In more than 60 seasons of coaching Hotchkiss athletes, one might think that the enduring memories for retiring faculty member Charlie Bell are the numerous Founders League titles and New England champions he coached in cross country and track.

But for Bell, a born raconteur, the stories that stick out the most are the ones that involve the personal, inner successes of sometimes the least heralded members of his teams.

“In cross country one year, we had a girl whose goal for the season was to run the entire course without stopping. At the beginning of the season, it took her 45 minutes and much of that was walking,” recalled Bell. “She was finally able to make it around the course moving slowly but with extraordinary effort.”

Bell and the other coaches were moved enough to give the student one of the major team awards that season, and he noted that she went on to earn a Ph. D. and teach at Harvard.

Stories like these are just one of the reasons why Bell has treasured his experiences coaching boys JV basketball, girls cross country, and the jumpers on the track and field team.

“The students are there because they want to be. It reveals both personality and character more directly and more quickly than their work in one discipline,” said Bell. “The combination of sweat and fresh air is one of the healthiest combinations that a person can experience.

Most athletes would agree that the rigors of training are not always easy, but the boys and girls on “Team Vert”, as his jumpers are known, gave Bell universal acclaim for the joy and fun that he brought to the track each day.

“He approaches each practice with a light sense of humor, while always being direct in his desire for all of his jumpers and pole vaulters to improve,” said Dubem Anwunah ’20, who captured both the Founders League and New England titles in high jump this season.

Bell credits the cross country coach that he worked originally worked under, Joe Seeley, for showing him the value of humor in keeping athletes relaxed and loose, recalling one memorable instance at the team’s Williston Invitational race, where the Bearcats were heavy favorites on paper.

“The race fell on Halloween, so he bought a bunch of masks and put them in a paper bag. In the huddle right before the start of the race, he said, ‘Loomis is a team that will be hard to beat, but we’ve got a strategy, we’ll fool them.’ Then he reached into the bag and pulled out the masks. ‘If we wear these masks, they won’t recognize us.’ The girls laughed and we won the race,” remembered Bell.

Bell’s 32 years of coaching track have also given him a wealth of experience and knowledge that give him instant credibility with the athletes that he works with.

“He is so well-respected by everyone on the team. I think because he has been here for so long, people have really developed a sincere appreciation for his commitment to the school, especially to the math department and the track team,” said Tanami Penfold.

But it was not always such, and Bell’s position on the track team resulted almost by accident. When he arrived on campus in 1985, he brought considerable experience in long-distance running, but that position on the team was taken. Instead, he was slotted into coaching pole vault and high jump, and as he notes, he was blessed with an exceptional jumper, Jennifer Johnson ’86, who still holds multiple school records.

“She had been well coached – I learned a lot technically from watching her,” noted Bell, adding that although pole vaulting was very difficult to learn at first, other coaches helped get him up to speed.

One of Bell’s biggest strengths, according to his athletes, is the precise, analytical way that he deconstructs both events, which is critical in a sport where literally every step counts.

“Like solving an intricate math problem, Mr. Bell breaks down the process into steps, literally and figuratively,” said Maggie Smith ’20. “He first identifies the issue and then gives me the solution, usually the smallest, most intricate detail that only Mr. Bell would notice.”

Bell acknowledges the overall between the sports that he coached and the time he spent in the classroom teaching math and working as an engineer at IBM.

Besides a mastery of technique, Bell’s commitment to the process, going above and beyond the call of duty, earned him praise from both his athletes and his fellow coaches.

“Charlie is usually the last one off the track,” said athletic director Danny Smith. “After most of his high jumpers and pole vaulters have finished for the day, Coach Bell can often be seen taking the time to check in with an individual athlete.”

Head track and field coach Richard Kirby also thanked Bell for all the little things he does to contribute to the team’s success, such as taking athletes to get track shoes or ordering equipment for the team. “His help with these and other important tasks I will never forget,” said Kirby.

Although he logged more seasons in track and field, Bell also spent 25 years coaching the cross country teams, many of them as head coach. Although he stepped down as head coach a few years ago, Bell has remained an ambassador of the sport, helping to organize major events like the Founders League and New England championships when Hotchkiss has played host.

For Bell, the two sports provided the perfect complements to one another, with the endurance required for cross country compared to the precise technique needed for jumping.

“In the fall, you go three miles and it’s all about stamina, endurance and drive. Success wasn’t a matter so much of biomechanics as of will power. The contrast between that and high jumping and pole vaulting could not be more extreme,” said Bell.

Cross country allowed Bell to tap into his own love for long-distance running, which has been a personal passion of his for many years. “Charlie’s personal love for running was always evident in his coaching,” said current girls head coach Anna Friedman, who assisted Bell before taking over the program.

Friedman added that Bell’s trademark sense of humor was evident in cross country as well, recalling a running technique Bell taught that involved the girls running downhill with “pterodactyl arms” to maximize their speed.

“The girls used to have so much fun as they practiced funning down hills as fast as they could with their arms out, laughing and screaming,” said Friedman.

Bell’s influence extended to both the girls and boys cross country programs, according to current boys head coach Pierre Yoo.

“He has taught me what running in Bearcat Blue means and how teams are built with the foundation of respect and connection.  He has laid the foundation for the success of cross country here at Hotchkiss,” said Yoo.

Now that he has concluded his coaching career at Hotchkiss, Bell said that what he will miss most is working with students – “the chance daily to create something which brings joy to young people that I care about.”