CCS track team getting ready to start strong
Community Colleges of Spokane is entering its first track season with new head coach John Spatz. While Spatz may be new to coaching at CCS, he is no stranger to its track program. 
According to The Spokesman Review, Spatz became a two-time record-setting Northwest Athletic Conference decathlon almost 34 years ago.
However, Spatz has his eyes set toward the future this track season. He is looking forward to CCS’s first home meet of the season.
“We have the War XII meet, the meet that Coach Larry Beatty a former coach here started about 12 years ago now,” Spatz said. “It’s got about a thousand to 1,200 athletes from all over the West that come.”
Spatz has set goals for his team before their first home meet. Spatz and his athletes meet everyday after school and get to work training.
For Spatz and other faculty, it’s a process of learning about their athletes and their strengths and helping them improve. This is a part of Spatz’s short term goal to improve each athletes performance. However, Spatz has also set long-term goals.
“Well you know Spokane’s got a strong track history here between the two campuses winning conference championships,” Spatz said. “So hopefully at the end of May when we go to conference championship, the goal is to really be in the top two so we have a chance of winning the title or be right in there, be super close.”
To win conference championships Spatz and his team will undergo intense training over the next few months. Both male and female athletes participating in varying events have their sights set achieving personal and school records.
Spatz believes his team his strong this year. He hopes their biggest strength among others is their bonds.
“I think our biggest strength is just hopefully out unity,” Spatz said. “We’re all positive we’re getting along as well as you can, but we’re a family too. It’s not always getting along time, but at the end of the day if your a good teammate, your looking out for the other person more than your looking out for your own interests then we have a good chance to be a good solid group.”