Coach Michael Farthing, who spent 13 seasons coaching at DGS, announced his exit from the program via Instagram and X in June, to prioritize raising his children and continuing to teach at Westmont Junior High. It was a month after the outdoor conference championship meet.
Three weeks before the beginning of the 2026 season, it was officially revealed to the team that assistant sprinter and high jump coach Juankeem Finley would be taking the position as the head track and field coach, while continuing to coach sprints and high jumps.
Finley led his high jump athletes through breathing exercises after a long practice in the fieldhouse, where the air was humid and smelled faintly of sweat, offering an early look at his approach as head coach.
“[We’re] gonna have a little bit more structure, a little bit more discipline. Things are going to be more in place and we’re going to be really, really good,” Finley said.
The reactions from current assistant coaches and upperclass sprinter athletes about Finley as the new coach have been positive. All of them commonly embrace a new competition mindset and transition to more stringent training.
Senior 100-meter and 200-meter sprinter Aiden Kidney participated in the pre-training season and gave his insights about Finley’s new supervision.
“I see Finley as a coach that’s always going to push you and be there for you. Not a mean coach, but a strict coach,” Kidney said.
Sophomore sprinter and long jumper Vraj Shah has just one year of involvement in the program under his belt and expresses his excitement for Finley as a coach.
“I think I’m gonna do way better than last year because Finley helps me focus more on the important things, the small things,” Shah said.
Junior distance runner Laith Yasin shared his opinion on the new head coach, despite his limited interactions with Finley.
“In general, he’s a pretty nice guy. I think he definitely can make the culture better for track in general,” Yasin said.
In Farthing’s tenure as coach, his training method was often the “feed the cat” philosophy which emphasizes speed through low volume, high intensity workouts and rest. The approach has been praised for reducing injuries but is criticized for limiting endurance and long-term development.
Finley addresses last year’s season.
“It’s gonna be a little bit more of a workload than what we had [during the 2025 season]. So it’s gonna be a little bit more of a competitive nature,” Finley said.
Assistant distance and pole vault coach Sean Senf shares what he’s looking forward to in Finley’s alternate direction in coaching.
“I can already kind of tell with his tone with his athletes. I think he’s gonna…run a tighter ship,” Senf said.
Senf analyzes Farthing’s organized, but debated sprinting philosophy.
“I think his philosophy in terms of sprinting was very much the ‘feed the cat’ philosophy, which Caldwell and I have always gone back and forth on,” Senf said. “I think that philosophy is really good if you’re really talented but if you need to get in shape, it’s hard for some athletes to excel using that program. It takes them literally 18 weeks to get in shape for that.”
While Finley isn’t currently employed with District 99 officially, graduating from DGS in 2017 provides him with familiarity and a connection to the school environment and atmosphere. He connects easily with upperclass athletes as well as freshmen athletes.
Sophomore mid-distance runner and hurdeler Giovanni Vazquez focuses on correspondence and austerity being crucial to the team.
“I really do think [Finley] can make us better, make us faster [and] bring the culture together,” Vazquez said.
As practice ended, Vazquez was asked if he had anything to say to his former coach, Farthing.
“Thank you for coaching,” Vazquez said.
With two weeks of practice concluded, the team looks forward to the start of the season with “Meet the Team Night” and the first invite at York High School on Saturday, Feb. 7. The athletes will see if the training under Finley’s supervision has paid off.
