I remember going to see my older sister run track at Holly High School. There was always this guy running around the football field yelling at the Holly athletes as they participated in various events. To be honest, he kind of scared me. All too soon I found out who he was and why he was yelling. His name was Coach Raffin or Raff, and he yelled because he liked to scare people, at least that’s what I thought. I was only 12 years old at the time, but it wasn’t long before Raff was standing in our family’s living room trying to convince my mom and dad as to why their soon to be freshman should be going to cross country camp. He didn’t yell, and he didn’t win, both highly unusual occurrences.
Growing up I loved all sports, played little league baseball, football, basketball, tennis and dabbled in track. When I broke the 6-minute barrier in the mile run as a seventh grader, I would no longer be able to enjoy those sports, running became my sport, and Raff was my coach, for life.
Raff reminded me of my dad, both disciplinarians. And as mentioned before his main form of communication was yelling, which scared me, so I ran. Early on in my freshman year I learned that Raff’s yelling was not because he was mad at everyone, he was coaching, motivating us to improve.
Raff was also an effective motivator through the written word. He loved to use reverse psychology as a motivational tool. Here are a few examples he wrote to me: “Do you have any pride in the way you run?” “I’d sure hate to have stock invested in you.” And my all time favorite (in hindsight), after running only my 6th cross country race he writes, “Why not use all your potential all the time?” He wanted me to finish around 40th and I finished 64th, I figured no big deal, I’m new at this, but he saw something greater and started teaching me to give my best, always.
Of course there was always the verbal motivation, and sometimes that could be the worst. After a particularly bad race during my sophomore year he asked me, “Well, what am I going to tell the press? They’re going to want to know.” There was no answer, he had made his point.
Up until now I’ve only shared some of the stories that make you wonder why people even ran for Raff. But the real stories are the ones where he shares his passion for the sport of running.
Personal positive reinforcement was what we all lived for. We wanted to be praised on paper for all our peers to see … what a great motivator that is! And Raff was the master. Here are a few examples: good job, keep up the hard work, Great Team Effort, you ran with enthusiasm, I’m proud of you, tough course-great race, Personal Best, School Record, State Champions – Congratulations.
At the beginning of each track and cross county season Raff would hand out a packet of information to every runner. The packet contained the history of that particular sport at Holly High School. School records, best times by teams, former top athletes, etc. On the cover of the 1976 cross country packet he writes: Remember what happened today -the pain-agony-victory-defeat-blisters-pulled muscles. Remember it all for fall and cross country is the greatest time of the year. Remember for a lifetime.
At the beginning of cross country 1977 he writes: follow the Red & White to November 5, 1977. He knew we were going to be state champions, and he always warned us about getting “big heads.”
By the end of the 1977 cross country season (we did win the state championship) he is compelled to put out an additional packet, and on this cover he writes: You have just completed the greatest season of athletics in your life. Remember the glory, the losses, the efforts, the honors forever and forever. Let us hope we have gained, in 3 months, a lifetime of knowledge about ourselves.
As the years have gone by I realize that Coach Raff wasn’t just coaching track and cross country – he was becoming our life coach! Teaching us to win with honor, to lose with honor, always have a positive mental attitude, be proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished.