- TEAM EXPECTATIONS -

Above all, the number one rule for everyone to know is that WE ARE A TEAM. We represent our school and team with pride and respect at all times. It is a privilege to compete and learn.

CHSAA Mission Statement - at the center of Colorado Athletics and how we function at Golden High School

• Our Mission • • • "Seeking Excellence in Academics, Activities, and Athletics"

In pursuit of excellence, the Colorado High School Activities Association strives to create a positive and equitable environment in which all qualified student participants are challenged and inspired to meet their highest potential.

To fulfill this mission the Colorado High School Activities Association will:

• Act as an integral component of the educational process.

• Administrate, interpret, and seek compliance with the CHSAA By-laws as needed to promote fair play within Colorado activities and athletics.

• Provide diverse and equitable opportunities for participation that encourages all qualified students to take part in the activity/athletic experience.

• Provide an environment that enhances personal development through sporting behavior, character education, teamwork, leadership, and citizenship while increasing values that partner the educational standards of the State of Colorado.

• Recognize the outstanding accomplishments of Colorado athletes, teams, coaches, and administrators through our academic and activity awards programs.

• Our Core Values • • •

• Participation is a Privilege

• Athletics and Activities Programs are Education-based

• Participation in Athletics and Activities Teach Life Skills

• Appropriate Perspective is Taught Through Participation

• Fun is Primary Reason for a Student’s Participation

• Participation Supports the Academic Mission of the school

• Participation Supports the Development of Positive Character 

CHSAA Participation

1700. PARTICIPATION IS A PRIVILEGE Participation in interscholastic activities as a part of a school's educational program is a privilege and not a right. Students wishing to participate are required to meet standards of personal behavior and academic performance which are related to school purposes. In this regard, the CHSAA and its member schools may exercise the fullest discretion permitted under law.

CHSAA

2310.1 Practice is defined as the period of time during which formal practice is authorized by CHSAA Bylaws and during which an assigned coach is instructing one or more of his/her team members. 

Practices (3:45-5:30) 

• We have 3 basic rules beyond representing our team with pride. They focus on representing self with pride: Attendance, attitude, and accountability.

  • Attendance at practices is not optional, no matter what level of competitor you are. Consistency in practice/workouts and timeliness are critical for team success.

  • Practices are critical to both skill and team development. Plan to have family gatherings after practice hours. 

  • Missing the day before a meet, or critical workouts during the week, may result in athletes not racing that week as team dynamics are so important for success.

  • Attendance will be taken daily. Tardies will be tracked as part of this. 

    • Athletes are expected to send Coach Jen (Remind 101). Include why you will be missing practice.

    • Absences - Athletes will be granted 3 absences from practice, then all competition opportunities will be at the discretion of the coaching staff. (See dual sport athlete info. below if applicable)

      • 3 = every athlete will have 3 (excused or unexcused) without consequence

      • 4 or more = athletes will arrange time to talk with Coach Jen and their specialty coach (if applicable). A plan will be developed for how to resolve the need and get the athlete back to practice. Until this happens, the athlete will not be eligible for competition. 

      • Consistent Tardiness will also result in a lack of competition opportunities. 

  • Attitude

    • All athletes shall attend all practices and have a good attitude each week to be eligible for competition.

    • Athletes will contribute to the overall positive culture of the program. (Yes, we all have off/bad days.)

    • Attitude is key. We expect athletes to be:

      • on time and stay until practice is done.

      • respectful of all members of the GHS Track & Field community.

      • appropriate representatives of GHS.

      • role models for teammates.

      • ready to give 100% at practice. 

      • abstaining from the use of profanities.

      • positive during practice/competition - everyone has rough days, we know that these take a toll, however, we will talk positively during workouts and meets. 

  • Accountability

    • Athletes recognize that high school track and field is a TEAM sport, and their actions impact everyone on the team. 

    • All athletes shall complete workouts assigned (with appropriate accommodations for health).

    • As student athletes, academics require focus and attention when not practicing or competing.

      • After school (until practice) we will ensure there is a room you can access for a study hall. GHS has a zero F policy.

      • As practice doesn’t start for 45 minutes after school is out, you have time to arrange for additional support or make up work with teachers. Missing practice due to homework will count in your allotted absences. 

      • As dates for meets are known in advance, please plan for school work accordingly. Homework will not be a viable excuse for leaving meets early. 

      • Any athlete who is academically ineligible for more than a week will meet with the coaches to develop a plan. 

    • Dual sport athletes are defined as those competing with a sports team outside of our sport. 

      • Jeffco Policy: Dual Participation - A student may participate on two CHSAA sports teams during the same season provided the parents, coaches and school athletic director approve. (We extend this to include clubs.)

      • Dual activity/sport athletes will be required to communicate with Coach weekly about their schedule.

        •   Violations of the agreed upon time with the team will leave competition at the discretion of the coaches. (Not showing up to practices, not turning in competition calendar.)

      • Dual sport athletes need to understand that athletes who are with the team regularly may take priority in competition due to cohesiveness of teammates. 

      • Participating with another running team is not a dual sport, and will not be an acceptable reason to miss practice or competitions with the team. 

    • Activities which are in “off season” will be expected to come second to Track and Field. 

    • Athletes will need to work with their coaches to ensure that time can be prioritized in a manner which works to achieve the desired goals. (ex, if the goal is Varsity level competition, are you at practice for the most important workouts of the week?)

    • Dual sport athletes who are competing at the Varsity level will be available during the League Championship meet. 

 Dress/Attire

• Athletes will always be in Golden apparel at competitions. We are representing Golden High School, not any other entity, just like any other sports program at the school. Any athlete who is not in Golden apparel will forfeit competition. 

• Remember appropriate attire for all workouts. 

  • Weather changes happen rapidly. Be sure your bag has a variety of clothing options for all possibilities. Lack of appropriate clothing will result in being asked to leave practice/meets as your health is important to us.

  • Shirts will always be on while on campus, as well as during meets. 

  • Clothing will cover appropriately, mimicking competition day expectations. Violations will lead to a one-to-one conversation the first time, and dismissal from practice on subsequent violations. (ex. Athletes will have spandex/compression shorts under floppy shorts, or will wear lined shorts. No bellies or sides will be showing.)

Meets

• Earning competition spots at meets will come from a combination of best times + attitude + practice attendance. (please see attendance)

  • Members will arrive to the bus, or meet venue (when no bus), at appointed time.

  • All athletes will stay until the team is done and ready to leave. 

• We will represent GHS in the most positive light always. Our athletes will: 

  • wear GHS attire and speak of the program positively.

  • keep our team area clean and leave no trace when the meet is complete. 

  • model sportsmanship with the competition around us as they make us better.

  • participate in team preparations/huddles, stretching, cool downs, and debriefs. 

  • support teammates around the stadium when they are not competing. 

• Athletes will come prepared and ready to be successful for the entire meet. This includes:

  • packing appropriate snacks/meals to fuel for strong competition.

  • bringing enough water for the duration of the meet. We rarely have access to water at the meet venues. 

  • having layers, blankets, sunscreen, etc for healthy maintenance.

  • during sunny meets - staying in the shade when possible, and wearing light layers to limit energy used to cool the body. Energy conserved can be spent in events. We are here to perform at our best possible level for our team. 

  • during overcast/cooler meets - appropriate layers will be on until competition time. We can't afford to lose athletes to heat fatigue or injury to cold muscles. Again, we are here to perform at our best possible level for our team.

• As with missing practices, 

Lettering

Athletes who meet the following Varsity criteria will be considered for a letter:

• Demonstrating leadership by modeling our team expectations each day

• Consistently helping the team reach agreed upon goals

• Competing primarily with the Varsity squad at meets 

• Qualifying for State

• *MEETING ANY ONE OF THESE CRITERIA WILL NOT GUARANTEE A LETTER. 

Eligibility 

CHSAA

1720.1 Participating school districts and schools shall have the right to impose stricter standards for eligibility than those set forth herein. The General Eligibility Requirements are not intended to restrict any school from setting local academic requirements or otherwise exercising control over its curriculum, grading practices and policies regarding the granting of class credit. 

• Any student with an F is ineligible to compete. We would expect that these athletes are practicing when they are back on track with grades. 

  • Any athlete with one F may regain eligibility for the following week if they have documentation from their teacher about a grade change. 

  • Any athlete with 2 or more Fs is ineligible for the week. 

  • Any student in the program with any D or F grades will be expected to be in study hall daily before practice. This is true for every athletic program at GHS. Attendance will be taken daily. Students who are absent from study hall without communicating, and receiving permission, will not be allowed to practice. 

CHSAA - outside competition

2100.2 Players certified to participate as members of any high school sport team may compete on any other team, in any non-school activity or event in that sport during that sports season with the express written permission of the principal. Permission shall be granted if: (a) the student’s class attendance is not compromised; and (b) the student is in good academic standing under the school’s activities policy applicable to all students. 

Q2: May high school team rules be used to determine the high school eligibility of the students who participate on outside teams? 

A2: Yes. Section (b) would include high school team rules and other school policies which are applied and adhered to by all students. 

Misconduct Information

• Drugs, alcohol, and tobacco (Violations are accumulated for the entirety of high school)

  • On a first violation, athletes will be subjected to the CHSAA penalty + 1 meet + 10 hours of service to the Golden HS community + education course connected to the conduct. Athletes will meet with the coach(es) prior to rejoining workouts with the team.

  • In the case of a second violation, athletes will be done for the season. 

  • In the case of a third violation, athletes will be done competing with us for their duration at GHS. 

• Behavior and language

  • Athletes will uphold a safe and welcoming environment. This includes, but is not limited to, appropriate verbal and body language. Athletes who violate this will need to have a meeting with the coaching staff (expertise coach and head coach) to address how the behavior will be addressed and changed. It will be up to the discretion of the coaching staff the penalty which will be incurred. 

  • A second violation will include parents in the conversation. It will be up to the discretion of the coaching staff the penalty which will be incurred. 

  • A third violation will result in a dismissal from the program for the remainder of the season. 

Parent Information

• Athletes need appropriate footwear for training and racing. We recommend Runners Roost or Runners High so they can do a treadmill stride/gait assessment, then match runners to the right training shoes. Make sure you tell them you are with Golden HS as both will offer athletes a discount. As runners get stronger they will likely also benefit from a pair of race flats. Flats are recommended over spikes as many of our courses have some concrete. 

• Throughout the season, we need support from our families to provide a couple of team dinners and to help Coach Jen organize the banquet. Dinners are potluck style and often held at a home, but could also be here at school with food brought in. 

• We do ongoing fundraising through King Soopers cards. Simply register your Rewards number for groceries/gas, select our program, and our program receives 5% spent on purchases. This is critical as we pay for every single race and bus trip during the season. We also generally have some regional and state expenses to cover. 

• Race day is a big day, filled with many emotions. Please know that some stress is normal in athletes. We need some space before races begin to run through race day routines. We also need time to check in after races. Please respect the space, and know we won't keep them from you for the whole meet, but small chunks of time throughout. We like to have a rotation of parents to provide chocolate milk and snacks for after races. 

Basic Information About Track & Field

• Practices are every school day and will be held on Saturdays there are not meets. Most practices run from 3:50-5:15 or 5:30. 

• All athletes compete at meets through League. 

• Many meets require athletes to be dismissed from school early. Teachers will be aware of this, but it is up to the student to arrange to make up missed work. This should be done during their off block, during office hours, or during the half hour before practice.

• Weekend races often require parent transportation. 

CHSAA and Important Parent Information

• CHSAA Cross Country Bulletin. The coaching staff expects athletes to become scholars of their sport. Here you will find important information about practices, meets, and rules for all events.

• 2018 Sports Medicine Advisory Committee Handbook

• Parent guide to concussions

• CHSAA Concussion policy

• Preparing for sports in the college setting

• State Meet schedule

• Competitor information

• Mandatory reporting for suspected abuse and neglect

We are looking forward to a great season!!