When most people think of retirement, they think of relaxation. Whether that is in their hometown, or on a beach in Florida during Minnesota’s cold winters, most don’t think of running.  But at 62 years young and semi-retired, Rollie Greeno continues to coach – and run with – kids from Apple Valley High School.  Jeez!

Greeno has been a coach at Apple Valley High School for 38 years. He coaches boys cross country in the fall and boys distance track in the spring. Greeno also taught in the science department for 33 years.

Amongst the kids on the teams that Greeno coaches, there are numerous Greeno-isms such as “Jeez!” and “finely-tuned machines” heard at practice on a daily basis. The former comes in moments of surprise and the latter is a form of praise. In order to coach a running sport for 38 years after participating in high school and college athletics, one must be a finely tuned machine.

Not only is Jamestown, North Dakota, the home of two white buffalo and the National Buffalo Museum – it is also the hometown of Greeno.  Growing up and then as he entered high school, Greeno participated in most of the sports offered.

“My dad was a football coach, track coach – he coached everything … He kind of got myself and my brother started,” Greeno said. “We didn’t have a choice, we had to do something – we did everything”.

Greeno chose football in the fall, basketball in the winter, track and field in the spring, and baseball in the summer. Oddly enough, track and field didn’t see Greeno running in the beginning. He started out in 9th grade as a varsity pole vaulter.

“My dad was the college track coach and would bring the broken poles home. My brother and I would pole vault in the backyard,” Greeno said.

In the last meet of his 9th grade season, one of the coaches suggested that Greeno try running the mile. Not only did Greeno do well, he beat some of their best cross country runners.

“That was the end of my pole vaulting days,” Greeno said with a chuckle.

Despite beating the runners, Greeno never ran high school cross country. He missed out on a couple of state championships with that team, but the football team wasn’t bad either. He ended up playing football for four years at the University of Jamestown – in Jamestown, North Dakota – but also ran cross country there as well. Greeno would run in one or two meets during the season along with the conference meet at the end of the season.

The main reason this was possible was the fact that the Greeno could set his schedule (unlike high school, which ate a seven hour hole in the day). He would run in the morning, which is something he advises his runners to do today.

“I looked at [running] more as a job,” Greeno said.

Greeno also ran track at Jamestown College. He ran a 1:51.8 in the 800m run. (Just for reference, at the 2015 Division III national championships, that would have placed first.) In the mile (the MSHSL runs the 1600m which is just short of a mile), he ran a 4:07. He did this at the NAIA national meet, which you can read about here. The following year, his junior year, the team was NCAA DIII and Greeno ran the 1500m in 3:48.5, which is about a 4:05 mile. To round it all off, Greeno placed third at the NCAA DIII National Championships, following that with a second-place finish his senior year.

“My 3:48.5 would still always get me a place, sometimes second or third,” Greeno said. “I continue to feel good about that”.

After college, Greeno found himself a teaching job at AVHS, along with coaching cross country and track and field. From a statistical point of view, there have been really good seasons and seasons that were not as good. For Greeno, though, he has continued to have fun. He always brags about getting the best kids in the school. That’s why he keeps on coming back.

“Every team, I can think of kids I really thought highly of,” Greeno said.

Those who know Greeno wonder whether or not the man will ever retire. It was his original plan to retire from coaching three years after he retired from teaching.

That was five years ago.

As long as he enjoys coaching and has something to contribute, he plans on continuing to coach:  “I honestly don’t have a timetable. I’m just, I guess, taking it season by season.”

Greeno has impacted every runner and student that has been on his team in a positive way.

“I thought of Mr. Greeno like a father figure [as a student at AVHS], and I still do,” said assistant cross country coach–and former AVHS student–Ben Goessling.

Now that a few years have passed, an uncle or a grandfather may be a more fitting description.

“He’s got this natural gift for connecting with people,” Goessling said. “He told me something during my first year of coaching at AVHS – and I doubt I’ll ever forget it: ‘Every connection matters.’”

Greeno shows this with everybody; he could be talking to a freshman on his first day of cross country or a senior after his last meet – he genuinely wants to get to know you and, as Goessling said, connect with you. With so many years of running and coaching under his belt, Greeno surely doesn’t lack wisdom.

“Somehow he could inspire you to push yourself beyond what you thought possible,” former runner Liam Tyler said. “I think that’s the best thing any coach can do”.

The day after every meet, Greeno lists every runner that had a personal record in that race. From the kids that had never run before joining cross country to the number one runner, there is always improvement. Sometimes kids will shave two or more minutes off of their time (that’s a lot), and it’s the result of Greeno pushing runners to be their best.

I ran cross country for four years and am in my second year of track, and I can say that Greeno is the best coach I have ever had. With his experience comes helpful insight, and his Greeno-isms can bring a smirk to any Apple Valley runner in an instant.