Take it from the Currituck cross country team, when Mike Mitchell achieves his dream of being a U.S. Marine Corps officer, he’ll bring outstanding leadership qualities to the job.

Mitchell, a senior at Elizabeth City State who plans to attend Officer Candidate School after graduating next year, started serving as a volunteer coach with the Knights this month and quickly established himself as an inspirational leader.

“He just motivates us to keep pushing and doing better,” said Zac Vasko, a junior at Currituck. “He wants everyone to succeed and do good. He motivates by example. He runs with us almost every day, even though he has already finished his own workouts.”

“Mike is a big motivator and a great role model,” said Knights coach Lori Davis, who didn’t hesitate to accept Mitchell’s offer to volunteer.

“The very first time he ran with the team I was impressed with his character. He didn’t just go to the front with our best runner, he bounced around and ran with all of the kids, even the girls. He made positive comments to everyone, even though he didn’t even know their names.

“Positive teamwork is such an important part of our team and he was just a natural fit.”

Mitchell, who grew up in a Navy family and graduated from Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, Va., before moving to Moyock, sees his work as payback to a sport he loves.

“I’ve been running since ninth grade, and I’ve always been an avid runner,” he said. “It’s my way of giving back to the community. I also enjoy coaching, I’m hoping the kids can learn something from me and my experiences.”

Mitchell has experienced plenty.

An Exercise Science major at ECSU, the 22-year-old Mitchell has been a personal trainer, triathlete and aquathlete and usually runs about two dozen races a year, from 5K to full marathon.

He is also a sponsored athlete in the Brooks Shoe Inspire Daily program. According to the shoe company’s website, members “are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same. They are coaches, mentors, and leaders.”

It all adds up to Mitchell being an impressive resource for the Currituck team.

“I’m pretty sure I have more racing experience than the kids,” Mitchell said. “I help them with their workouts, lead by example, train with them and try to give them tips. The kids are real easy to work with. They listen. Lori’s been great. She allows a lot of give and take on how we set the programs.”

Davis said Mitchell brings energy and creativity to the workouts.

“It’s good to have some different ideas and it’s cool to have another runner who can run with the kids besides me,” she said.

“What he’s doing is helping us,” Vasko said. “He’s shown us several different workouts to build our leg muscles and our upper bodies.”

“I think I bring diversity to the workouts,” Mitchell said. “Before it was pretty strict and standard cross country stuff. I’m trying to bring more cross training in to make them more fit all around, to help them achieve their full athletic capability.”

Mitchell also benefits from the Currituck workouts. He is in training for next week’s World Aquathlon Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and a half Ironman triathlon in Syracuse at the end of the month. He qualified for the aquathlon, a sprint event which consists of a 2.5K run, a 1K swim and another 2.5K run, through USA Triathlon. He will be a member of the U.S. team in the age-group competition.

While Mitchell is looking forward to the run-and-swim race, he’s really excited about competing in Syracuse.

Not only will it be his first half Ironman (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run), he’ll be racing against his father, also named Mike Mitchell.

The elder Mitchell is a lieutenant commander stationed at Camp Lejeune and has been running for decades.

Father and son have an on-going rivalry.

“The only reason I got started in most of this is my dad,” the younger Mitchell said. “We’re a really competitive family. Last year he won seven out of the eight races we ran together. But this is my year of redemption. I’m 12-2 against him. The difference is now I’m actually training, following a program, and not just running for fun.

“If I beat him, that would be better than winning the race.”

Growing up in a military household has clearly influenced Mitchell’s plan to become a Marine officer. He thought about following his dad into the Navy, but not very much.

Mitchell is focused on being one of the few, the proud.

“If you look at the standards in the military, the Marines are held to the highest,” he said. “That’s what I want.”