Klamath Falls, Ore – Isabela Coffman was named the Army National Guard Most Valuable Teammate by the Oregon Schools Activities Association last week, and it all came as a pleasant surprise to her.
“I didn’t even know that I was in the running for this so I was very excited,” Coffman said. “Sometimes it felt like I wasn’t doing enough and this made it feel like ‘okay you’ve done enough.”
The OSAA named six student-athletes across the state as Most Valuable Teammates for each fall sport. For activities like football or soccer which are team sports, the idea of a ‘good teammate’ is more clearly defined: hitting your blocking assignments, trusting your teammates to do the right thing at the right time, and rallying a group toward one common goal. But in cross country, the goals and outcomes for a player or team hinge more on individual effort and determination. To Isabela, or Isa as her teammates and coaches call her, being a good teammate means supporting the girls to be their very best.
“A good teammate is someone who is supportive,” Coffman said. “In cross country it’s individual but at the same time, you’re not going to make it anywhere if you don’t work together. I think the biggest thing is to not only be there for them athletically but also in their personal lives. You’re not going to run well if something is going on so you need to make sure you’re able to help them.”
One of the experiences Isa credits with helping her bond with her teammates was attending a camp during the summer months to improve ahead of the academic sports season.
“There is a camp that we go to up in the Steens Mountains,” Coffman said. “I’ve been there the past three or four years. That is just so fun, you know. All of your teammates are there with you and kids from all around Oregon and Alaska. There is a day when you go 28 miles and that’s really fun because you can connect with the girls.”
The extra training in the summer helped Isabela claim first place at the Skyline Conference district meet in October. She posted a 20:53:20 to secure the victory with fellow Pelican Leona Higgins placing second notching a time of 21:50:90.
“Going into districts I was pretty nervous,” Coffman said. “It wasn’t our home course but it was a course that was a couple of miles away from my house so I was familiar with it. I had a plan and a strategy. To win it really meant a lot. I was excited and I had hoped for so long to win that. I had been watching cross country since I was born with my dad and it really meant a lot.”
Isabela’s dad is long-tenured Klamath Union cross-country coach Rob Coffman.
In her final high school race, Coffman finished 17th in the 2023 OSAA State Championship meet at Lane Community College with a time of 20:37:60. Now Isa turns her attention to swimming, then track and field in the spring. She may also mix in a triathlon.
“I have probably done four of five triathlons,” Coffman said. “I started when I was young.”
Coffman, who is in the process of choosing a four-year university to attend, said she wants to leave a positive impact for student-athletes who come after her as she moves on from high school.
“It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice,” Coffman said.
