The Streak: Paul VI High School Boys' Cross-Country Team 240 Consecutive Wins 1980-2006

by Jim Enright and James Enright

Paul VI High School dominated boys' scholastic cross-country in South Jersey over a span of 20 years. From 1980 through 1999, Paul VI was voted the number one boys' cross-country team in South Jersey an unprecedented 15 times, including 11 straight seasons encompassing the years 1980 through 1990. Paul VI won 7 New Jersey State Championships in boys' cross-country over a 12-year period, within the toughest division in New Jersey-Parochial-A. The Paul...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 059547019X
• ISBN13: 9780595470198
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 412 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

If you ran for or against Paul VI, you will really enjoy this book.

The first thing that jumps out at you with this book is the tremendous effort in research that went into writing it. It is a fantastic book, that based on my time at Paul VI, is very accurate and well presented. I especially appreciated the summaries of the track seasons that corresponded with each Cross Country season. If you ran for Paul VI you will really enjoy this. If you ran for one the many schools that competed against Paul VI, especially during the 80's and early 90's, I think you would enjoy it as well. I imagine a lot of runners probably wondered what it was like to run for a team that could get 40 kids to come out for the team and was so successful. This book really gives you insight into what it was like to run at Paul VI.

A Must Read for Paul VI Cross Country Alumni

Jim Enright chronicles Paul VI Cross Country's swift rise and ultimate decline. "The Streak" should be read by anyone ever involved with the program. It is more than a "glory days" retrospective. The book reveals that the success many may attribute to a cult of coaching personality or a special pool of skinny Catholic kid talent, was in fact the product of a system implemented by Mike Glavin and certain subsequent coaches that involved ravenous in-house recruitment, fostering intense intra-squad competition, an uncompromising commitment to hard work, very high individual and team goal-setting and a sort of "professionalism" toward other teams. DeJoseph and others play the lead roles but the Tom Donnellys of the world steal the show and are the over-achieving poster children for successful Paul VI Cross Country squads. Readers may also be interested in "Coaching Cross Country Successfully" by Joe Newton, Published by Human Kinetics (1998).

Excellent book: inspirational and accurate

"The Streak" details the 27-year winning streak of the Paul VI cross country team. It is an inspirational sports story, not just for runners but for anyone who likes a good underdog story. And as a member of the team from 1985-88, I can tell you that it's VERY accurate: the descriptions of guys like Mike Glavin, Ron Faith, & Jason DiJoseph, and of the program in general, are right on. And it doesn't focus only on the individual standouts; it describes the growth (and sadly, the decline) of the team as the years went on. "The Streak" includes not just the statistics, but many of the good stories associated with the program (and they are many). Mr. Enright's writing style brought me right back to the days of the grueling training runs & nail-biter races. I strongly recommend "The Streak", especially to runners. And if you were involved with the program, I encourage you to read not just the chapters of your own "era"--read it all, chronologically. It's a great story of a legendary, classy program.

Run Right Out & Read about the Eagles!

This is a wonderful story about generations of ordinary kids who did something extraordinary - maintain a Cross Country Dynasty for 28 years. There were some elite runners on the team at different points in time, like Jason DeJoseph, but most were just kids with fire in the belly and pride in their team. This isn't just a book for the die-hard harrier, but for anyone who roots for the underdog to win against often overwhelming odds. The best part of the story is that these kids formed a brotherhood that transcended their years on the team and bonds them to this day.