Joe Busi

Bryce Alderton

The feeling stuck to Joe Busi’s veins, and somehow, if fits together

like a puzzle piece.

That inkling is coaching track and field, specifically at Costa

Mesa High, where his daughter Andrea ran for four years before she

attended Orange Coast College and eventually Long Beach State.

Busi guided the Mesa girls cross country team for six years from

1993 through 1998 and the boys from 1994 to ’98. The ’97 Mesa girls

team defied all odds to win the CIF Division IV State championship at

Woodward Park in Fresno. In 1995, Busi was named Coach of the Year by

a major publication. For two seasons he taught the Mesa distance

runners during the track season as well.

“I loved watching (Andrea) compete,” said Busi when asked what got

him into his first-ever coaching position with Mesa in 1993. “I said

to myself, ‘This is something I could do again and I love coaching so

much.’”

Mesa first-year track and field head coach Glenn Mitchell

contacted Busi two months ago about working with both boys and girls

distance runners. Busi said the decision was made easier because his

work allowed more time for coaching.

He works as a machinist for Parker Hannifin in Irvine, a leading

manufacturer in the aerospace, mobile, commercial and industrial

sectors. His department uses no computerized machines, meaning they

do everything with their hands.

A steady work ethic learned at Parker has influenced Busi’s

coaching style.

“I’m getting set to go through a class on lifelong leadership

called, ‘Coaching styles,’” Busi said. “It basically talks about how

you lead and how you want people to look at you as a leader. I want

the kids to know that I’m approachable and have their best interests

in mind.”

And Busi, 50, thinks this season’s track contingent at Mesa will

be solid.

“We have a lot of great kids out there,” Busi said. “It’s a great

opportunity for Glenn (Mitchell) and I to start over.”

Busi, a Costa Mesa resident since 1975, sprinted at Artesia High

in Lynwood and now looks forward to spending time with distance

runners.

“Ten years ago I would never have said I would be coaching

distance runners,” Busi said. “When I began coaching cross country, I

thought those people were nuts. But I’ve grown with the sport and am

constantly learning new things. You have to get into the mindset that

100 yards isn’t the end, there is still more to go. But coaching

distance runners has come fairly naturally.”

For Busi, coaching just seeped into his skin and he has never

really let go of it, even during the four-year respite before

returning this season. Parker was involved in a major retrofitting

project involving Boeing 737s that took up a majority of Busi’s time,

which is why he had to leave his post with the Mustangs.

“It’s like a nice pair of shoes, it feels pretty nice,” said Busi

about returning to coaching. “It’s all about leaving everything on

the line and nothing behind.”

Busi lives with wife Kyndra. Andrea resides in Huntington Beach,

and works for a real estate title company