'Family atmosphere' driving track and field success at Calvert Hall

Calvert Hall had an indoor track season to remember as the team won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference indoor title for the first time in school history. But there’s something that happened a few days earlier that coach Peter Frein loves to remember.

The Cardinals held a team meeting three days before the meet. They were talking about what would be coming up during the meet, but Frein remembers enjoying listening to what his athletes were talking about.

“Our top-level guys were standing up and talking not about themselves, but about how much it [would mean] to win the team title,” Frein said. “Our top athletes would much rather see the team win. That makes their experience more fulfilling.”

The Cardinals scored a 41.5-point victory over Gilman and earned that first title. It showed that everyone was on the same page, and that meeting clearly demonstrated to Frein that this group ran and thought like a team.

Frein, a guidance counselor at Calvert Hall, is in his fourth year at the school and as a track coach. He took over as the indoor and outdoor track coach in his first year and then added cross country the following year.

The coaches on this staff — his wife, Rosemary Frein, Donald Davis, Dan Harper and Pat Hodge — give the team three basic expectations: They tell the athletes to show up, work hard and treat yourself and others with respect.

“We try to hold every guy to the same standard,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get a little better each season.”

One way they’ve done that is through the junior varsity program, which has won 10 consecutive championships in MIAA title meets. They’ve put in a lot of work, and that improvement is showing.

Calvert Hall has not won the MIAA A Conference cross country title since 2008, but Loyola Blakefield edged the Cardinals by just two points last fall. Still, Owen Johnson of Calvert Hall pulled out a stunning last-second victory in the race at McDaniel College.

Johnson, a junior, said it’s easy to see how things have changed in the past few years.

“I think [Frein] brought a culture and a mind-set that everyone just bought into,” Johnson said. “Everybody wants to win. We’re all on the same page here. I think it’s really good, the communication we have with each other.”

Johnson said guys are not afraid to call each other out — not to insult them, but to help with improving their skills. In the past, when done with his distance races at a meet, Johnson said he might just sit and chill. But he’s bought into the team concept and now stands at the rail near the track and cheers on fellow Cardinals.

All of this has helped the program blossom. Frein said they’ll have about 60 athletes on the team, which means depth and usually points in tough meets. The Cardinals came in third in last spring’s MIAA A Conference title meet and would like to win for the first time since 2000, and they’ve likely laid the foundation for future success.

Devin Robinson coaches the girls at McDonogh, which won the indoor Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference team title, and she also works with sprinters on the boys' team. Robinson said she can see how they’re building for success at Calvert Hall.

“You just have to get a core group, and that’s what they’re doing,” Robinson said. “You get that core group and once they develop and grow … it just keeps going. When you win, you attract. People want to be part of a winning team.”

The Cardinals are breaking down those barriers in cross country and track. They’ve got one title already this school year, just missed another and hope to have a chance at one outdoors.

Even more, Frein and the Cardinals are hoping they’ve put a program in place that will make Calvert Hall a force in the MIAA A Conference for a long time, and a big part of it is making everyone realize the importance of the team. The message seems to be getting across; it sure seemed that way during that meeting before the indoor title meet.

“We like to create a family atmosphere,” Frein said. “I think it’s important for a kid to walk into an environment and know that other people like his peers care about him.”