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Sports Spotlight on Joel BassettePublished: Tue, 07 Jun 2005 16:39:08 -0400  David Bassette/Joel (bottom row, on the far left) with his triumphant cross country team at the Vermont Cross Country Championship in 2004 (Image 1 of 2)
This month, The Cracked Pot had the honor of interviewing Joel Bassette, a talented fifteen year old cross country runner of Hartland, Vermont. Currently in “something between a freshman/sophomore; at least in way of school subjects,” Joel takes Spanish 1 with Senora Macias and Biology with Mr. Rosenoff. Just in eighth grade, Joel set personal records by running a 5:28 mile, and completing 800 meters, approximately half a mile, in 2:31. His mile run time sets him well above the standards for The President’s Challenge. This past fall, he helped his cross country team, the Windsor HS Yellowjackets, win their first state championship since 1961. At the championship, he set another personal record by completing a 5000 meter run, approximately 3.1 miles, in 19:01; good for an average of 6:07 per mile. That placed him as the sixth best runner on his team. About the experience Joel said, “I was proud to be a part of the team. Our favorite joke was that we are twice as good as the Red Sox!”
Seeing that Joel is a self-described “avid Red Sox fan,” that’s considered a major compliment.
At this point in the winter, Joel runs workouts that consist of six miles a day, two to three times a week, at a hard pace of between a 7:30 to 8:30 pace per mile. Due to the abundant snow and wintry mixes found in copious amounts in Vermont, Joel sometimes opts to run in snowshoes. “[Running in snowshoes] offers a great cross-training workout to work muscles that are not used while I’m running,” he said. Besides cross-country, Joel also runs track, snowshoes, goes mountain biking and teaches ski lessons. When asked who he viewed as his role model, he unhesitantly said it was his Dad. “[My dad] is a devout Christian and he has always tried to raise me in a godly way,” said Joel. “ I admit, I have probably not shown as much appreciation for his efforts as he would like and my relationship with him has been strained at many times, especially within the past two or three years. I am grateful for his prayers for me during these time.” In addition, Joel acknowledged God’s playing “a huge part in my sports.” He noted the importance of avoiding getting carried away in pride with his accomplishments, “I am proud of [my accomplishments], but I don't want to get so carried away that I leave Him out of the picture,” said Joel. “I am not an incredibly gifted athlete and I am thankful for that because God knows best. He probably knew that if He gave me too fast a body, I would forget Him and be lost because of my selfish pride. I thank Him daily for this too.”Joel’s two favorite athletes are Dan Browne and Haile Gebresaille. Dan Browne, a cross country runner, is an All-American West Point graduate and born-again Christian who, among other achievements, participated on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Ethiopian legend Haile Gebresaille formerly held the world record in the marathon and went to three Olympics, winning gold in the 10,000 meter race twice. “My sport is your sport’s punishment.” This quote, which appeared in a Nike advertisement, is one of Joel’s favorite, “It motivates me to keep me rolling.”
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