“There’s no denying that we have high expectations for ourselves,” head Girls’ Cross Country Coach Shawn DeLosAngeles said. The coach and biology teacher at Neshaminy High School may be new to the girls’ cross country coaching staff, but he is far from new to the world of coaching high school runners. Commonly referred to as just “DeLo,” the new head coach hopes to move the girls’ team forward in the rankings, as well as have runners qualify to race at the PA State Championship race.

“As a team, our goal is simple: make a statement to the [Suburban One] league that Neshaminy is an elite program. We will not shrink from a fight, but rise to the challenge when we face the likes of Pennsbury or Council Rock North,” DeLosAngeles said.

The runners of Pennsbury High School were undefeated in the Suburban One League and went on to take first place as a team at the PIAA State Championships. Neshaminy is up against some tough competition.

This coaching change marks the third switch in the past four years, and involves more than just aiming to continue improving the program. To many athletes, the sport is more than just trying to run faster than the person next to them.  “Running was a life changing experience for me when I was younger,” DeLosAngeles said. “It gave me an opportunity to gain friends, get in shape, and challenge myself.”

Through coaching, DeLosAngeles is able to give student athletes the same opportunities. “My goal as a coach is to motivate and inspire my athletes to push themselves past what they think are their limits,” he said.

Before he was a coach and teacher at Neshaminy High School, DeLosAngeles taught and coached at Council Rock South, where he attended high school. “This is my seventh year coaching, and I love it just as much as I did my first day I walked onto the job,” he said.  “Now, I bleed red and blue. There’s no place I’d rather be, than where I am today.”