2025 Warrior XC Fall Season Information

Parent Meeting Handouts

Handout 1 and Handout 2

• The first day of official practice will be Monday, August 11th at 3:50 pm

• Our standard meeting place is the grassy area on the northwest corner of the school (next to the track and baseball field) 

• You MUST bring your own water bottle - no sharing of water is allowed

• We practice Monday through Friday from 3:50 pm to 5:30 pm with optional Saturday morning runs

Before your first practice, you MUST:

1. To access the registration platform, toggle the REGISTER tab on the Athletic Home Page (https://www.littletonpublicschools.net/o/arapahoe/page/athletics), or use the link in step one below. In order to participate in sports, including tryouts/practice, all athletes must complete this two step process:

2. ARAPAHOE REGISTRATION:  this registration can be found on the Athletic Registration Site.  Registration should be done no later than 2 school days prior to the first day of practice/tryouts. Within this system the athlete can register for multiple sports for the 2024-2025 school year in one registration form.

3.  CURRENT PHYSICAL FORM:  Make sure there is a current physical on file in the registration account.  Physicals must be uploaded directly into the registration platform.  Paper, faxed or email copies will not be accepted by the Athletic Office.  Physicals are valid for one year (365 days) from the date of the exam.

4. If questions arise during the registration process, please view the tutorial found at the bottom of the Athletic Registration Site Home Page.

5. PLEASE NOTE:  both steps must be completed before the student-athlete will be cleared to participate in practice or tryouts.

6. In September, you will be charged the district fee for sports (it was $175 last year)

7. We will also ask you to pay a $180 booster fee that is specific to the XC program - we use this money to pay for coaches, training gear/clothing for the runners, strength and recovery equipment, a tent at races, the end of season banquet, special events, etc...

8. Need a singlet? XC Racing Singlet ($25)  Use this link to pay for a singlet. Parents to put their runners name and singlet size in the PayPal notes / comments section 

Athletic Registration Fee vs Booster Fee: There are 2 different fees charged each sports season. 

1. The school/district collects the "Athletic Fee" (usually about $180) 

AND 

2. Each sport collects a "Booster Fee" which varies from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

• The School Fees (probably $180- billed in September):

  • Much of the money goes into a general athletics fund for all AHS sports and for the upkeep of AHS athletic facilities

  • Meet entry fees

  • Cost of meet officials

  • Pay for substitute teachers for coaches missing classes for meets

  • Transportation fees (if needed)

  • Subsidize the Warrior Invite (our meet)

• XC Booster Fees ($180) HERE is the link to pay:

  • Two full time coaches for the entire season - we pay for extra coaches for athlete safety.

  • Booster gifts for all athletes

    • Sweatshirt

    • Long sleeve shirt

  • Tent for meets

  • Strength and mobility equipment 

  • Banquet expenses including senior gifts, special recognition awards, coaches thank you items

  • Fun things/prizes during the season: popsicle runs, watermelon runs, the Amazing Race, Olympics, etc.

  • Team Feeds

  • Dinner for athletes who qualify for State Championships

  • And more...

• XC Racing Singlet ($25) Use this link to pay for a singlet. : Parents to put their runners name and singlet size in the PayPal notes / comments section 

Training Plan: Season Training Plan 

What is Cross Country?

Cross country (XC) races at the high school level are five kilometers (or 3.1 miles) in length. They are contested on varying terrain such as grass, asphalt, dirt, rocks and creeks. The sport traditionally takes place in the late summer, fall and early winter.  This means the temperature we train in and race in can be anywhere between 98F and 30F. There can be up to 40 teams at the meets we attend, meaning hundreds of athletes competing against each other. There are often multiple races at meets, from varsity to junior varsity to freshman/sophomore to open levels of racing. The racers all start from the same starting line, but each team has a specific section of the starting line that they start from. Every athlete, regardless of division, races the same course. They are scored and classified into different divisions (Boys Varsity, Girls Junior Varsity, Girls Open, etc.), but all athletes get to compete and race.

Scoring:

While cross country is contested at an individual level, where the ultimate goal is to do better than your best and beat your personal record (PR), cross country is one of the truest team sports at the high school level. In other sports, if an athlete has a bad day, the team can still win. In XC, if one of your teammates has a bad race, then the team's chances of winning are significantly decreased. Every athlete matters, no matter what their place in the race is. Because of this, we train as a team, and we race as a team. At the end of the race, the top five scores are added up for each team. Low score wins.  If there is a tie, the officials go to the sixth place runner for that team. A varsity team races with seven athletes, and any of these seven athletes can be the top five scorers for a team. Now, that does not mean the 6th and 7th paces runners are irrelevant; In fact, they are arguably as important as your top runner. Because those sixth and seventh team runners can beat other teams top five runners, knocking them down the standings, and making them score more overall points.  In essence, every athlete is equally important in a cross country race.

Equipment:

Cross country running equipment is rather minimal. The most important thing is the right pair of training shoes (trainers). Be wary of buying shoes at department stores, as they are usually have weaker materials and will wear out sooner. The best bet is to go to Runners Roost, Boulder Running Company, or Road Runner Sports and have a gait analysis completed in the store.  Then they can put you in a training shoe that best fits your needs. Expect to spend $100-$140 on a pair of good training shoes. Make sure to mention to the person helping you that you are on the Arapahoe XC team, they will give you a discount! Besides this, a comfortable pair of running shorts, a non-cotton T-shirt and a water bottle are really all that you need. When the weather gets colder, sweatshirts, tights and hats/gloves come in handy.

On race day, athletes will compete in their school uniform (shorts and a tank top) and either their trainers, or a pair of racing flats. Racing flats are thinner lighter racing shoes that are only used for races. They are not mandatory, but they can help with racing.

*thanks to Coach Ethan Dusto for this write-up!