Monday, February 12, 2024 | Indiana, PA - Jamie Branan has been named the Indiana Area High School Head Cross Country Coach on Monday night during the Board of Directors Regular Meeting. 

Branan takes the helm after being a part of the Jr. High tandem with her husband Ken since 2020 for Indiana. Prior to that, Branan was an Athletic Director along with being a track & cross country assistant for four years at Seeds of Faith Christian Academy. "Jamie is ready for the next step in her coaching career here at Indiana. I believe her and the support around her create a great cultural aspect for our cross country student-athletes and have fun in the process." said Athletic Director Dan Roan. "We are excited to see her lead a varsity program and achieve great success both on and off the course" added Roan. 

"I love coaching cross country because it's not always about finishing in the top, each runner is trying to beat their best time every race and it's so fun to watch them succeed and gain confidence. I am so excited to step into the High School Head Coaching XC position, this is a great ground of kids and runners, we will have some returning past runners and they have a big future." said Branan. 

A positive culture is one of the biggest outlooks Jamie has for the team and something that she strives for with every team. "I firmly believe that a coach can have one of the biggest impacts in a young adults' life so we as coaches want to strive to be good positive role models and mentors." she added. "We have been coaching Jr. High cross country for the past four years, so moving up to the high school we have coached all these runners and are so excited for the future success as a team and as individuals." 

Additionally, Jamie focuses on the kids as individuals and wants their time to be something special. "Running is so hard. We have so much respect for these kids, they work so hard and it's unlike any other sport. There are no time outs, no benches, no substitutions and no half times. They give it their all the entire time!" "We want these kids to look back at their time running in junior high and high school and think these were the best times, our coaches pushed us to be the best we could be and pass this on to others." said Branan. 
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