RHSXC Men: 2018 Required Info & Instruction

Cross Country Athletes:

Welcome to the 2018 Men’s XC Team. Sorry for the delay on this email. If you know of athletes who say they are not receiving this, please forward it to them and have them email me so I can add them to our list.

Sorry for the length—PLEASE READ EVERYTHING

Let’s start with some basics:

Practice is Mandatory. Unless I say otherwise, plan on practices from 3:00-5:00 pm Monday through Friday (some Saturdays when specified) when school begins. This week is at 3 PM Tues.-Thurs. and Friday at 8:00 AM.

**** Make sure to be prepared for all types of weather daily. We try to be outside whenever possible. All athletes should have shorts, tee shirt, socks, and proper running shoes (see website Team Forms page for any information on gear) as the basics. All athletes should also have sweat pants and sweatshirt (or their equivalent—wind pants/top) to warm up in each day and to wear outside if the weather is chilly. You should be bringing a hat as well as gloves everyday also as it is cold for the last half our season.

*****We do not have tryouts for XC. If you come willing to work hard, focus on improvement, and actively try to make our team better, you will be able to participate in all activities. We only cut athletes who cause problems for the team and do not support our goals. This is rare, as I have cut one athletes in 12 years. Additionally, we are a team of all grade levels. So try not to be frustrated if you are not a varsity athlete immediately and do not perform at the level that some of the older, more seasoned athletes do.

*******Pay-to-play will be due before our second official meet, Sept. 8. Athletics would like it complete in 10 days from the day they are released. It is $120 per athlete, per sport up to $350 for a family maximum. Family maximum can be met with HS and MS students combined.

I will send out another email when you can start paying on Skyward. Please do not bring in checks to me or the office. Pay through Skyward. If you are having financial hardships and cannot afford the $120 fee, see Mrs. Swayze in the Athletics office and get a waiver to fill out. Do not wait on this. This must be turned in AND approved before the deadline so that you can compete.

********We will compete during the week and on some Saturdays Jamborees will be against our conference opponents twice during weekdays and will be more than likely only one race per gender (this can change). Weekend invitationals will typically have more than one race per gender. We will have 7 athletes in the varsity race and all others in JV races (on a few occasions, there will be a freshman race also). You can find our schedule at the Rockford Athletics page but a better spot is at the following two sites. Please bookmark them: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=12686

and http://rockfordxc.wixsite.com/rockfordcrosscountry

The first is also where you can find your results posted after a meet that we have (they are usually up within 3 hours after the meet concludes). The second is our team site and has a Google calendar that you can manipulate for day, week, and month views. For the tech savvy, you can also incorporate that calendar into your smart phone (instructions to do so can be found on the Tips and Tricks page of our site).

*Please play around with our team site as it has a ton of information on it. It is also where we will make many announcements. It has school records, varsity letter standards, facts, etc. It has info on daily routines, meet routine, nutrition, hydrations, Varsity letter standards, school records, etc.

***One very important item to consider getting right away is new, proper running shoes—head to The Runnery (local and close by) or Gazelle Sports if you want the right service. Shoes should not have more than around 450 miles on them (this varies by shoes but is a decent rule of thumb) from actual running or simply walking around. If you have no tread left, you are probably due for new shoes. Worn out shoes is the surest sign you will be developing shin splints or muscle aches in your legs on a daily basis. It is the first thing I ask a kid when he complains of shin problems and muscles aches.

****Freshmen and any other new runners: We will be ordering warm-ups for anyone who wants them in the next week. If you would like to get one with your name to keep, please purchase one through the clothing order site—see below. You are not required to get one. We will provide you with a team issued one if you do not purchase your own (I have a limited number as most purchase one). Those will be returned at the end of the season. If you are new, please consider buying the warm-up (can be used all 4 years) before other clothing items. These are the most important items you can get aside from shoes.

*****We are once again collaborating with Project Print downtown Rockford to get some Rockford XC gear to all of you. If you would like to look the part, consider ordering some gear. We want to see as much RHS XC gear on as many athletes, parents, and fans as possible. Pass this site and instructions out to anyone who may want something (make sure if it is a relative ordering that they list your name in the notes so I can hand it out to you at school—we will not be shipping them. Also note the athlete if you do not have the same last name.). If there is a type of item that you would like to see us add, let me know and I can see if we can get something put on (or at least for next time). Clothing orders can now be made online at the following site:

https://rockcrosscountry2018.bigcartel.com/

When ordering anything with your name embroidered (bags, warm-ups, etc.), make sure to put the name you want on the specific item in the “Notes” section when you complete your checkout. Orders need to be in by midnight, Aug. 28. So get these in as quickly as possible.

If I have forgotten anything, please let me know and I will get that information out to you ASAP

Thanks,

Coach Martin