It may seem that Steve Lurie has trouble focusing. He has been an award-nominated sports writer and president of the US Tennis Writers' Association, has written for Runner's World and American Way magazines, was publicist for the Virginia Slims Women's Tennis Circuit and the International Track Association (the professional tour of the early-mid 1970s), and the Southwest Editor of Dyestat (the internet home of high school track and cross country). This is all in addition to a lengthy coaching career which included stints as head coach of two NCAA Division 1 programs and several high schools. He has spoken at high school cross country banquets and was a lecturer at the Arizona Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Clinic and was director of the Bergen County (NJ) Coaches Association Track Clinic.The one constant in his life has been as founder/director of Five-Star Cross Country Camp, a Nike Junior Running Cap. This is the Tucson, AZ, resident's 28th year at the helm of one of the country's outstanding cross country camps. During that time, Five-Star has had campers from 15 states, the District of Columbia, Japan, and Great Britain. He has attracted guest speakers such as former American mile record holder Steve Scott, three-time US Olympian John Gregorek, four-time world record holder Henry Rono, and Dick Beardsley, one of America's marathon greats.
Lurie coached a Division I NCAA indoor All American two-mile relay team at Division II Adelphi. He's been the private coach of four high school All Americans, including a National Footlocker Cross Country champion who also won the Nike Indoor 2-mile and the Arcadia 1-mile and also ran 3:48.97 for 1,500 meters. Another was a Penn Relays mile champion with a high school best of 4:09.2 for the mile. Another was Millrose Schoolboy Mile champion and ran 9:04.4 indoors for 2-miles and 29:03.0 for 6 miles at Penn Relays. The fourth was a then-national high school 3,000-meter steeplechase record holder at 8:52.6.
Lurie coached Westwood (NJ) High school through the decade of the 1990s. His Cardinals won 38 major championships, earning Lurie three Bergen County Coach of the Year awards and National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association Indoor Coach of the Year honors for his 1996-97 team. The Cards compiled a 40-meet winning streak in cross country and a 43-meet streak in outdoor track. In one stretch Westwood won an unprecedented five consecutive Team of the Year awards.
Steve was a member of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's winter track advisory committee and also was co-founder of the Bergen County Meet of Champions and the Bergen County Scholastic League American Division indoor championships. He was recently named to the executive board of the Arizona State Track and Cross Country Coaches Association.
No, Frank Schorling isn't The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the 1962 film that in 2007 was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". But he is certainly culturally and historically significant at Five-Star Cross Country Camp. He is The Man Who Beat Ridgewood. Director John Ford probably doesn't know this but Coach Schorling's Bergenfield High School girls were the last team to beat Ridgewood in cross country prior to a 145-meet winning streak the Lady Maroons ran off. That's historical and easily explained. In his 17 years at Five-Star, Schorling has become a folk-hero in Danbury, CT. That's cultural and far more difficult to explain.
"Back then," Schorling jokes of the win over Ridgewood, "I really didn't know what I was doing." Don't believe that for a second. Five-Star campers are well aware he knows exactly what he is doing as he has assigned all runs at camp since 1992. And he has made famous such things as "Mapes" and "The Triangle." And won more friends than anyone in Five-Star history.
He's been a high school head track and cross country coach for 36 years, the first 28 at Bergenfield in New Jersey and the last eight at Eldred, NY.
He coached two high school All Americans at Bergenfield. In 1984, Steve Schadler won the high school mile at the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden and the 1500m at Penn Relays. He was ranked third in the nation by USA Today in the 1500m/mile. ToniAnn Angiione was the New Jersey State Cross Country Champion. Coach Schorling was named Bergen County Coach of the Year in cross-country once and All Suburban Coach of the Year twice.
His Eldred teams have won four Section 9 Championships and seven Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division. 5 Championships since 2001. Coach Schorling coached his third high school All American at Eldred, Kyle Anthony, the 2006 long and triple jump New York State Championship.
While in New Jersey, Coach Schorling served as girls team representative on the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's cross country committee. He is currently the girls cross-country representative for the OCIAA and serves on the games committee for the OCIAA Championships.
Five-Star is proud to be adding Richard Furst and his "attitude is everything" philosophy to its staff. "For me," says the 28th-year cross country and track coach, "it's never been about winning." That said, Furst doesn't keep count of how many cross country meets his girls have won. But he can tell you that since 1992 Warwick Valley (NY) High School has lost only two meets, both on sixth-girl tie-breakers in meets that ended 28-all.Furst began his running career as a Boy Scout in 1962. He blossomed at Nutley (NJ) High School where he was the runner-up in the 1967 New Jersey State Cross Country Championships and runner-up the following spring in the NJ State Championship 1-mile. He ran from 1968 to 1972 on a full scholarship for Clemson University.
He started his coaching career in 1976 with the modified program at Warwick Valley. Five years later he became girls head coach at Warwick Valley High School. His XC teams have won the Orange County Championship 14 times including the last 11 consecutive years. The 2007 team holds the All-Time 1-5 average for the Bear Mountain 3-mile course at 18:22.8. His teams have qualified for the NY State Championship Meet 17 of the last 20 years. He has had at least one runner qualify for the State Meet every year since 1979. He has coached two NYS champions and one Footlocker National champion.
In track, Furst has coached a total of 18 All-American performers and seven national Champions including the indoor 2-mile and Distance Medley Relay. Aislinn Ryan, the 2004 Footlocker Champion, posted a 9:36.26 3K, a 10:25.63 2-mile best along with a 4:49.82 full mile, all indoors. Outdoors, Ryan ran a 9:38.62 3K and 10:16.85 two mile. The 2006 DMR placed second at Nike Outdoor Nationals in 11:36.41, the fourth fastest time ever run. For good measure, his DMR teams have placed in the top six every year since 2004. The Warwick Valley 3200m relay teams have placed high in the Nationals with best times of 8:58.4 outdoors and 9:02.65 indoors. State Champions include the 4x800 twice; 4x400 relay, 400, 3K, and 400IH.
Furst attributes his team's success to the concepts that “attitude is everything” and that "each team member, like each piece of a jigsaw puzzle, is important, no matter what your Personal Record is. When everyone dedicates their best for their team, they help to create something that is bigger than themselves and everyone prospers."
Five-Star eagerly awaits the bringing of that attitude to camp.
Justin Van Dyk started a successful running career at Rutherford High School in Bergen County, where his team was ranked as one of the top schools in NJ. Justin attended Kean University where he was an NJAC champ in the 3000m steeplechase. After graduation, he spent two years at Kean working as an assistant coach.
In the fall of 2006, Justin returned to his old high school, Rutherford, where he took over as the distance coach for the outdoor track team. In September 2007, Justin joined the staff as an assistant for cross country and indoor track. In early 2008, he was named as Head Boys Outdoor Coach at Rutherford and is one of the young, bright, up and coming, Bergen County Coaches. Justin is also a USATF Level 1 Certified Coach.