Eagle River coach gave away a backpack but got more in return

When Eagle River cross-country coach Jacob Bera picked up a nice piece of swag at a recent high school meet, he felt a little guilty about keeping it for himself.

So he devised a team-building exercise for his runners, baiting them with the New Balance backpack he received.

In return, the kids blew his mind.

Bera, a teacher at Eagle River since the high school opened in 2005, asked runners to nominate a teammate who did something that exemplified team spirit. Coaches would read what the kids wrote and choose which nominee would get the backpack.

"It was a quick activity we were going to do at the beginning of practice," Bera said. "Some wrote two or three sentences, some of them pretty much wrote me an essay.

"… They didn't even really try to hook up a friend either. They were very sincere in wanting to share something cool that they saw."

The response was remarkable: 50 of the team's 65 runners turned in nominations. In the pile of papers left for him, Bera discovered a mountain of everyday kindnesses:

"Jordan woke Myah up twice from her 'deep slumber' so she could cheer for the rest of the team."

"I saw during Saturday's race that Caleb helped take the warmups of his teammates to the tent before their race."

"When I was injured, Peyton was so nice and helpful with getting me ice and more."

"Marie always does her very best to prepare for every race, and when she isn't racing she's always on the trails cheering people on. Outside of practice, she eats well and runs in races outside the ones organized by the school. If everyone had her dedication, we'd be the fastest school in the district."

"Will always helps with the tent and never complains."

"Cole runs with beginners and newcomers and helps motivate the team."

"I nominate Carter for attempting (and almost completing) his mission of a sub-17 5k at Palmer and kicking my butt in the process!"

There were nominations for Iain, for Camden, for Abby, for Logan, for Analisa, for Josh, for Veronica and more. There were nominations for fast runners and slow runners. For veterans and newcomers.

"It was amazing," Bera said.

"We're so focused on the team and performance and the logistics of it all, and sometimes we don't always see the cool things kids do," he said. "When I was reading them, I thought, 'How do I help them understand all the good things that I am looking at right now?' ''

A visual arts teacher, Bera decided to fill the giant white board in his classroom with anonymous excerpts from the nominations.

The next day when runners gathered for their usual pre-practice meeting, many sat in front of the white board, transfixed.

"We wound up spending a good amount of time on it," Bera said. "I read through them all (aloud). The kids wanted to hear them. It's a neat way to honor a few kids who aren't always the first across the finish line."

Marie Miller, a junior who was nominated twice for her dedication and supportiveness, said she was surprised to see her name on the board.

"I felt really happy because I didn't think that people thought of me as that kind of person," Miller said.

"…I think it can really boost someone's confidence, because that's what it did for me, especially if there's someone shy or quiet on the team and they see their name on the board."

Kate Paskievitch, a senior, said she learned about her teammates.

"There were lots of things about people supporting people on the trails that I didn't notice when I was racing," she said. "It motivated me to be more open for the team, to be more there as a teammate, rather than be there as a good runner.

"… It puts a lot more emphasis on being nice and building connections with people," she said, "rather than just success."

The backpack went to Will Salter, a senior described by Bera as "completely selfless."

"We have a hundred-pound team tent, and since his sophomore year he was always the one to grab it and haul it to the meet," Bera said. "He always does something for somebody else. He doesn't stand around. Somebody wrote that out, and the coaches, we looked at each other and we said, 'Yeah.' ''

On Saturday, Eagle River will race in the Cook Inlet Conference championships at Bartlett High. The Wolves aren't favored to win a team championship but they hope to advance some runners to next week's state championships.

Bera's team-building activity may not have made anyone faster, but the coach thinks it inspired some to keep working hard, and maybe to work a little harder.

"People talk about this being an individual sport," Bera said. "I think people actually perform better when they know they're not just running for themselves, but running for a team."

CIC championships

The Cook Inlet Conference cross country championships are Saturday at Bartlett High. The varsity girls race is at 12:40 p.m., followed by the varsity boys race at 1:20 p.m.