2008 Assumption Cross Country........
A. General Team Philosophy: while you’ll find that a variety of themes run through this program, our central goal is in helping every one of our young ladies achieve both athletic and personal greatness on the highest possible level in an environment that’s both supportive and fun.
As a team, we stress responsible behavior, the need to consider our own desires in the context of what’s best for the team, and the importance of aspiring toward the attainment of high goals. We expect a high level of commitment and responsibility from our girls, and expect the girls to take their membership on this team very seriously. We believe ourselves to be an athletic team with the ultimate goal of national level success, but also a team that must promote our sport as both a healthy lifestyle choice and general metaphor for life.
B. Practice and other Team-related details
Practice Schedule before August 14 – we will be following the attached summer schedule. Prior to the start of school, we encourage the girls to attend practice as regularly as possible, but realize that family vacations and other commitments may make consistent summer attendance difficult. We do expect that when a girl cannot attend practice, she will inform us of her expected absence and make every effort to run on her own. For returning girls, entry in our early season races will depend significantly on their fitness level at the first day of practice on July 15, but at least in part by what kind of shape they’re in when school starts. Early season entries for our newer girls will depend primarily on their level of conditioning at the start of school.
Practice Schedule after
August 14 – beginning
August 14, the team will practice Mon-Thurs after school at
Joining the team – girls may join
our team at any point between our first day of practice on July 15 and Friday,
August 15. This includes girls who tried
out for other sports and were cut, girls who decide later on that they’d like
to run Cross Country, girls who were unable to attend Summer
practice due to other commitments, etc.
If a girl suddenly realizes that she cannot participate with the team,
however, we ask that she contact Coach Barry Haworth and have her name removed
from the roster, rather than just disappear.
Training Groups and Practice – after school begins, we ask each girl on the team to commit to regular attendance with one of our two training groups, Group A or Group B. Although a brief description is provided below, this is a topic that will be discussed in more detail at the Parent Meeting on August 15.
- Group B girls have a four day practice schedule (Mon-Thurs)
and are eligible to earn a JV certificate by season’s end if they have a
pattern of regular attendance.
Girls in Group B who do not attend regularly may be suspended from
the team or asked to quit.
- Group A girls practice up to
six days of practice per week (Mon-Thurs, Sat and Sun) and will be capable
of performing on a higher level than what would be possible with Group
B. Joining Group A also makes a
girl eligible for a greater variety of benefits including a possible
Varsity letter and possible attendance on one of our out-of-town
trips. Training as part of Group A
does not guarantee these benefits, but does make a girl eligible for
them. Girls in Group A who do not attend
regularly may be dropped to Group B.
C. Other important topics
Physicals: both
new and returning girls must have a current physical on file (good for one
calendar year) before practicing with the team.
The actual KHSAA form has both a physical form for your doctor to fill
out and permission form for parents to fill out. The form is available at the school and in
the handout section of our team website (crosscountry.ahsdistance.org).
Shoes: it’s a good idea to start each new season with a “fresh” pair of running shoes. I don’t feel comfortable recommending one specific store, but I do suggest you purchase your shoes at a store that caters specifically to runners – such as Fleet Feet or Swag’s.
Water: water
consumption is a critical concern for every girl on our team and we expect each
girl to not only bring her own water to practice, but to also be drinking at
least several bottles of water each day.
Running dehydrated will slow you down and, depending on the
situation, can lead to anything from cramps to passing out and being hauled off
to the hospital.
Diet and
Sleep: for the typical high school
athlete, a lack of sleep can mean the difference between success and
failure. Likewise, a healthy, balanced
diet is crucial in preparing the body to perform on a high level. Ingesting both carbohydrates and proteins
(e.g. chocolate milk) within 30 or so minutes of any hard activity can have a
positive impact on recovery.
Iron: one of the greatest potential problems and
potentially season-ending condition for a teenage female distance runner is iron
deficiency, a condition that occurs prior to anemia, and stems from eating a
poor diet and various types of blood loss (i.e. monthly period and the internal
bleeding that can afflict endurance athletes).
The best prevention is a good diet, but if a girl chooses to take an
iron supplement as well, we recommend doing so after the evening meal and
always with orange juice. The best test
for iron deficiency is the serum ferritin test.
D. Important
Upcoming Events (listed at
our team website, crosscountry.ahsdistance.org)
Joint Practice with Conner HS (arrive in
Parent/Alumni relay race (9:30am at Seneca Park, Saturday, August 2)
– we will hold a very low key 2 x 2k relay that is open to parents and alumni
and will involve all girls on the team.
While the girls are expected to run to the best of their ability, competing
parents and alums are free to choose their own pace. J If they prefer, runners may set up their 2
person relay teams in advance but we will form all the remaining teams that
morning. The race itself won’t begin
until closer to 10am, and we will hold a pot luck meal afterwards.
Parent Meeting (7:00pm in the
Assumption HS Theater on Friday, August 15) – parental attendance at the Parent
Meeting is a requirement for each girl to eventually receive a uniform, and
something we strongly encourage for our newer runners. If there are parents who cannot attend, then
they may have someone attend in their place (if there are parents who cannot
attend then please communicate your situation with Coach Barry Haworth in
advance).
Contact info: I’m
most easily reached by email (bmhaworth [at]