September 2, 2017 by Philip Lewenstein

Hall-of-Fame Coach Fleming Models Respect, Earns Respect

Twelve years ago, I posed the possibility to my son, Ian, that he try running as a fall sport as he started his high-school career at Mounds View High School. I brought him to Mounds View on an August day in 2005; we entered the school, not knowing where to go. A short, non-descript man came by and said, “Wrestling gym.” Even though my oldest daughter knew some of the athletes on his championship track teams, I didn’t have a clue about this man…little did I know.

I soon learned, however, that my son had entered a tradition of excellence in two Mounds View sports: boys’ cross-country and track and field, both coached by Ross Fleming. This interesting, non-descript man who directs the programs is the coach every parent would want for one’s child. And it’s not only because he is a winner in both sports. It’s because of how he relates to and respects each of his athletes.

This August, Fleming started his 32^nd year of coaching the Mounds View cross-country team, a year after his induction into the Minnesota Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame. In cross-country, he has coached eight section championships and ten other state qualifiers (as section runner-up). His teams’ top state finishes have been second, third, fourth (twice), and fifth (twice). Last year’s team finished fourth. This year’s team is listed as third in preseason state high-school rankings.

Over the past 31 years, Fleming‘s track and field teams have won eight True Team state titles and finished second four times along with five Minnesota State High School League titles, two second places, and three third places. Last year, Mounds View finished third in the state True Team event and fourth in the state track meet. Fleming cannot be considered for the Minnesota State Track Coaches Association’s hall of fame until he retires or has coached at least 35 years.

The true measure of individual or team accomplishment is success over time, not a onetime title. Fleming has coached in four decades, more than 60 teams, hundreds of students. I worked at one job for 31 years, and Fleming has exceeded my tenure. Establishing longevity in coaching, or in any field, is like running a marathon. There are highs and lows, victories and defeats, bumpy roads and smooth highways.

Many people think they know what a coach is and does, but they don’t. Coaching is a complex art. The great coaches serve many roles: teacher, motivator, mentor, psychologist, strategist, promoter, business manager, leader, and friend. An effective coach teaches not only specific sports skills but values and life skills as well. In short, a good high-school coach like Fleming is a good educator, perhaps nothing less, nothing more. But effective educators and coaches are in great demand because they are dedicated to developing minds and bodies to meet the nation’s future challenges.

Coach Fleming is not only a master of all these roles but a master of many more. His greatest ability is how he treats his runners—the fastest or slowest, senior or freshman no name—equally and with respect for all. And being treated with respect, as modeled by Fleming, the boys learn and, in turn, develop and maintain a tradition of respect and excellence.

The tradition of respect under Coach Fleming makes cross-country special at Mounds View. From Ian’s first day as a freshman, I was especially impressed by the boys—not only good athletes, dedicated to their sport, but smart, well mannered, friendly, and respectful. Even though the coach appeared to not know the new runners’ names, the captains did, and they looked out for and mentored the “no names,” established a bond, and passed on the tradition of excellence that is Mounds View cross country. Whether one is a top varsity runner or an untrained freshman, each team member is important, deserving of and receiving respect.

Cross-country is a team sport but with an individual dimension, easy to measure individual improvement and development. In four years, with the benefit of superb coaching, supportive teammates, self-discipline, and individual motivation and determination, Ian advanced from a slow junior- varsity freshman to a captain and senior varsity runner with significantly improved times.

Equally important, Ian, like many of Fleming’s student-athletes, established an ongoing relationship with the coach. Ian and Coach Fleming, for example, share an interest in history and occasionally attend a variety of history programs together.

Fleming gives much of the credit for the cross-country hall-of-fame honor to the families of the athletes he has coached as well as to the school district for the opportunity to coach and teach in the district.

“Honestly, my number one honor has always been coaching the kids I’ve had at Mounds View,” Fleming told Press Publications in July 2016. “They come from homes that I think are success-driven with high values and high morals. I get to work with all the high quality kids who come out for cross country, which is pretty special. Coaching is more of a joy and a pleasure for me than hard work. I credit the family structure in our district.”

Fleming was nominated for the hall of fame by Minnetonka High School girls’ cross-country head coach Jane Reimer-Morgan. “Ross has done a lot for both cross country and track and field in Minnesota,” she said. “He treats his athletes with respect and dignity and seems to get the best from them.”

Coach Fleming was an all-conference runner in cross-country and track in high school in Mountain Lake in southern Minnesota; he also played basketball. Fleming earned his bachelor’s degree at Bethel University, where he was cross- country captain, and he earned a master’s degree in applied kinesiology from the University of Minnesota. Since 1986, he has coached cross-country and track at Mounds View, where he teaches health and physical education.

In addition to his coaching and teaching, Fleming has served as president of the Cross Country Coaches Association and served on cross- country and track advisory committees to the Minnesota State High School Association. He has been named state track coach of the year three times.

Fleming told Press Publications that he has no retirement plans. “I’ll stay as long as they let me,” he said. “I love teaching as much as coaching.”  Those who know Fleming praise and respect that decision as he respects them.