Stevenson University
Head Coach: Dave Berdan. dberdan@stevenson.edu 443-352-4375
Can you give us a brief description of your program and some highlights from the past few years?Â
Our program is not necessarily new, but I would say it is a program that is growing into one of the better collegiate programs in Maryland. I have been at Stevenson for 7 years. We have had some big successes over the last few years (highlight being Patrick Watson winning the 2019 DIII NCAA Cross Country Championship) and winning the men’s indoor and outdoor Middle Atlantic Conference Championships in 2018 and 2019, but I believe the best is yet to come. We are currently in the middle of the construction of a brand new state of the art track and field facility. I am extremely excited as we have had a lot of success with the challenges of not having a track and field facility and I have no doubt that this new facility is going to help us achieve our team and individual goals.Â
What goals do you have for your program, whether this year or in the near future?
Big goals for our programs are to end up being one of the top programs in the conference and a top 10 team in the NCAA Division III in all 3 seasons for both men and women.Â
What is a typical week/cycle of training for your xc team? How much mileage does your men’s and women’s team average?Â
We run a program that focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual. I am not just talking about from a training standpoint. We look at and talk about all aspects of their lifestyle outside of practice/competition. These lifestyle choices include things like sleep, diet and mental training. For example, one set diet is not going to work for everyone. We meet with each athlete and talk about nutrition and how they can make changes to help their performances. An example of individualization for us in training would be having as many as 3 different workouts going on within a group of athletes that are training to compete at the same exact race distance.Â
Our training program is aerobically focused and that has allowed all athletes to continue to make large improvements throughout each season/year. We look at what each individual can handle from a mileage/training standpoint and gradually increase everything throughout the season/year. We do have some unique workouts in our training program, but ultimately it is all progressed throughout each season/year. I don’t like to focus on specific weekly mileages as every athlete is different. We have individuals doing as low as 20-30 miles/week and up to as much as 100 miles/week and we also have individuals who cannot run more than 3-4 days/week.Â
Do you have a certain team philosophy? How do you manage individual and team goals?
Our team philosophy is pretty straight forward in that we are looking for student athletes who are not only willing to work hard, but are supportive and not afraid to hold their teammates accountable. We look to our upperclassmen to be role models for the younger athletes both inside and outside practice/competitions and in the classroom. We set both team and individual goals at the beginning of each season, but really emphasize focusing on the process and what goes into each day to help them achieve those goals.Â
What do you look for in a recruit, and what advice do you have to an athlete interested in Stevenson?Â
Here at Stevenson, we accept a wide range of student athletes not only from Maryland and the region, but from all over the country. I do not have strict recruiting standards as some of our best athletes over the past several years were not top athletes on their high school teams. We pride ourselves in developing each student athlete. If anyone is interested I would encourage them to check out information about our program and complete the questionnaire at the following link: www.stevenson.edu/mustangxc Once the form is completed (track and field athletes can complete the same questionnaire) I will reach out to set up a phone call and visit in the near future.Â
What resources or facilities does Stevenson have that separates you from other schools? Â
One HUGE resource we have here at Stevenson is the number of coaches we have on staff for cross country and track/field. We have 3 full-time coaches and 2 part-time coaches! Full-time coaches include myself, Coach Kylie Ryan who focuses on the sprints/hurdles/multis, and Coach Grant McCarthy who focuses on recruiting for all programs and helping coach the middle distance and distance runners. Our part- time coaches include throws Coach John Urdahl and jumps Coach Troy Eggleston. Having 3 full-time coaches (a lot of programs only have 1) allows us to really focus on each individual and develop those personal relationships that will help not only during their time at Stevenson, but wherever they end up after graduation as well.
Also, in addition to the track and field facility (which includes a field hockey astro turf surface on the infield), it will include 3 new soccer fields (2 of which are Bermuda Grass), baseball, softball, and tennis.
The track and field facility will be able to host large scale competitions and include the following:Â
-8 lanes with Beynon BSS 1000 poured rubber surface
-2 sprint straightaways on both sides of the track (can always run with the wind)
-2 horizontal jump runways with a total of 4 pits
-2 pole vault runways
-enough space for 2 high jump pitsÂ
-throwing area with a separate shot-put circle/throwing area, a dual pad discus/hammer area with cage, and a javelin runway with the BSS 1000 poured rubber surface
The property (Owings Mills East) will also have 5k, 6k, and 8k cross country courses.Â
Pat Watson is a local guy (South River).  While he wasn’t the top guy on his high school team, 4 years later (2019), he won Cross Country Nationals after finishing 15th the year before. What was his progress like, and how did he take the next step to get to that level?Â
While we have not had other NCAA champions (close one last year as Iddriss Iddriss finished 2nd in the 800 at NCAAs and went on to run 1:50!) Patrick is one example of many who have come and improved significantly over their time at Stevenson. Patrick is a perfect example of why we do not limit who we accept on our program here at Stevenson. He was turned away from several Division 1 and 2 teams and ultimately would have been the best runner on their team. With that being said, Patrick is a perfect example of how both our personalized training and focusing on our relationships with each individual make a difference in their experiences here at Stevenson. For Patrick it wasn’t just about the training. Each year he got a little bit more serious and dedicated to not just running, but focusing on his lifestyle outside of training. He left no stone unturned as he focused on everything from sleep, diet, ancillary training to mental training. Going into the summer of 2019 (which included 2 months of training in Flagstaff, Arizona) he had one goal in mind and that was winning NCAAs. As the season progressed, we both knew winning was a possibility (from his workouts and races) but continued to focus on the day to day and what we could control. It was extremely rewarding to see Patrick achieve his goal of winning the NCAA Cross Country championships as he worked so hard and made a ton of sacrifices along the way. Unfortunately, indoor NCAAs and the outdoor track and field season were canceled due to Covid as I believe Patrick was going to run some amazing times during the season and add several more national titles to his resume.Â
Track Construction Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmGhfCgqoXE
Interview with Coach Berdan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdqAGpOsYPQ
Podcast with Pat Watson, 2019 NCAA DIII National Champion
https://www.d3glorydays.com/podcast/2019/12/02/episode-7-patrick-watson
Story on Pat Watson
https://gomustangsports.com/sports/mxc/2019-20/releases/20191127-watson