Cross country coach Rick Kapala dishes it out
By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer
Don’t let the thousand-watt smile and easygoing manner fool you. Beneath both lies a coolly calculating competitive drive that inspires both fear and determination in equal amounts.
Which is good when you are a coach and Rick Kapala of the Sun Valley Junior Nordic ski team is very adept at providing what sounds like a criminal act — motivation and means.
In his 18th season as head coach with the Sun Valley squad, Kapala has guided 11 racers to national championships and has won three of the last six high school championships with his boys’ team.
His racers might be surprised to know that despite growing up in suburban Michigan, Kapala was not a Nordic skier. He was a competitive wrestler.
“I ended up wrestling because of a buddy group, “Kapala explained.
But in Kapala’s mind the two sports are not too far apart — as far as the dedication and hard work it takes to succeed at both.
“To wrestle you have to be physically and mentally tough. In some ways the practices are harder than the actual competitions, so I think there are some similarities between the sports, “he said.
“I think if you get to that point of suffering you can find strength of character and resolve that you never knew you had.”
Kapala has both in spades.
While in college at Michigan Technological Institute, Kapala knocked his teeth loose playing pickup football and had to have his jaw wired shut, forcing him to forego wrestling. It was in his words a “lucky injury.”
He recounted, “I was living in a dorm with people on the ski team and they introduced me to cross-country skiing. I loved that you could be outside and expend a lot of energy.”
An avid outdoorsman since his early days, Kapala roamed the woods near his house in Sterling Heights hunting and fishing.
“I would be gone all day with my bow and arrow and my dog Queenie, “Kapala said.
As a teenager Kapala became fascinated with backpacking and with the approval of his parents would take off for long trips by himself.
“It was a weird dichotomy. I grew up in a Catholic household and had to be home my nine o’clock and yet my parents would let me go travel hundreds of miles away for two weeks at a time. When I was 16 I hiked across Michigan, “Kapala said.
After graduating with a biology degree from Michigan Tech, Kapala and his first wife moved to Seattle and became the ski coach — both alpine and nordic — at Pacific Lutheran University.
“It was an adventure setting a slalom course, “he quipped.
When his wife transferred jobs, the couple moved to Anchorage, Alaska and Kapala took a job as the cross-country ski coach at West Anchorage High School.
“There are six or seven high schools there and in Alaska, ski racing is a big deal, “Kapala said. “I was lucky to walk into a situation where I had some horses. I had two guys on the team that hadn’t skied to their potential, but were primed to do so and the beginning of a good young girls team anchored by Nina Kemppel, who went on to win 14 national championships. It was a good group, and I had some success there.”
Kapala headed up the Anchorage team for three years and in 1987 received a call from Sue Long, then a coach with Sun Valley.
“She said they were looking for a head coach and to spread the word, not thinking that I would be interested. I didn’t tell anyone, “Kapala recalled.
In the process of getting a divorce, Kapala interviewed for the job and was hired in the summer of ’87.
“It was just like coming out of Northern Greenland to the tropics, “Kapala said. “I thought this is pretty nice. I could stay here for awhile.”
Married to Bridget Sewell since 1992, Kapala has built strong relationships both personally and professionally through hard work and commitment, and his pathos shines through in every turn and every act.
SVSEF executive director Don Wiseman said, “The guy is amazing. You can’t ask for someone more dedicated than Rick. He’s unbelievably dedicated.”
I sat down with Rick at the Lake Creek hut in early December.
JZ: What is your strongest attribute as a coach?
RK: I think it’s hard to say one thing. The first is I hope in the way I communicate to our kids and the way I interact with them is I really love the sport of cross country skiing and I think it is a worthwhile endeavor for them to commit to. The energy and enthusiasm we bring (as coaches) is the first most important thing we do. Kids pickup on whether you believe in what you are talking about. Sure there are better coaches at technique or kick wax, but I have a lot of enthusiasm for kids and the sport. That is my strength. Another attribute I have is I try and help the kids set high standards for themselves. I also try and communicate that there is truly a place for everyone on our program. They are on a personal quest and we try and support them individually.
JZ: What would people be surprised to know about you?
RK: I wish I could say something like I read romantic novels. Maybe it is that I grew up in Southern Michigan and that I grew up as a wrestler and not a skier.
JZ: Are there any coaches you emulate or steal things from?
RK: I think every coach I have ever worked with I have stolen ideas from. I think athletes who are successful learn through a lot of different ways, and that is true of coaches as well.
JZ: What is the hardest aspect of your job?
RK: Running special events like ski races is really hard. When I stop coaching I won’t miss it. It’s really important to make sure the trails are groomed, the timing is set up and the parents and volunteers are organized. That takes a lot of time and energy. It’s important to do it well, so the kids know they are worth it and they are special. I like going to ski races that other people run, but for me it’s taxing.
JZ: What is your favorite junk food?
RK: Cheeseburgers. Mushroom cheeseburgers.
JZ: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
RK: Probably laying on my couch with my guitar for a whole day and doing absolutely nothing and fishing too much.
JZ: Who are some of the local athletes you admire?
RK: I really have a lot of respect for Adrienne Leugers. She is a quiet and humble person. I was really excited when she got the record of 11 wins in the Baldy Hill Climb. She must really like to do it, because she has every reason to stop and rest on her laurels. I also really respect Andie Johnson. In her own way she is a really quiet inspiration. She is obviously a pretty tough lady. She does the Baldy Hill Climb every year and she does is fast. I also have a lot of respect for Dave Bingham. The guy is so tough. In a lot of ways he is representative of a lot of athletes in this town who are past their competitive prime, but are out in the mountains leading very active and vibrant lives. He was up and down Borah in two hours and 45 minutes. It’s nuts.
JZ: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
RK: Oh, I would probably be a little happier as a coach if I did not have as short as temper as I have. I have a certain low level of underlying reflexive impatience. I get impatient and shoot my mouth off in an inappropriate way and then have to go back and repair the damage. I think it’s because I am somewhat emotional anyway.
JZ: Do you cry at movies?
RK: Yup. I cry at TV commercials. I am a sap.
JZ: What was the last movie you cried at?
RK: The English Patient. Benji. (Laughs.) I mean I basically cry at anything that isn’t an action movie. Ask Bridget. She feels my shoulders going up. Once you start you can’t stop. I think I cried at Finding Nemo. It’s easier to say what I haven’t cried at.
JZ: What did you learn on the backpacking trips you took as a kid?
RK: On the first few trips I went on, I would get off the bus or plane and start walking and in the first day or two would think, ‘What the hell have I done?’ At first I was drawn to the allure of going on an adventure and then I would go through some periods of self-doubt. For me it was a process of letting the trip happen and not being anywhere but where I was at that moment.
JZ: Are you a loner?
RK: I think maybe a little bit. On one level I am a social guy heading up a program with 125 kids, and on the other…well…all coaches are somewhat loners. Because to be an effective coach a lot of time has to be invested in trying to understand the athletes you have that year. You have to understand the circumstances of individuals for them to improve or the team to improve. That takes a lot of reflection.
JZ: What kinds of books do you like to read?
RK: I read a lot of historical novels, like Jane Smiley. I am currently reading an absolutely fascinating book about the dark ages of the Renaissance: World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester. The last book I really liked was called Tent Life in Siberia.
JZ: What did you read as a child?
RK: I read all the Alistair McClain thrillers. My favorite book was Rascal. I went through a period of reading Westerns, like Louis L’Amour. I read a ton of Jack London, but instead of having a big white Siberian Husky I had a short little husky beagle. I liked the classics: To Kill a Mockingbird and Catch-22.
JZ: Are you a religious person?
RK: Not especially. I probably believe in higher beings. Too many things happen on a regular basis not to. But organized religion is not a path for me.
JZ: What are you proudest of?
RK: On a personal level my marriage to Bridget. We’ve been together a few years now and it’s working. When you have been married and divorced you wonder if you are going to get it right. On a professional level, I am of course proud that our team has had success competitively and that we have grown the team to being over 100 kids. I think those things are measures that people commonly use, but what I am proudest of is that a number of former athletes I coached have chosen to become coaches themselves.
JZ: What is a perfect day for you?
RK: Get up in the morning and go for a little run. Spend my morning fly-fishing and maybe that afternoon get on my mountain bike, and that evening go out with some friends to a concert. I actually had a day like that a few years ago.
JZ: Do you like music and what do you listen to?
RK: A lot. I listen to a lot of different stuff. Allman Brothers. Creedence. You have to stay true to your roots right? Big Head Todd. Pearl Jam. Stevie Ray Vaughan. I find a lot of different music from the team, but I haven’t become a big fan of hip-hop. I just haven’t connected with it.
JZ: Any frontrunners for the NARDO award?
RK: Unfortunately, I am. The kids keep telling me I am in first place. On the first day of training this summer I drove over a rock and put a hole in the oil pan. We had no van for a week and had to borrow one from the Whitefish team. We were pulling into a meadow that was all mowed, except for this little hummock of grass. Well, that wasn’t mowed because there was a big rock there. And I drove over it twice
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