Using a hill to build an empire
Mike Abercrombie has coached about one-third of the students who currently attend Mountain Brook Junior High and Mountain Brook High School. That’s what happens when you combine successful track and cross country programs with no tryouts and a man passionate about coaching kids.
As he enters his 21st year of coaching at MBJH, Abercrombie is preparing for yet another season of trying to keep up with nearly 250 runners, which is more than double any other school in the Birmingham area.
“My biggest challenge with the 248 kids we had last year was trying to make every kid feel like they had a spot on the team and that they’re important, because they are,” Abercrombie said.
All it takes to be on the MBJH cross country or track team is a commitment to come to practice and a parent’s attendance at the parent meeting. There are no tryouts. However, this team isn’t just a running club. The junior high team forms the foundation for the unprecedented success of the high school varsity teams: the girls have won 16 out of the last 19 cross country state titles, including the last 10, and the boys have won five of the last seven.
“Coach Ab,” as everyone calls him, thinks that competitive spirit is a byproduct of Mountain Brook’s culture.
“There are a lot of families that are working real hard for their kids to be in this school. That mentality at home of working hard for what you want comes with the kids to practice. I think that’s been a huge part of our success. The kids see hard work at home so they think that’s the norm.”
The culture of MBJH cross country and track not only includes winning races; it also involved a certain hill in Crestline that every Mountain Brook runner has gone up countless times. Hill drills on Memory Court, the massive hill across from the Piggly Wiggly, are one of the unique features of Abercrombie’s program. Coach Greg Echols, the varsity coach, started them in Mountain Brook, and Abercrombie has carried the tradition.
“When we started doing that, our success rate got a lot more consistent,” Abercrombie said. “I tell the kids, ‘This is our secret. This is our secret that we do that I don’t know that everybody else does. The kids that buy into it see success. It’s definitely a mental challenge.”
Abercrombie was having dinner with legendary University of Arkansas Track Coach John McDonnell, and when asked about the one drill he would have his runners do above anything else, McDonnell answered “hill drills.” Between the mental challenge and the lower physical toll they take on the runners – knees take less pounding when running up a steep hill, and muscles get worked harder – hill drills are an integral part of Abercrombie’s success.
Abercrombie is married and has two sons, Blake, who is 8, and Jake, who is 4, and has started working part-time in real estate. But he isn’t planning on ever leaving Mountain Brook, and retirement still hasn’t been discussed.
For now, Abercrombie is still focusing on learning names of his hundreds of runners and helping junior high kids find their place.
“You won’t be sitting on the bench,” Abercrombie said. “Everyone will get out there and see what they can do and find out what they’re made of. And that’s the great part of cross country.”