There he is, smiling. Doug Courtemarche wears it like a brand-new suit, fresh off the rack, and never takes it off. It could be cloudy, rainy, colder than an assassin’s gaze, but the corners of his mouth remain up. Courtemarche could have a knife sticking out of his foot, but he wouldn’t stoop down to remove it: Please, finish your sentence, I don’t want to interrupt.
“Doug is irrationally cheerful,” said Peter Brewer, the track and field and cross country coach at Castro Valley High School, a longtime opponent and admirer of his counterpart at Santa Rosa High. “I’m completely envious of his attitude.”
Of course, you believe a blanket statement like you believe Barry Bonds when he said he never took steroids. You initially disbelieve bold proclamations because they create immediate suspicion. You want more proof. Courtemarche gave it.
Courtemarche, 69, pointed to his left foot. It’s encased in a stabilizing boot. Hurts every time he walks. It should.
“It’s bone-on-bone, the bottom of my ankle rubbing against the top of my foot,” he said. “And if I don’t wear the boot ...”
His left hand slid across the top of his right hand.
His left foot is competing with his right knee to win the gold medal in The Most Debilitating Pain, Lifetime. Courtemarche had a knee replacement February 7. Courtemarche’s body has a lot of contenders for this title. He has had left knee replacement surgery, a new hip and hernias and back surgery and, let’s keep it simple: Courtemarche has undergone nine surgeries.
His reaction?
“I’m a lucky man,” Courtemarche said.
Thus begins the explanation for why the high school is honoring Courtemarche this Saturday at the Big Cat track meet. It’s not because the man is retiring; he wants to go a couple more years. It’s not because he’s in failing health; he treats these surgeries as a mere fever blister. It’s not because teenagers have worn him out; adolescents are the caffeine that gets him going.
It’s that Courtemarche is finishing his 25th consecutive year in a sport far from the maddening headlines. It’s not football or baseball or basketball or soccer. Not even hockey. It’s a sport that demands exertion, so back off from those pancakes, dude, if you want to make this dance. There are no timeouts. No one flops in track and field unless it’s a high jumper. Sweat equity is the currency of the day. You don’t sprint to first base; you run miles.
Track and field is like working the backlot on a movie set. The stars are on stage. Track and field is off screen, working on the scaffolding. Vital. Unappreciated.
Yet, on average, 100 kids turn out for the first practice every year at Santa Rosa. That’s more than any other sport in high school. Sure, it’s one team. No freshman or junior varsity teams in this sport. Sure, some kids turn out to fulfill their physical education requirement (95 kids are still on the team).
So Santa Rosa has had the same coach for 25 years. Oh, that seven schools in Sonoma County would like to say the same thing about their head football coach, seven having departed since last season.
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