2009 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 aspirations 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. Participating on the Cross Country team

Practice Schedule before school begins on Thursday, August 13 – the team will follow the attached summer schedule. During the summer, we encourage the girls to attend practice as often and regularly as possible, but realize family vacations and other commitments may make regular summer attendance difficult. We do expect the girls to inform us about their respective situations and, if and when they miss – that they will run on their own.

Early season race entries for our returning girls will depend significantly on their fitness level on July 15, and at least in part on their summer attendance and fitness level by mid-August. Early season race entries for newer girls will depend primarily on their fitness level in mid-August.

Practice Schedule after school begins – beginning August 13, we practice Mon-Thurs after school at Seneca Park. We meet in the gym after school, arrange rides, and then car pool to Seneca. Available parents are always welcome to help with this process when able. Elite and Group A girls will continue meeting on weekends (a schedule is provided each week).

Joining the team – it is possible to join our team any time between July 15 and the day of our Parent Meeting on Friday, August 14. All that’s required is simply showing up and getting your name on the roster. If, after joining the team, a girl changes her mind about running Cross Country, then we do ask that she contact us about having her name removed from the roster.

Training Groups and Practice – once school begins, we ask each girl on the team to commit to regular attendance as part of one of our four training groups (our Elite group, Group A, Group B or Group C). This will be discussed in more detail at the Parent Meeting on August 14.

• Group B and Group C require the girls to make what we consider to be a JV-level commitment to the team. These girls practice during the week (Mon-Thurs) and they have a lower level commitment in terms of time and racing. Girls in these groups are not eligible to attend out-of-town trips, but are eligible to earn a JV certificate
• Group A and our Elite group ask girls to make a Varsity level commitment, which involves practicing up to six days a week (Mon-Thurs, Sat and Sun). This higher level commitment is rewarded with opportunities to earn a greater variety of benefits that are not available to girls in Groups B and C. E.g., girls in these groups are at least eligible to earn a Varsity letter and are eligible to attend one of our out-of-town trips (note that being in these latter groups only makes one eligible, as these benefits must still be earned).

C. Other important topics

Physicals: every girl on the team must have a new physical on file before practicing with the team. Note that physical forms cover only one calendar year and include both a section for your doctor to fill out and an insurance section for parents to fill out. These form are available at the school and in the Athletics section of the school’s website (www.ahsrockets.org).

Shoes: we strongly recommend starting each new season with a “fresh” pair of running shoes. Although we won’t recommend one specific store, we do recommend that the girls purchase their running shoes at a store that caters specifically to runners (e.g. Fleet Feet, Swag’s, etc.).

Water: proper hydration is one of our greatest concerns for every girl on the team. We expect every girl on the team to bring water to each practice and drink at least several bottles of water each day on her own. Dehydration will slow you down and, depending on the situation, can result in anything from cramps to passing out and being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Diet and Sleep: for the typical athlete, adequate sleep is a crucial determinant of success. Likewise, a healthy, balanced diet is crucial in preparing the body to perform on a high level. Taking in high glycemic index carbohydrates along with at least some proteins within 30 minutes to 2 hours of any hard exercise can have a significantly positive impact on recovery.

Iron: a potentially season-ending condition for teenage female distance runners is iron deficiency. The best prevention is a balanced diet that includes regular amounts of red meat. For those girls who take an iron supplement, 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 (Saturday, July 25, at EP Tom Sawyer – starts at 10:00am): we will be meeting with the Conner High School for a joint practice and potluck again this year. Although there will be a handout with additional details, the basic plan is to meet at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park at 9:30am to set up, with practice beginning at 10am.

Holiday World “Practice” (Friday, July 31): we’ll provide more details in a forthcoming handout, but the girls will have an opportunity to go to Holiday World as a team.

Parent/Alumni relay race (Saturday, August 1, at Seneca Park – starts at 9:30am): this is a fun, very low key 2 x 2k relay for the girls on the team, and all interested parents and alums. The relay teams can be arranged in advance or we can match people up on the morning of the race. The actual race begins about 10am, and is followed by food and great conversation.

Parent Meeting (7:00pm in the Assumption HS Theater on Friday, August 14): the team has an annual mandatory meeting for parents (also strongly encouraged for all new girls). We’ll be returning/filling out paperwork that evening which allows the girls to eventually receive a uniform. If there are parents who cannot attend, then we ask that they have someone attend in their place (and please communicate your situation with Coach Barry Haworth in advance).

Communication: Coach Barry Haworth is most easily contacted by phone (home: 8970326, cell: 8026564) or email (bmhaworth [at] louisville [dot] e d u

or bmhaworth [at] gmail [dot] c o m). It is also possible to get information and/or communicate with Coach Haworth through our team website (crosscountry.ahsdistance.org).

Practice and Bad Weather

Our general rule is that practice is never cancelled unless conditions are clearly unsafe – as determined by the school or coaching staff – and we are unable to delay or adapt practice. We do not cancel practice due to rain and will always attempt to wait out most other potential problems. Our practice routine on potentially bad weather days works as follows:

• The Cross Country coaches will consider the current weather and expected conditions and then determine whether it is safe to proceed with practice. Prior to the start of school, any advance announcements regarding weather-related changes in practice will be made via email (if possible) and at the team website. Once school begins, weather-related changes will be announced at the school in addition to email and team website.
• If any of our parents believe that weather conditions are (or will be) inappropriate for their daughter, then we allow those parents to withhold their daughter from practice. Our one requirement is that parents directly communicate these concerns with a coach.

Practice Guidelines

Our team has a few simple practice guidelines that everyone must follow. These guidelines are intended to maintain order on the team and ensure the safety of each athlete.

· Prior to practice, all runners should “check in” by placing a check mark by their name on the roster.

· A practice/workout sheet will be brought to every practice, informing each runner as to what they are doing on that particular practice day. Although not required, we strongly encourage all runners to check the practice/workout sheet before practice begins.

· Once indicated by a coach, the entire team will warm up together as a group.

· Each runner should always run the route and/or do the workout given to her by a coach.

· Each runner must always run in such a way as to ensure her own safety and the safety of those running with her. That is, each runner should follow all traffic laws, stay off the road whenever possible, not jaywalk, etc.

o On distance runs or when running in an area where you cannot be observed by a coach, you always run with another person whenever possible and not alone.

o Never stop at or enter someone’s home, any business establishment, etc., or go anywhere without permission from a coach.

o Please report any unsafe, or potentially unsafe situations to a coach.

· If an accident occurs and it is appropriate to call EMS, police, and/or any other authority, then the coaches will do so at their earliest possible opportunity. In emergency situations, we will contact parents (or an individual designated by the parents if the parents are unavailable) immediately after we contact the appropriate authorities.

· After practice, all runners should “check out” by placing a line through their original check mark on the roster (making an “x”).