Jager, Doug (2021)

Doug Jager is a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School, where he is a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame.  After high school he attended Calvin College.  During his two years at Calvin, he ran both Cross Country and Track. The Calvin Cross Country team tied for first place in the MIAA Conference his freshman year, with five of the top seven runners (including Doug) making significant contributions. The Calvin Track teams were undefeated in the MIAA during both years that Doug was a team member.

Doug has been the boys and girls Cross Country coach at GRCH for a remarkable thirty seasons.  His Cross Country teams have achieved a level of success reached by few.  His boys teams have won seventeen conference championships, eighteen regional championships, and a MHSAA State Championship in 2014.  His girls Cross Country teams have won twenty-two conference championships, eighteen Regional championships, and five State Championships (2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, and 2014). The girls Cross Country teams have finished in the top five teams in the state for nineteen of the last twenty seasons (2001-2021).  The girls teams were also named the MITCA Team of the Decade for 2000-2009 and again for 2010-2019. 

Doug coached the girls Track and Field teams for twenty-five seasons, including eleven as head coach.  In addition, he coached the boys team for three seasons. In Track and Field, Doug’s teams have also had extraordinary success, including winning the girls MITCA State Championship in 2014.  

Doug’s coaching peers have honored him by naming him Cross Country Regional Coach of the Year seventeen times, and Division 2 State Coach of the Year six times. He was named the MHSAA Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2012.  He was also named the National High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year for Michigan in 2013, and the USA Track and Field Girls Coach of the Year in 2014. He was selected to the MITCA Hall of Fame and currently is President of the Board of that organization. 

Doug is proud of how he has been able to help the sport of Cross Country grow under his leadership. He started the middle school Cross Country program and has conducted pre-season camps for high school and middle school runners for many years. Three of his former assistant coaches are now head coaches at other MHSAA schools. Until Covid intervened in 2019, Doug was the host of a weekly radio show that featured Cross Country coaches and athletes. 

In addition to success in running, Doug is well known for creating a team camaraderie that emphasizes the value of all team members, regardless of skill level. His Christ-like perspective, both in and away from competition, has been a hallmark of his coaching career that has been reflected by his athletes.  Doug’s runners knew that he sacrificed a great deal of time and energy to make their experiences on the team special.  He would look for big and small ways to show just how much he cared.  Favorite team memories include summer parties at his house, his special “championship rolls” before big races, bus trips to Wisconsin every fall, and fun at summer camp.  In all of these cases (and many more), Doug went above and beyond what was expected of a coach.

Doug and his wife Deb own and operate “Chicken Out,” a food service business. They have three daughters: Jessica (Mike) Senatore, Nicole, and Cassandra (Clayton) Coatney, and are blessed with two grandchildren.

Doug’s Favorite Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord;

plans to prosper you, and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.