Parents Guide

BECOMING A CROSS COUNTRY EXPERT: FOR PARENTS 

This section is especially dedicated to those of you who are new and don’t want to go home after a meet and wonder if we won or not.

 What to Bring? 

Meet Schedule, lawn chairs, binoculars, water, video or still camera, stopwatch. 

Parent Expectations: 

Do not: 

• Coach your athlete at meets. 

• Complain about early mornings, or other procedures (especially on our athlete group chat). 

• Gather at the starting line with the team at meets. 

• Panic when the athlete throws up on your shoes, has muscle soreness, etc. 

• Expect your athlete to have a good race, every race.

• Get in the way of the runners on the course at meets. 

Do:

• Support the entire team as well as all runners at a meet enthusiastically (not just our runners) 

• Encourage your athlete to be a part of team activities. 

• Understand that not everyone has a great race every week.

• Expect your child to be tired some mornings, and understand that they are still expected to attend practice. 

• Allow your child to fail. 

• Be willing to help when needed and be willing to simply watch and cheer when not needed. 

• Feel comfortable enough to ask Coach Burton about anything. We were all new to the sport at one point. 

• Make sure your child is on time. 

• Model a positive attitude by not complaining about early practice times, long meets, team procedures, etc. 

• Have a great time watching an exceptional group of hard-working kids compete in the great sport of Cross Country. 

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND… 

After a race, a runner will possibly be more physically spent than you would anticipate. They may exhibit rubbery knees, general weakness, the appearance of fainting, glassy eyes, nausea, and salivating (what a fun sport, huh?). This usually passes quickly. There are trainers at each meet to treat any more serious problems. Many of these can be avoided with proper hydration.