Wasson, Coronado cross country and track coach Doug Hugill to be inducted into CHSCA Hall of Fame

At 64-years-old, Doug Hugill still runs almost every day.

It's a 50-year passion he enjoys alone on the Colorado Springs trails, but also one shared with high school runners for over 30 years as a coach.

Hugill's impact on Colorado high school sports has not gone unnoticed, as the former Wasson and Coronado cross country and track coach has been selected as part of the 61st class of the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The CHSCA banquet and induction will be held on April 14.

Hugill served as a science teacher and coach at Wasson, his alma mater, for 15 years (1984-1999) and then at Coronado for 18 years (1999-2017) before retiring.

The District 11 product also briefly coached cross country and track at Mitchell, where the Marauders won their first and only track and field district championship.

He is now a part-time teacher at Wasson Academic Campus/Digital School.

I wanted to be a coach because once you're a teacher it was the natural thing to do, Hugill said.

For me, I loved my high school years but they were so fast, fleeting, but through coaching I have gotten to relive the sport I loved so much, and live vicariously through them.

A legacy of excellence Hugill has a long list of accomplishments in his 34 years of coaching, including 13 top-five state championship team finishes and 20 top-ten state championship finishes.

Thats in addition to the numerous state and regional individual cross country and track individual champions.

From 2007 through 2016 he said there at least 10 athletes from Coronado who were competing on scholarship at the collegiate level.

In 1995, he led the Wasson boys to a 5A state cross country title and in 1998, a track and field title.

In 2012, he led the Coronado boys to their first-ever 4A state cross country title and a girls' runner-up finish the same year.

At Coronado, Hugill coached his son, Andrew, who was part of the 2008 team that placed third at state.

Andrew went on to run at the College of Idaho and is now an engineer in Fort Collins.

It was an honor to coach him, Hugill said.

As a coach you're not with your kids and that's the biggest regret that almost every coach has.

You're not with your family so if you can be with your family and coach...what a huge blessing.

Hugill has also received numerous coaching and teaching awards throughout his career, including the Don F.

Miller award for lifelong contributions to youth sports as part of the 2021 Colorado Springs Hall of Fame class and the prestigious Joe Vigil Award for Lifetime Dedication to Cross Country in 2018.

Despite all of his achievements, Hugill says one of his biggest accomplishments was expanding the number of girl participants in cross country.

Girls were first allowed to participate in cross country in 1979, and growing up in an age of inequity, he wanted to help grow the number of female runners and prove they can handle the intense nature of the sport.

He achieved that at Coronado, where he says it is now split about 50/50 between girl and boy participants.

Its not just a Title IX thing, but a chance for their confidence to grow and see how great they can get, Hugill said.

Records were falling every year and the girls were getting better and faster.

I was proud to be a part of that.

A change of pace While Hugill enjoyed coaching at his former high school, he decided to move to Coronado to coach for several reasons, including supporting a student whose father coached at Coronado and died from cancer.

He has a real heart for kids, said David Meyer, a high school friend.

Anyone who has met Doug likes him.

When we started running together, every time we saw his high school students their faces would lighten up and say, Hey coach Hugill, how are you? And he would respond with, Great, now that I see you!" Transferring to Coronado was also a chance to develop a program that was low on participants.

In Hugill's first year he brought out 35 kids.

Then 60.

The number then hit 90-plus, where it remained through his retirement.

Cross country and track has become the largest participatory sport in the school and school district, according to Hugill.

I really liked the fact we had the chance to take and develop the popularity of the sport, Hugill said.

There would be more kids out for cross country than football! I was always proud of that.

To grow the number of participants, Hugill worked hard to make the sport fun as a meet director for the Pikes Peak Invitational and Coronado Cougar Classic Invitational cross country meets from 1988-2017.

One of the ways he did so was by getting running companies to sponsor the meets, including Adidas, Runners Roost and Pike Peak Road Runners, which created an exciting race environment.

Hugill coached his programs through what he calls an ecosystem that develops runners into good athletes, but also good students that were involved in other activities.

We had some outstanding runners but it's not just about winning, although we won a lot, Hugill said.

It's about creating an environment that is a positive place for high school kids and promotes fitness for life.

He invited everyone in the school to come out for cross country and he was their social coach, Meyer said.

If there was a volleyball game he would have all of them go.

He organized everyone to go to prom.

He had 50 girls and 50 guys coming out and made a humongous impact on their lives whether they had athletic talent or not.

Hugill developed his coaching philosophy from his negative experience as a student-athlete at the Colorado School of Mines.

He quit after one year and decided that all the negative things a coach does, he was going to do the opposite.

I was not going to be an old-school coach who yells.

Kids don't respond to that anymore, Hugill said.

They respond to love and care.

I think young people need a lot of direction.

I did some stupid things at that age, maybe I can help them avoid some of the stupid things.

Mistakes aren't horrible as long as you learn from them and help others with them.

Thats just life.

Faith and family Hugill attributes all of his success to his faith.

During a low-point in college, he found a scripture in a Christmas card from his parents that said he would find success if he read the Bible and meditated.

Hes been reading every day for the last 44 years.

While he misses coaching, Hugill is enjoying retired life with his wife of 40 years, Kim, and gets to spend more time with his seven grandchildren from his four kids, Daniel, Sarah, Jessica, and Andrew.

Hugill is still close with his brother, who also taught and coached in District 11, and they play pickleball and golf with each other often.

On the weekend, instead of coaching at a cross country meet, Hugill is fishing, hunting, playing his guitar, or running through Palmer Park, his favorite spot to get in miles.

His life has slowed down, and he is content with that.

For the first time in 50 years you're not tired all the time, Hugill said.

I just don't have the same energy anymore.

I am finally able to enjoy life as a normal person.

I wish I could still coach, it was great, but sometimes you just get too old to do it.

But it was fun, rewarding, and the best job a person could ever have.

I have been blessed..

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