Shirley: "I am the coach of the boys team"

For months, it has been "all but official."

Now, it actually is official.

Rev. Paul Shirley confirmed today that he will continue his role as varsity cross-country coach as Tall Oaks joins Red Lion's cross-country team. Shirley joined Tall Oaks' cross country team in 2012 with then-head coach Jeff Silver and has been head coach over all four divisions of the team (Middle School Girls and Boys and Varsity Girls and Boys) since 2013. His trademark command "On the Line!" has become popular among his runners and is also the inspiration for the name of this blog.

Shirley with his wife, Elyse
(Photo: Grace Community Church at Wilmington)

"It is official as of this week; I am the coach of the boys team," Shirley wrote in an email around 3:00 pm this afternoon. "Nicki Pizzulli [current RLCA XC coach] will be coaching the girls team; however, there will be a lot of overlap between teams.

"Nicki and I are working to blend the programs as much as possible and that is a question we have not addressed quite yet (there's a bunch to do!). I'll get you info as I have it. Please feel free to disseminate any info you receive from me."

Shirley has lifted the performance of Tall Oaks' cross-country program immensely over the past few seasons. Under Shirley, runners Benjamin Schneider ('17), Jessica Silver ('18), Joshua Deitrich ('19), Matteo D'Andrea ('20), and Faith Hollister ('22) have all won meets in their respective divisions. The Varsity Boys team has also finished second in the MIL behind Tome School each of the past four seasons, while the Varsity Girls came within a single point of winning the championship in 2015.