These are 'no excuses' kids. They don't get tired. They don't complain about our school's lack of tradition or any of that stuff. They want to be out there. They've worked to get stronger and better. They're ready to compete.

Kyle had a remarkable race in the mass start classic. He started in the 57th pin position, which is toward the back of the pack.

These races were about four times bigger than a normal junior Olympic qualifier. The competition was much higher than our typical races, with between 60 and 90 competitors in each age division.

We have a lot of kids who have jobs, who are out for other sports or have little brothers and sisters to take care of and they just can't stay at school until six o'clock every night. What the seventh-period PE program allows us to do is work with them until the final bell of the day - and maybe a half-hour more.

Look, everybody is always telling us how good the city schools are getting and how tough we're going to have it and how the odds are against it, ... I want them to think of Tommy Lee Jones in that scene and say, 'We don't care. We have to do our job.'

[Tate still didn't know quite what to think.] I just came up here from New Orleans, ... And now this.