This school year, Kingsway Regional High School welcomed a whole class of freshmen… one of them being Ryan Duffy. His name has been known for years by the Cross Country and Track program at Kingsway, so the team was happy to finally have him. So far, his first highschool cross country season has been filled with many feats and inspiring races.
Duffy began his running career when he was around 6 years old, but he is also an avid soccer player. Over the course of his middle school career, he became a USATF National Champion, an AAU National Champion, a USATF National Road Race Champion, and an AAU National XC Champion (these are just a few of the titles and achievements he has gathered these past few years). The secret to his success is natural talent, but also a great deal of hard work and perseverance.
Duffy works hard day in and day out to be the very best athlete he can be. He believes “It’s not only about physical effort but also developing qualities like patience and unwavering dedication, even when you don’t see immediate results.”
Over the summer, Duffy worked on writing a book about his experience with his running career that gives insight to what it is like to be this 11 Time National Champion. He goes into great detail about topics such as preseason, regular season, tapering and preparing for championships, and race day. His book reveals how knowledgeable he is of his sport, but also how humble he is. While his feats are impressive, he never forgets the importance of focusing on things like hard work and overcoming obstacles. His humility can be shown through his demeanor, but also through the words he wrote in the pages of his book.
The Kingsway High School Cross Country team, of course, recognizes Duffy as an extraordinary athlete, but also as an exceptional sportsman. He remains humble and respects his younger and older teammates. The Head Boys Cross Country Coach, Daniel Murray, said, “He works hard and pushes people to work hard with him. You could never tell how talented he is because he has such a quiet humility to him. He doesn’t flaunt his success, he just continues to work hard and succeed.”
Duffy is a great example of what all young athletes should strive to be. His work ethic and motivation to be an incredible athlete are inspiring for his teammates and even for his coaches. He has a great deal of potential that everyone knows he is going to work hard to fulfill throughout the course of his career. He has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, and it is going to be an exciting one to keep up with.