The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Manchester welcomes new, experienced coach
John Bancroft brings winning resume to varsity track program
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 27, 2008
John Bancroft and the Manchester varsity track program appear to be a perfect fit.
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After all, the former coach at Troy High School has a long resume of success, and both the Manchester boys and girls teams have evolved into Cascades Conference powers.
The coach and the program joined forces in February as Bancroft was named the new head coach of the Manchester varsity track and field teams.
Bancroft replaces former coach Mike Forner, who helped lead the Manchester track program to recent success. The boys track team is the reigning three-time Cascades Conference champions, while the girls team went from winning one dual meet two years ago to earning a share of the Cascades title last season.
The immediate goal for Bancroft is to help Manchester maintain its standing as one of the top track programs in the area.
"I don't want to fall on my face and screw up what the last coach did here," Bancroft said. "I want this team to continue their success in the league and be able to compete at regionals."
Recently retired after 30 years of teaching at Troy, Bancroft, 60, and his wife moved to Wamplers Lake in the Irish Hills. One of his neighbors happens to be Tom Hines, an assistant coach with the Manchester varsity wrestling team. It was Hines who first mentioned the opening.
"Tom told me that the track job was open, and I thought it might be interesting," Bancroft said. "I asked around and found out that Manchester has a good program with tough kids, and I found out what Forner did here. I had an interview with Wes Gall and landed the job."
Coaching success in the sport is nothing new to Bancroft. He served as the head boys track coach at Troy High School for 27 years. During his tenure, Troy posted a 170-23 record in dual meets. Bancroft's teams won the Division 1 regional championship 11 times and finished second in the regional 12 times. One year, the Troy boys team finished ranked No. 4 in the state's Division 1 polls.
"When I interviewed with Manchester, they knew I had experience," Bancroft said. "Individually I had the privilege of coaching 15 state champions and 35 All-State athletes."
Taking over a program that has been on the rise over the last five years, Bancroft is looking to not only maintain Manchester's success, but to help it reach the next level. While being the new coach of a successful team could bring lots of pressure, Bancroft is taking an enthusiastic approach to the season.
"I believe that pressure is something you put on yourself," he said. "This program being successful is actually a great blessing. Manchester has good kids who greeted me with respect and have an interest in track. The kids have told me that I'm different than the last coach, that I'm crazier."
The boys team will look to defend it's Cascades title without several key members from last year's team, including the 1,600-meter relay team of Zach Greca, Greg Schaible, Jake LaCross and Andrew Tindall, all of whom graduated. Yet Bancroft is excited about the potential of the team's underclassmen.
"They have a lot of competitiveness and want to continue being successful," he said. "I know they've lost some big guns, but I think they will be pretty competitive throughout the season."
Bancroft is looking for the same thing out of the Manchester girls, who return most of the core of last year's Cascades co-champions. Despite still being a young team classwise, Bancroft believes the girls are on the verge of becoming one of the dominant teams in the conference.
"(The girls) have the potential to be very good and should be better than last year," Bancroft said. "Every great team needs to recognize that they can be great, and that's something I've harped on the girls about. They need to start developing the mindset that they can be the best in the state."
Getting both teams to the level of other state powerhouses is a long-term goal for Bancroft. He also wants his athletes to be successful off the track in the future.
"Working hard, being enthusiastic, cooperating and being friendly and loyal are issues I'm pushing with them," Bancroft said.
To help prepare his athletes for the upcoming season and to get to know more about his athletes, Bancroft worked with Gall to get kids in the weight room, and had a club of about eight athletes compete in 10 indoor track meets during the winter.
Bancroft has also found a comfort level with his assistant coaches, Jason Lindemann and Christine Deacons.
"I was lucky to retain Jason because he's familiar with the kids and the community," he said. "Chris and I work together on the track and she keeps me organized."
Bancroft is also enthusiastic, and "pleasantly shocked," about the help he's receiving from the parents of the athletes and the role they take with the Manchester track program.
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