Satterfield conquers life one day at a time

Not much can slow down head Mt. Hood cross-country coach Jim Satterfield.

Satterfield, who enters his third season with the Saints cross-country team, has officially taken the reigns after his friend and longtime head coach Matt Hart stepped down last year.

“I knew Matt and heard they were looking for some help (three years ago) and we saw it was a great fit for us,” Satterfield said about joining Hart at Mt. Hood. “And, I started to get more and more responsibilities the last two years” – as if he saw the writing on the wall that he would one day take over for the newly married Hart.

In the spring of 2008, Satterfield would get some life-altering news: He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer, and by June would have his prostrate removed.

According to Satterfield, his doctor, Bruce Lowe, saved his life at Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown Portland during what he recalls as a two-and-a-half hour procedure.

“I count my blessings every single day,” Satterfield says now, as he leans back fairly stoic in thes office space that he shares with two other head coaches, including his good pal, track and field coach Doug Bowman.

“I got my prostate surgically removed, and all of the blood tests have been good ever since,” Satterfield adds. “I was lucky enough to get Dr. Lowe. He is the guy all of the other doctors that find themselves with prostate cancer go to see. But it all worked out and I gained my fitness and earned All-American (for long-distance running) in my age group.”

Satterfield kind of laughs at the notion that six years ago he had a “robot operate on me,” through the wizardry of Dr. Lowe’s hands.

He stares at the computer dumbfounded, then sighed and asked kindly if we didn’t focus too much on the “cancer aspect to the story.”

“I have four main focuses right now,” Satterfield said with a smile. “One being coaching and running, two is music, three is fishing and four being golf. I usually balance three of the four at any given time.” He laughed and said family fit the mold, as well.

Not bad for a guy who stared cancer in the eyes and beat it through surgery, But he keeps his fingers intertwined to pray for the time he has here on this earth.

Satterfield couldn’t be happier being the father of five, being happily married, coaching cross-country, racing and playing in his “classical rock pop, hot-rodded blues band,” as he calls it. “We have been described as a rock n’ roll blues band,” Satterfield said of his band “Hard Rain.”

On Nov. 8, Satterfield is hoping for a celebratory end to the team’s NWAC championship race in Battle Ground, Wash. That’s because directly after the meet, he will be attending his band’s gig in Oregon City, at the Ice House. And then, less than a week later, his band will play their CD release party at Bradford’s Sports Lounge in Northeast Portland.

He said music and long distance running have a lot of similar qualities and go together like a fine wine and good pasta.“On the bass guitar (which Satterfield plays), you have to be steady and lay out a foundation for the band,” he said. “A runner won’t get any better not practicing from week to week. And you won’t progress as an individual or help your team or band without lots of practice.”

Satterfield is a thinclad through and through. He grew up in Seattle and attended Nathan Hale High School and then took his legs and brain to Washington State University in Pullman. He would eventually start coaching a middle school in Pullman in 1972, after suffering a college career-ending injury, which derailed his running completely for a while.

“Broke my foot junior year,” Satterfield said, while cringing at the idea of his collegiate competitive prime ending before it even really began. “I was in the best shape of my life and broke my foot.”

Prior to coming to MHCC with a wealth of knowledge and expertise of long distance running, Satterfield ran an insurance agency for 31 years.

He said his philosophy in coaching at MHCC is quite simple.

“I’ve learned a lot of different coaching techniques from all of the coaches that I have had,” Satterfield said. “A lot of what I do is recruit runners for potential. Some runners don’t come from high-profile schools like Central Catholic High School.

“We teach them how to run and give them more and more.”