Career and technical education teacher Matthew Denlinger is not only a teacher, but also the cross country, indoor and outdoor track coach for HHS. Running has always been a major part of his life. At the age of five, Denlinger ran his first race. Even though it was only 50m, that was the first time that he got to experience racing. 

“I did my first race when I was five years old. It was at the Bridgewater Homecoming Weekend and they had like a tiny tots 50m dash, so I did that,” Denlinger said. 

Not only was Denlinger introduced to the sport at a young age, but he also had a role model in his own home. His dad was the cross country and track coach at Turner Ashby High School and he had a lot of experience from his high school years of running. 

“I got into running, maybe I was forced into it because my dad was a high school cross country [and] track coach. So my dad was actually my coach growing up. He coached at Turner Ashby High School for 31 years. He was successful in it, he ran in college and in high school and then [I] followed his footsteps into the same thing,” Denlinger said. 

Denlinger has always been a distance runner. In high school he ran the 1600 and 3200m. In college he ran the 5K and 10K. 

He attended Bridgewater College, once again following in his dad and many other family members, footsteps. 

“Yes I really did enjoy [Bridgewater]. Part of Bridgewater’s culture is [that] you go there because your other family members went there and you come back to homecoming and youre there a lot anyway celebrating your parents or grandparents going there. Both my parents went there, two grandparents went there, my brother, a couple aunts and uncles, cousins. [It] feels good,” Denlinger said. 

Denlinger’s dad was not the only person in his life that has inspired him however. His college coach also contributed to the reason that he wanted to coach high schoolers in the first place. He hopes to leave the same mark on his students and athletes as his coaches did. 

“I really wanted to get into coaching so I could pass along my joy and experiences to the next generation of runners. I think I got to benefit that in college and high school in that my coaches, my dad in high school and then Brian Flynn my college coach, [were] really passionate [and] enjoyed running. [I loved] seeing their excitement and willingness to share with me, I couldn’t of gotten here today without them,” Denlinger said. 

He tries to keep himself in shape by running every morning before school. This benefits not just himself, but also the athletes he coaches, giving him the ability to know what they are feeling and run with them at times. 

“I run in the morning, like 5:30, pretty much every morning, 6 days a week,” Denlinger said.

Running can be a challenging sport, but it is also unique. Denlinger likes running because he can succeed at a challenging sport that many people do not have the ability to do. 

“It’s cool to be able to do something that a lot of people can’t do. I’ve had a lot of success with it [in] high school, college [and then] post-college. I ran the Philadelphia Marathon here in November and I got 39th out of 30,000 people. It’s kind of funny when I’m running and I see other people the way they stare and point or film me or something, it’s almost like they’re just jealous and wish that it’s something they could do and they know they can’t,” Denlinger said. 

Denlinger’s favorite part about coaching is the moment when he sees his athletes improve in a race or even at practice. That shows him and the athlete that the hard work is worth it. After all, running is solely based on the work you put in. 

“The cool thing about coaching high school [or] at any level, I mean I’ve coached middle school before and I’ve worked with college athletes, the excitement that you see when people get to get better and improve every race. Whether you’re the fastest person on the team or the slowest person on the team, everyone can improve. With running and track, you get out what you put into it, so those athletes that work hard and apply themselves, have a lot of success,” Denlinger said. 

Denlinger has coached at HHS for three years so far and has loved every moment. He does not plan on going anywhere anytime soon. 

“Yes, this is my third year here and I love working with student athletes that we have here and I’ve enjoyed teaching and coaching here. I don’t see myself going anywhere anytime soon,” Denlinger said.