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JAMAL THALJIThe Land O'Lakes runner also likes to swim. That doesn't sit well with his cross country coach.
LAND O'LAKES - Steven Bell and his coach don't agree on this whole swimming thing.
Bell is trying his hand at the sport this season. Which worries Kris Keppel, because he's Bell's cross country coach. Cross country is the sport Bell happens to excel at, and swimming is the sport he's just having a good time with.
"I'm just swimming for fun," Bell said. "Running's fun but it can get kind of stressful."
Keppel is worried that Bell the swimmer could prove to be a distraction to Bell the runner.
"I just want him to get through this," Keppel said. "I don't think it's going to help him be a better runner. I'm just trying to help him through this phase."
Phase? More like a chapter, another interesting one in Bell's always interesting story.
Only this time Land O'Lakes hopes it ends with top honors this season, both for the team and for Bell. For if there is a team, and a runner, who could challenge Jeff Masterson and Mitchell for Pasco County dominance, it might just be Bell and the Gators.
A lot of things have to go right for that to happen. Keppel has to hope a refined race strategy pays off for Bell, No. 2 runner Steven Lang and their teammates.
"We're taking a more cautious approach to how much true racing we do," Keppel said. "We're going to be racing every other week. We're going to be training through some races. We're going to be cautious that no one burns out because there's no one to fill in if someone goes down."
It all starts with Bell, a junior who last season finished a school-record sixth at the Class 3A state meet and ran a school-record 5K time of 15 minutes, 37 seconds at the region meet.
But at times Bell has been a baffling runner. As a freshman he went from the varsity to the junior varsity back to varsity. Last year as a sophomore he set school records, but let go the lead of the Sunshine Athletic Conference race with 350 meters to go. Bell finished second behind surprise winner Kurt Able of Wesley Chapel but ahead of third-place Masterson.
To Bell, though, there's no mystery this year.
"(Beating Masterson) is definitely my goal," Bell said. "Jeff is really, really good this season. He's definitely the guy to beat. But I think I know myself better now."
Bell admitted he has some catching up to do. An off-season speed regimen didn't suit him, and he said his work ethic suffered this summer. Now he's making up for lost time.
"During the last couple of weeks of the summer I started slacking off," he said. "I lost motivation for a while. So now I'm just trying to get back on track. A few more weeks and I should be back to where I was."
Keppel thinks he can, but the coach isn't sure if swimming the breaststroke will help him do that. That's because not just swimming, but triathlons have caught Bell's attention. This summer he was third overall in the Babes and Bums Spring Triathlon at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Complex.
"It can help his overall conditioning, if he wants to develop into a triathlete," Keppel said. "But I'm trying to get him away from that focus, though."
And back to straight running. Watching Bell's race at state, Keppel said he had never seen the runner come so close to reaching his potential.
"I saw a lot in that race," the coach said. "That last half-mile he was patient within himself. He stayed with the pack. Then he made his move and had a great race. It was one of the best individual performances I've seen in years."
Can Bell be that runner again? Surpass him even?
"I thought he had a taste of it at the state meet," Keppel said. "But he's going to need to do more to get to that next level where Jeff is at now."