Customer Reviews

Harrier Hawks Fly High

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During the 2007 Montana high school XC season, the Thompson Falls boys (the running Blue Hawks) won the Class B title. This included top runners Shane Donaldson and Jacob Naegeli scoring 2nd and 3rd place finsihes.

One of their assistant coaches, Andrew Gideon, is an English/Journalism teacher at the high school. He could see that the season was full of promise; and, as a result decided to keep a journal of the season. He then turned that jounal into a book, titled "Harrier Hawks Fly High".

I've had the opportunity to read the book and it was enjoyable. Of course, I was a bit biased since I had the chance to watch the boys and girls at almost every meet that they ran last year. But, the book is a great look at the personalities of the kids on the team. And, it may be about as open a book as there is on how the coaches approached training the team.

Also, Coach Gideon exposes a wry sense of humor that indicates why the kids are so willing to put out the effort for him and Coach Sarah Naegeli.

I recommend the book - if for no other reason than to support the efforts of a Montana coach, writer and high school cross country team.

As a cross country coach I was excited to read about another teams season and success. I wasn't disappointed with the overall content of the book. There were plenty of times when the author started to "ramble" a little and the focus was a little more on him than the kids, but overall its not a bad book. I would recommend it to anyone involved with XC that has a long bus ride to read.

In the summer of 2007 Coach Andrew Gideon, of Thompson Falls High School, began to chronicle the efforts and dedication of the male and female cross country team's. What came from that effort is the book, "Harrier Hawks Fly High."
Coach Gideon documents the two team's achievements and all the hard work and sacrifice that is needed to obtain a state championship or just improve from the previous season. With a great sense of humor he puts together the thoughts of his athletes, his personal observations and gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of the Thompson Falls athletes.
It is a great read for anyone looking to get and idea of what it takes to be successful at running cross country, not because there is any secret in the book that tells you so, but one can gain an understanding that other kids go through the same difficulties and success when it comes to training for an endurance sport such as running.

I wrote this book. You please buy it! It is the only book on Montana High School cross country ever written - therefore it is the greatest! Cross country is a great sport and the number of books about it does not give XC justice. If a person enjoys running, cross country, high school memories, and likes to laugh and be motivated, then this book is a good buy. Please, my kids need to eat! :) I only gave myself four stars out of five because there are areas where I could improve slightly. In other words, I didn't PR at the State meet as a writer! However, I have had a lot of positive comments from both runners and non-runners, so it has some quality to it. Thanks for reading, Andrew Gideon, Thompson Falls, MT