"The mastery of the true self, and the refusal to permit others to dominate us, is the

ultimate in living and self-expression in athletics." Percy Cerutty

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A commitment to individual excellence is the foundation to building championship teams

and individuals. Beyond athletics "excellence in all things" is a building block to success in

life. Those willing to make the decision to be great in all things reap rewards of selfless

sacrifice. In 2004, New York's Fayetteville-Manlius High School cross country program

began a legacy of excellence. In the first-ever Nike Team Nationals FM finished 2nd, a

precursor of things to come the Bill Aris march to national championships had begun. The

titles are  a reflection of individual life choices by F-M athletes to be excellent in all things.

Bill Aris doesn't coach to win championships, he coaches to build champion human beings.

The secret for F-M? STOTANISM.

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"Our stotan way consists of a comprehensive way to live life, to cultivate and maximize ones

personal strengths and virtues, as well as to reinforce ones limitations and areas for

improvement. Running is merely a microcosm or test case of how to practice becoming their

best in order to apply those lessons to the far more important matter of living the rest of

their lives to the best of their abilities and the desire to do so." ~Bill Aris

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In the 1950's Australian Percy Cerutty developed a Stotan Philosophy to life. This method

of living demanded dedication, commitment to excellence, and rigorous way of life. Known

for thinking outside the box Cerutty focused on diet, out of the box training methods through

mind, body, and spirit. These principles transcended into running. Most commonly known for coaching 17-year old Herb Elliot to multiple world records and the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal, Cerutty's way allowed athletes to pursue life to its fullest in a healthy and robust way (mind, body, and spirit) in order for one to maximize ones potential. The F-M training is a modified form of Stotan.

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"Our stotan way is a simple, clean, and pure approach to living. Rather than being captivated and controlled by many of the creature comforts and excesses of present, I preach a more holistic, refreshing, and simpler way for our team members to pursue their lives, both in and out of running. This may sound elementary, but it is the essence of our approach, that being simplicity and clear vision. The kids in our program are normal adolescents, many of whom ascribe to the stotan way because they like it and it works for them. Plenty of healthy nutritional options, plenty of sleep, sound and balanced physical training geared to the adolescent level are a few of the physical ingredients which comprise their daily lives as athletes. More importantly, however, is what goes on within their minds and souls daily in their approach to daily life (running and non-running)." ~Bill Aris

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"Detractors have seen this approach as too extreme or controlling as compared to the norm these days, but what is really being promoted here other than a return to 'plain old' clean living and work for a worthwhile cause? There was a time when these pursuits were the norm and a means to survival in some cases. it would appear that what was once normal and appropriate in some peoples eyes has now become extreme. That says a great deal about some of the value systems of the present day. Indeed, I am offering an option to todays so called norm. To be sure, it is an option to every kid I coach but not an absolute requirement. However, it usually comes to pass that the kids and their families have found such worth in this approach that more often than not, they ascribe to it and enjoy the enrichment derived from the process. Our stotan way, while threatening to some on the outside of our program, is nothing more than a healthy pursuit of life in a robust way." ~Bill Aris

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The results are astounding. On the athletic field the "Stotans" as they are called at Nike Cross Nationals have won five straight girls national championships. It can be argued that the 2008, 2009, 2010, AND 2011 national championship teams are among the best programs in US history. What can not be argued is that FM got better each year. Something Bill Aris is doing is working because the gap between Manlius and the rest of the nation is growing. The athletes are getting exponentially faster, stronger and more dominant. Look no further than the 2009, 2010 and 2011 New York State Championships where Manlius scored a perfect 15-points against the eventual US#2 team. That is significant, three years in a row perfect scoring the eventual US#2 is a legendary feat itself. The Stotan way is a winning way.

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"I cant compare what we do in relation to other program approaches as a means to differentiate us from others because I do not know what other programs do, but I can refer to a few basis tenets which have seemed to work for us. First, we speak of selflessness' as a means to team success. When our kids train and or race, they do so for' each other rather than competing against each other. When one releases themselves from the limiting constraints of individual achievement alone, new worlds open up in terms of group AND individual potential and its fulfillment. As with the ancient spartans, ours is a group dynamic interdependent upon each other. Each is capable of standing on their own, but when working together so much more is accomplished both for the group and individual. The whole is greater than the sums of its parts basically, nothing new here.  Next, I would suggest the notion of contribution' rather than participation. By this I mean that each kid on our team has an opportunity to contribute to the overall good rather than to merely participate' in the process. In this way, regardless of whatever level on the team a kid may be in terms of ability or competitive success, each strives to see themselves as giving something worthwhile of themselves to improve our process, rather than to merely participate' or take from the program. Simply put, giving vs. taking. All of this is program wide, inclusive of both the boys and girls I coach. You may recall that all of this started with our boys in 2004." ~Bill Aris

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"The pursuit of excellence resonates throughout our program daily, not just in terms of running excellence but in all aspects of life. All of this is interconnected and the pursuit of excellence in one aspect of life (ie running) has an impact on the approach to all other aspects of each kids daily life. The virtues which are required to succeed or excel at anything meaningful are very much the same: discipline, dedication, love of what one is doing (or at least seeking the worth in every opportunity), accountability, honesty, responsibility, truth (or being truthful to oneself and ones teammates), faith. These virtues are certainly applicable to achieving success in all endeavors of a student athletes daily life and are therefore interconnected. The conscious pursuit of excellence is a comprehensive approach to life as whole. While we rarely achieve excellence in all aspects of our lives, it is the pursuit of it in every way that helps us to fulfill our innate potential to whatever level the Creator has bestowed that potential within us. Pursuing excellence is a way of life, not an individual act or isolated incident. while we may not succeed in all that we do, the process of pursuing it is the essence." ~Bill Aris

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Beyond Fayetteville Manlius Cross Country Stotanism is offered to national athletes. Bill Aris and his son John Aris currently run Stotan Racing. A post collegiate running program, its purpose is to develop the capable post-collegiate runner whose aim is to maximize potential to its fullest. Stotan Racing was founded upon strength and toughness, clean and healthy living, and dedication to team, self, and excellence.  While its origin is found in the raw cross-country conditions of Central New York, the purpose of this group is to develop talent and create team and individual excellence in distance and middle-distance running on the track, road, and cross-country course.

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"Having embarked upon the Stotan Way of Life, like the Spartans, one must go through with it to the end. There is no giving up throughout life. The first per-requisite for a Stotan is tenacity. The next is to understand that his loyalties are towards making the most of the material that is his, to the expansion, or at least the manifestation of the Life Force, and a constant identification of himself with his Life Force through his Way of Life. To live this Way of Life is hard. It is not for weaklings. It is the Way that is traveled by all the truly great ones. It requires strenuous effort of body and mind." ~Percy Cerutty Biography