"It's funny, the whole system is a little bit different," Ford-Centonze said. "When I first got here, I was hired as both the women's cross country and track and field coach. It's going back to that model but the difference is that the entire responsibility of the women's program is on me now. I'll do most of the administrative work as well as mentoring the assistant coaches and listening to feedback from the cross country runners."
Ford-Centonze said she expects the "biggest change" for her will be traveling to more cross country meets throughout the season.
"Before, I would usually go to our home meet and the championship at the end of the season," she said. "The change will add a couple weekends to my travel schedule. That will take time away from the sprint crew but it is only every other weekend so it won't be much of an issue."
Ford-Centonze said she hopes to use her experience coaching sprinters to help cross country runners improve their running form and to help steeplechase runners with their hurdling form.
"I will try to figure out if there are things that I can help implement such as drills and lifting programs that can carry over from the shorter races to the distance girls that will give them proper technique over a longer period of time," she said.
To help manage the workload of coaching two teams, Ford-Centonze will be joined by recently hired assistant coach, Mark Coogan. Coogan, a former Olympic marathon runner, will do "the majority of the cross country training," Ford-Centonze said.
Coogan, who competed in the 1996 Olympic Games, has also received accolades as a silver medalist in the 1995 Pan-American Games. He was a professional long distance runner from 1988 to 2002 and he set a record as the first Massachusetts resident to run a mile in under four minutes.
Several women's cross country runners interviewed by The Dartmouth expressed excitement about Ford-Centonze assuming coaching responsibilities for the cross country team.
"[Ford-Centonze] has experience with shorter distances, so she can help us with the end of the race and the beginning of the race when you need to use your fast twitch muscles to get ahead of the pack," cross country runner Laura Hempel '12 said.
With 18 years of experience, Ford-Centonze is known for her ability to cultivate athletes, several athletes said.
"She will really help the cross country team in terms of structure," women's track runner Christina Supino '12 said. "She's really organized and she's been with the program for a long time. I'm sure she will guide the new coach coming in and help him to make sure all the little things get done. I'm sure she'll impact our team in terms of running form. She's really adamant about having good form."
In addition to her work for the women's teams, Ford-Centonze also assists men's head track and field coach Barry Harwick by coaching several male sprinters and hurdlers.
