Joe Newton, the legendary York high school cross country and track coach passed away today in Arizona after a brief illness. In over fifty years of coaching, Joe’s teams won 28 Illinois state cross country titles and one track state title. A feature-length documentary was made about his life and successes, called The Long Green Line after his team’s nickname.
Among his many accomplishments he was an assistant manager in charge of marathon runners in the U.S. team for the 1988 Olympics. He was the first high school coach to hold such an honor.
He was awarded the National Cross Country Coach of the Year four times and has written four books, concentrating on training and motivation. He was known for tremendous motivational talks that focus on the philosophical and psychological factors that are required for success.
Joe was one of the founders of ITCCCA. He was very highly thought of through out the world coaching ranks.