300 reasons Baker made right choice

Nick Baker was actually a rugby player.

After running during his freshman year at Springfield College in Massachusetts, Baker, 200 pounds and built for a more physical sport, took up rugby. He had a chance to continue playing with a local Haddonfield team after college, but he declined. His passion was somewhere else.

"They'd travel all over the East Coast," Baker said. "I wanted to be at track meets on Saturdays, not traveling to some rugby game."

Baker made a good decision. After coaching boys' soccer in his first seven years at Haddonfield, he became the boys' cross-country coach when the position became available.

Since then, he has gone 304-16. He has won 28 sectional titles, including 10 straight, as well as 13 state championships and a Meet of Champions title in 2001. Haddonfield has won 169 straight dual meets dating to 1997. On Sept. 17, he picked up his 300th career win.

He credits his assistant coaches and athletes, but they say it all starts with Baker.

"Everyone knows that the least you can do coming into the season is keep up the streak he has and everything he's built," junior Austin Stoner said. "It's this dynasty. You feel like you owe it to him with all the effort he puts in and all the passion he has for the sport."

Haddonfield's runners note Baker's nonstop efforts to improve and help each runner reach his potential. With how prepared Baker is at practice every day, some think he goes home and researches more ways to make the team better, which Baker does not deny.

"Anytime I have the opportunity to talk to another coach about what they do, I'll talk track and running all day and all night with them," Baker said. "Fortunately, I haven't lost that passion. I do research and read things all the time."

Even though Baker is retired from teaching and no longer can recruit kids from gym class, the system he built still gets kids into cross-country. In 1997, he even started a program at Haddonfield Middle School, where many of his current runners started.

Baker coached it for two years as a pilot program, doing it after leading his high school teams at practices. Then, the program was picked up for good. Now, his wife, Maureen, who started girls' track at Haddonfield, coaches the team.

"She's the lifeline for getting kids out," Baker said with a laugh. "I started the middle school program as a way to expose other kids to the sport because the kids all grow up with Little League and midget soccer and all of those programs."

Despite all of Baker's accomplishments - the championships, coaching his own children, and even seeing an Olympian (Erin Donohue) coming from the Haddonfield girls' team - his favorite memories are the ones that happen every day.

"My best memory is 3 o'clock when the kids come out," Baker said. "Just having the opportunity to work with young people and their enthusiasm, to help them go after their dreams, that's just so exciting and makes it all worthwhile.

"When I was teaching, I couldn't wait until 3 o'clock to get outside with the guys. Then I got into administration and I really couldn't wait to see the guys at 3. Now that I'm retired, I really can't wait until 3 to get over here to see the guys."