Boys Coach of the Year: Flat Rock's Merkel finally on top

FLAT ROCK – Dave Merkel knows what it’s like to be on the bottom.

He took over Flat Rock’s cross country program in desperation 16 years ago. The school was considering dropping the sport then because of a lack of interest.

As the track coach, he knew that dropping cross country would ruin two sports.

With low numbers and thin talent, Merkel endured some very lean years.

That’s why Merkel broke his own rule by getting a little carried away when his boys team won their first Regional cross country title since 1991 this fall.

More: Flat Rock's boys win first regional title since 1991

A week later, Merkel guided his team to a 13th-place finish in the Division 3 state finals.

Those accomplishments have led to Merkel being named Monroe County Region Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year by The Monroe News.

“It was something we had really been hoping and striving for,” Merkel said of the Regional championship. “That was one of our goals for sure.”

When the wait of more than three decades ended, Merkel allowed himself a moment of satisfaction.

“You never want to put your hopes and dreams in a bunch of high school kids, but that’s the happiest I’ve been in a while,” Merkel said. “I kind of broke my own rule and joined the celebration.”

And why not?

He certainly paid his dues.

“The school was going to pull the plug on cross country back in 2007 because participation was so low,” Merkel recalled. “At the time, I was coaching track. I said, ‘If we don’t have cross country, we’re never going to win a dual meet in track.’ My wife (Renee) said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’”

So that’s what Merkel did. But he quickly discovered that the program was in disarray.

“We started off on the bottom,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of kids interested in cross country in those days. Over the years, the interest kind of built. There were good times and bad times, but the kids always competed.”

Flat Rock’s fortunes started to change a few years ago when the Rams began assembling a talented core of runners.

Sophomore Jacob Stanislawski charged to the front of a group that included Nathan Vargo, Lucas Taraskiewicz, Adam Brodie and Nicholas Dropiewski.

“Our training hasn’t changed so much over the years, but the kids surely had talent and they went after it,” Merkel said. “Nobody wanted to be that guy who let the team down. Everyone had each other’s back."

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place over the summer when Flat Rock learned that it was dropping down from Division 2 to Division 3.

“My phone was blowing up when that happened,” Merkel said. “We knew we could do something special in D3.”

That’s because the Rams get tested all season by excellent Division 2 competition in the Huron League.

“It’s tough in our league,” Merkel said. “It was definitely special to get that Regional trophy.”

Along with the trophy, winning the Regional gave Flat Rock’s boys a chance to run in the state finals as a team for the first time since 2004. Their 13th-place finish was the best for any Monroe County Region team this season.

Merkel appreciated having more talent this season but joked that it made his job more difficult.

“In a lot of years, I never agonized over anything,” he said. “The kids would run and a lot of times I didn’t even have to stick around for the awards. When you have kids like these, you want to make sure that all the workouts are good.”

The boys made it easy for him.

“I liked that all the kids got along,” he said.

The 1998 Ida graduate has three sons who all ran for Jefferson. Ben, the youngest, is a senior this year.

He thought about having the boys join him at Flat Rock but decided against it.

“I thought, ‘What if I’m not working at Flat Rock anymore,’” he said. “I wanted them to run. It’s a heck of a sport. They started at Jefferson and that’s where they all wanted to be. All of them ran cross country. That was fun.”

Merkel and his wife were often able to spend time together at meets, but they wore different colors. She helps with Jefferson’s younger runners.

“She understands,” Merkel said. “When the kids were smaller, I was coaching track, so I was gone a lot. She is always so encouraging.”

Encouraging is a good word to describe the outlook for Flat Rock cross country next season.

All of the Rams who ran in the state finals are underclassmen except for Dropiewski, the No. 5 runner.

“I’ve kind of planted the seeds,” Merkel said. “They need to keep working. Good things are coming.”

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Flat Rock's Merkel pays dues to be named Region's top coach