Weekly Schedule

Monday, September 29: Traveling to Couch. Pick up time 5:45 @ Couch or 6pm back at WAHS. Distance Day.

COACH KATIE: Ella Kate, Lily Z, Grace S, Hannah

ABBIE: Zoey, Hadley, Maddie

LAUREN: Sophia

COACH MARGARET: Anisten, Ghiana, (walk to PODS), Cole, Sarah (meet her at the WAHS upper lot)

SJ: Finleigh, Daisy

EMERSON: Ruby C. 

JULIET: Paige, Dorothy

LOUISE: Miriam, Noelle, Chelsea

Anja Le: Violet, Olivia, Alex

Maia RItter: ON STANDBY! 

Tuesday, September 30: 4:10-6pm @ WAHS. Tuesday Treat Day

Wednesday, October 1: Workout @ Henley. Pick up 6pm @ WAHS.

Thursday, October 2 4:10-6pm @ WAHS.

Friday, October 3: Girls going to Great American: we will leave right after 1st block. Meet down in the gym lobby as usual. Girls not going should get in 12 min warm-up, 8 strides, 12 min cool down.

Friday October 4: Great American XC Festival

I should know our race assignments by Tuesday of this week. On Monday I will send out final information that includes the final amount each girl owes, and how to pay.

All girls not racing on this day should get in a 5-7 mile run with 5 x 2 minutes hard in the middle. 

Attendace at all practices is mandatory. It is important to remember that XC is a team sport, not a club or an activity. Just like all other sports at WAHS, attendance to all practices is mandatory (whether you are just starting out or a veteran runner). This includes morning practices and Saturday practices. Acceptable reasons for missing practice include family travel/ activities,  illness, tutoring (please let me know ahead of time), field trips, work (please do not schedule to work on Monday, Wednesday, or Saturdays if at all possible), testing.  If you are going to miss for any of these reasons, you need to contact me ahead of time if possible. The following are not acceptable reasons for missing practice:

--Oversleeping: Set your alarm, have a back-up, and be there. 

--Deciding:  "I'll just do my run on my own": This is 100% not ok. We do more at practice than just run. You miss out on running with your teammates, pacing, and challenging both yourself and others. 

--Not having a ride: Please reach out and I will help you get to practice. I live in town so I can easily pick up girls that live between C'ville and out west. I will also be sending out a roster with addresses, so you can work out carpools.

--Going to out-of-season practices for another sport: XC should be your priority. Any other sport practice should be secondary. For instance, if you are practicing pole-vaulting after school (YAY pole-vaulting!), you should be getting in your full run before you go to pole-vaulting practice. You can start your run right after school, but you need to get it all in first. 

--Not wanting to go to morning practices: We will have mandatory morning practice pretty much every Friday, and Saturday will either be a meet or morning practice. This is not unique to XC: many other sports (field hockey, for instance) have morning practice as well. Why Friday mornings for XC?: because last year we did not have Friday morning practice and the majority of you did not run, and ended up not doing as well. We could do Friday afternoon practices, but most of you indicated you would rather have your Friday afternoons free. Why Saturday mornings for XC?: because we can meet at off-campus locations such as Ridge Road, Coyner's Spring Park, Piney River, etc. to run on softer surfaces and good grass trails. Also, most of you need to be running 6 days a week and it is unlikely that you will get in a good run / workout on your own on Saturdays, let's be honest!

I am flexible and accepting as a general rule as a coach, but lately we have had quite a few instances of girls just not showing up, not reaching out, and / or not having a good reason (or any reason) for missing practice. If you have 2 unexcused absences from practice, you will sit out the next meet, no matter who you are (top runner, newbie, freshman, senior, etc.). 

If this seems harsh, you are welcome to reach out to any other WAHS head coach and ask what their attendance policy is. I suspect you will find that I am much more lenient. Please do contact me, though, if you know you are going to miss for a valid reason and we will find a way to get your missed run/ workout in. Parents: please reach out if you have any questions / concerns.

NEW RULES FOR XC THIS YEAR: Part of being on a team is to learn the importance of punctuality and personal accountability. A team can't function well if it can't come together at a set time and have everyone ready to focus, listen, and put in the work. Here are a few new rules that every runner must abide by to remain on the team:

*No cell phones allowed for the duration of practice. This rule holds for the entire season, and means you may not check your phone during any portion of practice--not after the warm up, during your run, before weight room, etc. Once I release you after group stretching at the end of practice, you may access your phone. Last year we had a problem with girls being late to workouts or weight room because they stopped their warm-up or recovery day run to check their phones. Of course, if you have something you need to convey to your parents, just let me know and I'll let you reach out to them. 

*We start warm-ups promptly at 4:10: This start time gives you a full 20 minutes to get your stuff (even if you have to walk to your car), change, and use the bathroom. Last year after group stretching and before starting your warm up / recovery run, many of you went as a group to the bathroom, and then were late for either the workout or weight room. That needs to stop--you've got plenty of time to get that done before we meet. 

*100% silence during team briefing or any time a coach is speaking: We have a large, fun, and energetic team, which I love! However, it is often difficult for the coaches to get important information across to the team during our circle-up time and during stretching at the end of practice. To ensure everyone hears important information, this year when you hear the words "Circle Up!', that is an indication that you do 2 things: 1. Form a big circle (quickly). 2. Become silent and ready to listen. This may mean you need to not be right next to your friends for 5-10 minutes. You'll survive. The same "Circle Up!" will be used at the end of practice to form our stretching circle. 

These rules aren't meant to lessen the fun of XC, but rather make practice run more smoothly, make it so that we have less distractions, and ensure everyone can hear important information.  You'll still have plenty of time to goof off, I promise! I accept everyone on the XC team, and will only cut those girls that make maintaining a good team atmosphere challenging. So please, do your part to make the team run smoothly!