SEPTEMBER 3, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A23
boys and girls teams last season. While
McNary has just under two dozen stu-
dent-athletes out for the team this year
— which is still fairly low — Buff oni is
hoping to convince more kids to join
the team before the conclusion of the
season.
“When there are young kids out,
they will usually bring more with them.
I have told them to come to practice
every day and bring a friend because
we will be taking kids until the end of
the year,” Buff oni said. “I am hoping by
the end of the year that we may be able
to get to 30 or 40 and then grow from
there.”
Buff oni grew up on the East Coast
and was a self-proclaimed football, bas-
ketball and baseball guy. But he started
to learn more running from his college
roommate, who was a decathlete.
After receiving his Masters degree
at Slippery Rock University in 1987,
Buff oni received his fi rst job teaching
physical education at a high school in
New York, where he also coached foot-
ball and track and fi eld.
While coaching in New York, Buff oni
noticed that he wasn’t getting a lot of
distance runners for the track team,
which is why he eventually elected to
take on coaching cross country.
“When I was doing track, I would
see that we had no distance runners,
and I would complain to the cross
country coach about not getting me
any distance runners. Then fi nally, I
said to myself that if I wanted distance
runners, I would have to develop them
myself,” Buff oni said.
After coaching in New York for four
years, Buff oni moved to Massachusetts,
where he spent 25 years teaching
P.E. and 16 years as a high school
cross country coach before moving to
Arizona with the plan of retiring.
But late last year, Buff oni and his
wife, Michelle, made the move up north
to Oregon, moving to Albany last fall,
then to Eugene in May to be closer to
Michelle’s family.
Upon moving to Oregon, it didn’t
take long for Buff oni to get back into
teaching as he accepted a P.E posi-
tion at Four Corners Elementary last
fall before receiving the McNary cross
country position.
Despite being new to the area,
Buff oni quickly became fond of Oregon.
“We have been coming up, visiting,
and going to Duck games for a while
now,” Buff oni said. “I really like it up
here and I really enjoy it over at Four
Corners.”
As a teacher and coach, Buff oni
prides himself on forming a relation-
ship with students and athletes, which
is how he is able to get more kids to
come out and try their hand at cross
country.
“I always ask for cafeteria duty at the
high school so I could see the kids who
are sitting by themselves and encour-
age them to come out and try to run.
Everyone knows the great athletes, it’s
the sleepers that really help your team,
especially with cross country,” Buff oni
said. “It’s not for everyone. But I tell
kids that we’re still going to be friends
tomorrow if they come out and say
‘coach, this isn’t for me.’ I just want kids
to give it a try.”
In his fi rst season at McNary, Buff oni
isn’t concerned with winning, but
instead, making sure his kids are striv-
ing for personal improvement every
day.
“Everyone is starting at a much dif-
ferent level. My goal for every kid is
to improve, which will happen if they
put the work in. My hope is for them to
see that improvement and then fall in
love with the sport and with running.
Anything that motivates them to do it
life-long is a win for me,” Buff oni said.
“It’s really about being positive with it.
I don’t really stress about winning. Of
course, when I see who can stick with
the front group, I’m thinking how we
can win meets. But the reality is that
the last kid in the race gets just as much
cheering as the fi rst kid in the race.”
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