Cross Country Head Coach Kirk Flatow announced the creation of his Culture of Grit fund in October, which will provide up to $10,000 yearly for Cross Country travel experience costs. Though he does not plan to retire, if Flatow is no longer a Cross Country coach, Homestead High School art teacher and former Cross Country coach Jodi Johnson, MVHS alum Ananya Rajagopal ‘20 and Triya Roy ‘20 will co-manage the fund. Flatow chose the three since they understand what he is trying to do with the fund. Additionally Rajagopal and Roy are very dedicated runners who are friends, which Flatow believes will make them work well together.
When Flatow became a coach for Cross Country in 2011, he brought the team to at least one travel meet every year until 2020 due to COVID-19, starting travel meets again this year. Travel meets are usually paid for by parents and Flatow, rather than with school money.
However, Flatow fears future coaches may not provide this experience to future Cross Country runners, as not many coaches would have the resources to allow cross country to go on travel meets every year. As a result, he donated his own money to create the fund, ensuring that future runners would also have the chance to travel for meets and compete at a higher level. He had this idea when he began planning for this year’s cross country travel meet.
“As I was planning to go to Los Angeles for this year, I was going over some things with one of my friends and we were saying that it’s gonna be sad, because after I’m gone, nobody’s gonna pick this up and do this,” Flatow said. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe even after I’m gone, we can keep this going.’ I thought about it, figured out the money, and made this donation.”
Both Flatow and Cross Country Captain Ryan Liu believe this fund will attract new members to the sport. Liu went to Mt. San Antonio College Invitational in Walnut, California as well as to Disneyland after the meet with the team this year, and believes these events are important for team bonding.
“One of the kids on my team was super quiet,” Liu said. “He didn’t like talking that much, but when I started rooming with him, he was super cool. We had the same music taste. I wouldn’t have been able to know that if I didn’t get to spend time with him.”
Liu states that Flatow sees Cross Country runners as his own kids. Because of this, Flatow invests lots of time and energy into the program, for which Liu respects Flatow. Ultimately, Flatow believes that the creation of the fund stems from his passion for the team. He saw that other organizations like DECA and band would travel, and wanted to give that experience to his own athletes in Cross Country.
“The primary reason is I love this school, and I love my kids here, and if you start from there, then you can extrapolate everything else,” Flatow said. “I started taking the cross country kids on different trips, where they could go overnight and go compete at a high level and do something really adventurous. Having that experience athletically for the kids, I thought that was important.”
Inspired by University of Pennsylvania professor Angela Duckworth, author of the book “Grit,” Flatow decided to model his teaching style after the culture of grit, where runners are surrounded by gritty peers. Grit is a personality trait defined by passion combined with perseverance for a specific goal. Travel meets are one way to grow grit in runners, according to Flatow.
Flatow even studied under Duckworth in the University of Pennsylvania’s masters program of Applied Positive Psychology in 2023 and 2024. Now, Flatow teaches the knowledge he learned to cross country runners in Athletic Director Nick Bonacorsi’s room.
“Coach Flatow embodies the values of our athletic department in himself with his own professional growth,” Bonacorsi said. “He could have just sat through the remaining years that he wanted to coach and still have been amazing. Instead, he went back east, got a master’s degree in positive thinking and positive psychology, and now he’s applying that to his trade, trying to make his athletes better in ways not just related to running. The amount that he cares about the kids is just inspirational for me.”
Flatow’s approach to coaching reflects his belief that the opportunity for growth should be available to all runners, no matter the skill level. These travel experiences, available for a wider range of athletes, set MVHS apart from other schools like Bellarmine, who only took 14 out of 190 runners to Fresno this year. In comparison, 24 out of 48 MVHS runners chose to go to the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational. His main goal is to have students learn virtues of grit, hard work and gratitude, enabling them to improve their lives later on. He thinks that the appeal of the travel experience means that students are more likely to take a risk and try Cross Country.
“The fund is not just for elites, it’s meant to help anyone who is serious and dedicated have a travel experience,” Flatow said. “My goal is to take varsity and compete at the highest level possible, but also to include as many athletes as possible who are dedicated but maybe don’t have the natural talent. Sometimes what is most important is not where we end up, but how far we traveled from where we started. Understanding the difference between talent and effort — talent is a gift, effort is a choice, the result is skill — matters. I’d like everyone who makes that choice to get the most out of their ability — to have opportunities, to feel special and to feel seen and recognized for their effort.”
