In an effort to bolster athletics, Pace has hired a new Cross Country Coach.

Alexander Bean has been a competitive runner since his days at Somers High School, where he ran both track and cross country. Bean attended Georgetown University and graduated in 2011 with a degree in philosophy. Throughout his five year college career, he participated and exceled in numerous track and cross country events, including a third place finish in the 1,000 meter in 2007 at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship.

Coach Bean credits his high school coach and a teammate for his initial interest in running.

“I had a very enthusiastic coach who was very knowledgeable, along with a teammate who was also knowledgeable and enthusiastic,” Bean said.

The traits that these two had helped attract many athletes to the sport, and, in his junior year, they won a state title.

After high school and college, Bean began his coaching career as the assistant cross country coach of SUNY New Paltz.

At New Paltz, Bean helped develop work outs, set up practices, and interacted with the runners.

As head coach of Pace’s program, there is much more responsibility, including booking hotels and making travel arrangements.

“There’s been a little bit of an adjustment– just getting used to how things work here specifically, as opposed to New Paltz,” Bean said. “Every school has its own rhythm.”

In the past couple of years, Pace’s program has experienced a lot of turnover in terms of coaches. With that, the program hasn’t really been able to accomplish as much as it would like, and it is still bouncing back.

Bean wants to be an integral part of turning around the cross country program.

“It’s exciting to me to have the opportunity to turn this into a good cross country program,” Bean said.

Bean believes there are a few members currently on the team who have the potential to help this program grow. He believes that no matter how hard he recruits, or how hard he makes them train, ultimately, it comes down to the attitudes of the team members.

“There’s only so much you can do as a coach. I remember when I was in school; I was more inspired by the older runners than the coaches,” Bean said. “I want to create a culture of hard work and success. That’s what I’d like to build.”