Testimonial – Jackson Heidesch

Working with Coach Ives throughout my four years of high school was truly a gift.  I credit Coach Ives with my development, not only as a runner, but as a human being as well.  Over the four years I spent with Coach Ives, he challenged me, pushed me and guided me to all of my athletic goals.

Coach Ives has a lot of qualities that make him one of the greatest coaches in Iowa high school history.

The first quality was his dedication, not only to the sport, but to his athletes as well.  Coach Ives poured several hours of time and energy into my running, not just during the season, but year-round.  He crafted detailed training plans, strength training programs, workouts and race strategies with careful consideration.  I could tell he spent numerous hours critiquing these things to align with my athletic aspirations.

The second quality was his ability to listen and take input on both training and racing.  Coach Ives always had a game plan, and a training plan set for me, but he was always willing to listen and adapt to what I thought and wanted.  It was extremely easy to work with him and I think he enjoyed talking about my running goals and aspirations just as much as I did.

The third quality was his knowledge of the sport and his experience.  Coming into Dowling cross country as a freshman I had heard numerous success stories and countless athletes going on to run at the collegiate level.  Coach Ives has professional-level knowledge of the sport and has more experience with high school athletes than anyone I’ve ever met.  He knows how to train and develop athletes without overdoing it, leaving room for his athletes to grow after high school.

Finally, I credit Coach Ives with instilling in me many positive characteristics.  He taught me how to be a great athlete, competitor, teammate and friend.  He taught me humility, sportsmanship, dedication, perseverance, and countless other things that have made me the person I am today.

Although I have moved on from high school athletics, I still use the tools and skills that Coach Ives taught me in my running today.  I would recommend Coach Ives to all runners of any ability.