By Kyle Coppola
South Sumter High Revives Cross-Country Program After Two Decades
For the first time in over 20 years, South Sumter High School has brought back its cross-country program, marking an exciting new chapter in the school’s athletic history. This fall, the Raiders are putting on their running shoes and hitting the trails as they compete in cross-country meets across the region.
The decision to revive the cross-country team comes from a growing interest among students and the commitment of the school’s athletic department to diversify sports opportunities. Leading the charge is Coach Shandi Burke who recently ran with the team at the Ernie Chatman 5K race, are excited about the revival of the program. Coach Jennifer Lovett is also assisting in coaching.
(For many students they are just happy to have the sport of Cross-Country return to South Sumter High after two decades of not fielding a team.)
(Coach Burke ran with the Raiders during the preseason Ernie Chatman 5K and finished in 1st place for the 40-44 Female age group.)
The team, consisting of a mix of experienced runners and enthusiastic newcomers, is already making strides in their training. They’ve been logging miles around the school’s campus and nearby parks, building up their stamina and preparing for the challenges ahead. For many of the athletes, this will be their first experience with cross-country, but they’re embracing the challenge with determination.
With any revival of a program it will take time for South Sumter High School to compete for state championships. We hope they compete right away but just like the football program it was built over a steady period of time. We certainly wish all of the athlete and everyone involved with this the best of luck. We are so happy to have South Sumter High Cross-Country back!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
