JAMESTOWN, NY - Jamestown Community College (JCC) is delighted to announce Bob Ring as the new head coach of Jayhawk cross country.
"We couldn't be more excited to name Bob (Ring) as the new head coach of our men's and women's cross country teams," said Athletic Director George Sisson. "Bob joins JCC with a rich knowledge of the world of cross country and a vast history around the sport of running," added Sisson. "I am just a fan of cross country and a fan of running," said Bob Ring on why he took this opportunity. "It is what I love to do. I'm a runner myself. I think running is the best sport because you can go out and do it on your own. You don't need a tee time or a gym; you can just go and run," he added.
Those aren't just words of wisdom from Coach Ring but words he has lived by for decades. Before coaching became his passion, Ring ran over 200 5ks, 10ks, and marathons. Ring turned that passion into decades of coaching, starting as an assistant at Olean High School in 1998. He was the head boys' coach from 2003 to 2014 and started coaching the girls' program in 2008. Despite attempting to slow things down a bit since 2014, he coached six more sporadic years with the Huskies before taking the whistle as the Jayhawks' leader of the pack.
"My first goal is to increase the number of runners we have; we need to recruit," said Ring. "I have a lot of contacts from coaching in that area (Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties). Once we have the runners, it is up to me to develop them and prepare them to compete," he finished.
Ring has done a fantastic job at just that during his tenure with Olean High School, being named the CCAA (Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Athletic Association) coach of the year twice, winning the CCAA conference three times, and the Expressway Conference once, and was inducted into the Cattaraugus County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
He sees this opportunity at JCC as a blank slate that he can build in his vision.
"I want someone who desires to run and enjoys it. Someone who is willing to work hard," said Ring about the type of student-athletes he is looking to bring onto his roster.
Ring will help bridge the gap of his high school experience to collegiate athletics by picking the brain of his son, Bob Ring, who was an assistant cross country coach for St. Bonaventure University.
When Coach Ring isn't on the cross country course, he enjoys spending time with his eight grandchildren, three of which are current high school cross country runners.
Ring and the rest of the 2026 Jayhawk cross country team will hit the ground running for their first meet in September.
