Running along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, Cal High’s head cross country coach Nicholas Shea cools down after a hard workout.
Shea first began running at Carmel High School along the Monterey coast. Ending many of those runs at the Pacific Ocean seemed to deepen his interest in the sport. He now passes down his knowledge to his athletes.
Shea has coached at Cal for the past 10 years as the cross country coach and the last four years as the distance coach for the track and field team.
“It’s kind of hard not to fall in love with something when that’s your everyday,” Shea said.
Shea’s journey isn’t simply about fast times and teamwork. It’s about shaping a culture of balance and motivation, where running is more than a sport.
“He really wants to see the team succeed, so he pushes his athletes a lot, but I think that’s something that makes him a good coach,” said senior Shiv Easwarachandran, who runs cross country and track.
As both a teacher and coach, Shea works with many different kinds of students. In his English 9 and English 11 classes, Shea draws parallels between literature and life. Just as on the track, he encourages persistence and self-reflection.
“I think I wouldn’t be as disciplined a person as I am today without him,” senior track runner Gustavo Mendes said. “He’s helped me realize how far determination can take you.”
This mindset among his runners have helped breed much success. Cal’s boys team qualified for the CIF State Finals the past two seasons, placing second at NCS in 2023 and third in 2024.
In 2017, the boys’ and girls’ teams both qualified for the State Finals, marking the first time in school history both squads advanced in the same year. The teams have regularly sent individual runners to state during the other seasons since Shea has been coaching.
Shea’s story with running began almost by accident. In high school, he joined cross country to get in shape for soccer after his mom discouraged him from playing football.
What started as conditioning quickly became a passion. By college, Shea had become a standout runner, eventually setting the 10,000-meter record at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. He was also inducted into the cross-country hall of fame at Hartnell College, a community college in Salinas.
Shea coached at Pittsburg High before coming to Cal in 2010. He stepped into the head cross country role in 2016.
Under Shea’s leadership, runners have been motivated to shift the perception of what was possible. Sending both boys’ and girls’ teams to state championships might’ve once been out of the question, but it is now a reasonable goal for the team every year.
“Obviously, we want to beat Dougherty, beat Dublin,” Easwarachandran said. “We just really want to put the Cal name out there as a top school in the state, and just perform better than we did last year.”
Shea has high expectations for the future of Cal, too.
“The expectation should be, we will go to the state meet every year,” Shea said.
Shea emphasizes preparation, goal-setting, and honest conversations. The team practices six days a week, including organized social runs on Saturdays, core and mobility sessions, and team check-ins. They also have fun events such as Monday shout-outs, where seniors commend other members on the team.
“Shea’s observant. He doesn’t talk that much, but when he does, it’s pretty important,” senior cross country and track runner Kai Hamre said. “He lets the other coaches talk more, but when he says something, it’s like, you have to listen.”
Shea’s impact has been felt by his athletes, who feel he’s played a big part in their success.
“I feel like he’s built a team like without him, we wouldn’t be how we are today,” Mendes said.
