Sean Stetler has been involved with track for many years in Englewood, but his experience in it reaches far before his time at the high school. This is Stettler’s seventh year in Englewood. Stetler first got involved in track in ninth grade when he received a letter from a high school cross country and track coach who saw his previous running talents from middle school, and wanted him to give full-time track a shot. “I didn’t really know what track was. I always played baseball and basketball growing up, so I had to ask my friends. After I got an idea of what it was, I gave it a go and found out I was pretty good, so I stuck with it.”
While in his track career, Stetler competed in multiple events in high school, then moved on to college track as well. He set off for Shippensburg University and the Raiders men’s track and field team. Records on the school website still show his personal bests in each event including, for the mile, 4:18.06, the 3K 8:25.84. (Indoor) His outdoor bests are: in the 800, 1:59.07; in the 1500, 3:59; in the 5K, 14:32.95; and in the 10K, 30:40.17. “I feel like college was the first time I won a big race, and that was a really cool feeling. I was pretty good in high school, but I got a little better each year. And by my junior year in college, I won a conference championship race, and I didn’t really like it. It was a surprise to me. That’s a feeling I’ll never forget in running, and it’s pretty important to me as an athlete.”
Transitioning from competing in track to teaching and coaching was definitely a turning point that influenced his work ethic, mindset, and overall approach to teaching track. Having personally experienced the dedication, discipline, and resilience required to be an athlete, he was able to translate those lessons into his coaching. “Consistency, getting better over time, is better than trying to go all in and getting credible in a really short amount of time. So being conservative, staying healthy, putting in the daily work and not rushing success, that’s the kind of lessons I try to instill in a lot of my kids.” Stetler said. Clearly, his dedication to teaching track is shown through the rigorous growth he himself has experienced. “It’s really easy with track, you know, to get overuse injuries when you almost train too hard.” Helping students get into that mindset is a big part of his experience as a coach.
Stetler has noted that he still does compete, though not at a high level. Even so, his continued involvement in the sport has allowed him to stay connected to it. When faced with balancing his passion for track or his growing interest in teaching, he ultimately decided to pursue both paths. “I enjoy being at the school. I enjoy being in Englewood and working with teenagers, so it makes sense for me to spend time after school coaching.” By combining teaching with coaching, Stetler can share his experience and support and remain involved with the sport that has shaped much of his life.
Stetler’s views of track are evident in the way he approaches coaching and interactions with his athletes. “I think a lot of times, running is used as a punishment in other sports, and so kids have a negative connotation of running. So trying to get them to really enjoy the sport is something I enjoy.” Stetler goes above simply focusing on results, and makes it a priority to foster a positive environment where athletes associate running with fun and personal growth. “I do it to relieve stress. I do it to stay healthy, I do it to just be inside my mind and kind of reset.” Stetler’s values and lessons from his experience make it so, in the future, he hopes, the kids he teaches will have a deeper appreciation for track and may even want to pursue it just as he did when he first tried it out.
