturday.”
In addition to his own hopes, Rababeh has increased expectations from Bridges, who expects his protégé to be a force at the state meet.
“He’s got talent, but he also works,” Bridges said. “If you work and have talent you should be successful. He does what he’s told.”
Rababeh has already reached one of his goals. He and Luke Armstrong are team captains.
“The other guys look up to us as leaders,” he said. “It’s good to be back. It’s fun and cross country is one of the most fun sports. It’s individual and it’s team so it’s a really good time.”
As the team gathered for their first run, Bridges took a desk pad, the kind people had on their desks in the 1960s and ‘70s, and he had diagrammed the route for Monday’s first practice.
That’s what you get from a guy who was coaching before any of this athletes were born.
Then Bridges got in his van and met the team in Hines Park, where he had water for them before they started back to the school.
He waited a while after the runners took off, then drove back to the school, picking up a few of the runners who were struggling in their first practice.
It was a routine Bridges has followed for years on the first day of practice.
“It’s really cool running for him,” Rababeh said. “He knows what he’s been doing and he’s been coaching for a long time. It’s really traditionally running with him. He sticks to what he knows so it’s really good.”
Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.
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