Rousey’s run: Family inspires a return to coaching

PALMER — Norm Rousey’s life operates at a different pace these days.

Once a full-time teacher and a high school head coach in as many as three sports in a calendar year, Rousey is now a proud stay-at-home dad. He’s still active in the running community and plays in a men’s hockey adult recreation league, but Rousey is happy to spend his days with his 3-year-old son, Reed. And while the longtime Valley teacher and coach has shifted his priority toward family, family also brought Rousey back to coaching at the high school level.

Rousey’s return

It’s been about a decade since Rousey was a regular in the prep coaching ranks. With a decorated past — the 1992 graduate of Palmer High School is a former multisport athlete for the Moose, a two-time state cross-country running champion and member of Palmer High’s 1989 state championship hockey team — Rousey has deep roots in Valley sports. After time as an athlete in college, Rousey returned home to teach and coach. At one point, Rousey served as the head coach of the Palmer High cross-country running, hockey and track and field teams.

Rousey admits he may have taken on too much at once.

“I dove in a little too deep there,” Rousey said recently.

But after a well-deserved break, Rousey made his return as a coach in an official capacity. Prior to the 2016 cross-country running season, Rousey decided to join his older sister, Rhonda Knopp, at the helm of the Colony High School cross-country running program. The siblings — who also coach together within the Mat-Su Running Club — are the co-head coaches of the program.

“Coming on board full time, coming on and being a head coach alongside me has been tremendous,” Knopp said of Rousey during the cross-country season.

And when Knopp was named the Region III Coach of the Year by her peers following the Region III Championships, she was quick to put Rousey under the spotlight.

“I really want to share this Coach of the Year,” she said.

Before this season, Rousey had been around to help out. But Knopp said she felt it was important to make it official, and not just tab Rousey as the boys’ coach. Knopp stressed that both co-coaches had the chance to work with all of the athletes. And the formula worked. Colony qualified both its boys’ and girls’ squads for the state meet.

“It was great. I was helping there for a couple years, but nothing official. The most important thing was being there every day,” Rousey said. “Volunteering, I wasn’t there every day. To officially be there every day, learning about them a little better, understanding their fitness, injuries, whatever was going on in their life, I was able to make better decisions as a coach.”

As a co-head coach with the Knights, Rousey also had a chance to help mentor his nephew, Tracen Knopp, a senior at Colony High.

“It was fun to watch his success,” Rousey said of Tracen, who capped his prep running career with a runner-up finish at the Region III meet and a sixth-place finish at state. “There have been some ups and downs with injuries the past couple of years. For me, I’m really happy with the bigger picture. He’s back at it, stronger, maybe because of all of it.”

Rousey said he’s enjoyed his opportunity to dig back into coaching. And it’s aligned with his focus in life, family.

“Reed, it’s kind of nice for him to come and watch,” Rousey said.

And not only are his sister and nephew around, Rousey’s mom, Katie, is also a regular at the meets.

“(Reed) gets to spend time with grandma,” Rousey said. “He loves Tracen. He loves the kids. It’s nice to have an outlet for myself and him.”

Running Rousey

Rousey’s return to coaching came on the silver anniversary of his second run to state gold. The 2016 season marked 25 years since Rousey captured the ASAA boys’ state cross-country running title for the second time in his prep career. As a senior, Rousey, who also placed first as a sophomore in 1989, capped his prep career with a victory in the 1991 boys’ state championship race.

“Norm was clearly the most pleasant experience I had in coaching,” Michael Janecek, the former longtime running coach and activities director at Palmer High School, said. “We became friends when he was a freshman. You don’t become friends with every kid you coach or have in the classroom. But we became friends, and we’re still friends. There were a lot of nice kids around me, but Norm was by far the most important of my career.”

Janecek listed a number of reasons why Rousey stood out.

“His work ethic was impeccable. For a distance runner, that’s a huge asset,” Janecek said. “After that, he was really talented.”

Janecek gave an example regarding just how good Rousey actually was.

“Norm could run 1-mile intervals, 5 minutes, 3 seconds every time. It would boggle my mind,” Janecek said. “We might do four, mile intervals with a 30-second break in between, and he’d run every single one in 5 minutes, 3 seconds. I’d ask him, how do you do that? How do you find that?”

Janecek said Rousey never lacked determination.

“Norm was that kind of kid that dreamed about winning. You can’t win unless you dream about winning,” Janecek said.

During his sophomore season, Rousey showed that determination.

“He told me, I think I can win this. I said, Norm, if you think you can win it, you’re going to win it,” Janecek said.

And Rousey ran to his first state cross-country championship in 1989. Rousey said Janecek helped provide the inspiration.

“Jancek was a big help there,” Rousey said. “Someone showing that confidence, having that confidene in you, set the tone for my high school career.”

The long run

Rousey was part of a historic run for the Valley.

Rousey’s win in 1989 marked the sixth straight title for a Valley runner in the ASAA 4A boys’ race, and was among seven championships in eight years. It marked Palmer High School’s first cross-country running state championship. Rousey’s win followed three-straight championships for former Wasilla standout Chris Gilbert.

Gilbert’s three-peat was preceded by two straight titles for another Wasilla graduate, Gordan Birdsall.

Rousey was within seconds of a three-peat of his own. He captured championships as a sophomore and senior, but during his junior year, Bartlett’s Jake Bartholomy edged Rousey for the 1990 title.

“One of the regrets I had, junior year I got second place. It ended the streak. I was shooting for three in a row, just like Gilbert,” Rousey said. “I missed my junior year by one second.”

Janecek said he was impressed by how Rousey met the second-place finish.

“He was kind of bummed about, but he dealt with it pretty well. Some kids will cry for a week,” Janecek said.

But that was part of Rousey’s make up, Janecek said.

“Norm was pretty level headed all the way. He was not too taken with himself,” Janecek said.

Rousey was also a three-time Region III champion, winning his sophomore through his senior years, and was part of an even longer streak for the Valley in the conference championships. Rousey’s three titles were among 11 straight for Valley boys’ athletes. Birdsall, Gilbert and Rousey each notched the three-peat, and Colony’s Joel Kelly followed with back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993. In a 20-year stretch from 1980 through 1999, Valley runners captured 18 boys’ titles in the Region III Championships.

Janecek said Rousey was part of an era of athletes that paved the way for Valley prep running.

“That put us on the map. I watched it with my own eyes. (Valley athletes) began to believe that they can compete at any time,” Janecek said, referring to the success of the likes of Birdsall, Gilbert and Rousey. “I always said those three boys put us on the map in competing with the big schools. Before then, we always felt like we didn’t expect to win.”

Family

Janecek is an undoubted influence on Rousey, just as Rousey’s late father, Norman, has been throughout his life.

Rousey followed a path forged by his father. Rousey said he didn’t go nearly as far in education as his dad did, a man who served as an educator and a coach in multiple sports, before his opportunity to become the superintendent of the Mat-Su School District. But the inspiration is clear.

“As far as coaching, I’m trying to follow along (in his footsteps). He parented me so well,” Rousey said of his father. “Respect, sportsmanship, honesty, and so on.”

Rousey said he’s inspired by how people continue to speak of his father.

“He wasn’t a big talker,” Rousey said of his dad. “But he made a statement with those kids, other adults all the way through his life. I always hope people will talk about me the same way.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@forntiersman.com.