Running Club

The next few weeks' schedule for Learwood's Running Club is listed below. Also, if you cannot attend sessions, the workouts are listed alongside the workout days/times.

Athletes are reminded to stratic stretch after the workouts, either at Learwood post-run or at home. Also, make sure not to over-do these workouts! You should not be running more than 4 days a week, and you should not be running for much further distances. However, it is important to make sure you do get out and run.

Friday, Dec. 14              3 - 4 p.m.        Learwood        32 minutes
Saturday, Dec. 15          10 - 11 a.m.    ALHS Track      32 minutes

Tuesday, Dec. 18           3 - 4 p.m.        Learwood        28 minutes
Wednesday, Dec. 19      3 - 4 p.m.        Learwood        36 minutes
Thursday, Dec. 20         3 - 4 p.m.        Learwood        36 minutes
Saturday, Dec. 22         10 -11 a.m.      ALHS Track      34 minutes

Wednesday, Dec. 26     10 - 11 a.m.     ALHS Track      38 minutes
Thursday, Dec. 27        10 - 11 a.m.     ALHS Track      38 minutes
Friday, Dec. 28            10 - 11 a.m.     ALHS Track       38 minutes
Saturday, Dec. 29        10 - 11 a.m.     ALHS Track       42 minutes

Wednesday, Jan. 2       10 - 11 a.m.    ALHS Track        40 minutes
Thursday, Jan. 3           3 - 4 p.m.       Learwood          44 minutes
Friday, Jan. 4               3 - 3:45 p.m.   Learwood          22 minutes
Saturday, Jan. 5           10 - 11 a.m.    ALHS Track        22 minutes 

I might be going out of town during Winter Break, but if I have to cancel any sessions, I'll make sure to email everyone and post it on the blog. Also, information will be on the morning announcements, and you can stop by my room (404) if you have any questions! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Coach Rocco

Running Club

Avon Lake Track & Cross Country Runners:

We are planning on starting our off-season running this week! The schedule for the next two weeks is as follows:

Wednesday, Nov. 28th 3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood
Thursday, Nov. 29th     3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood

 Friday, Nov. 30th         3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood
 Saturday, Dec. 1st       10 - 10:45 a.m. ALHS Track

Tuesday, Dec. 4th         3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood 
    Wednesday, Dec. 5th     3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood
    Thursday, Dec. 6th        3 - 3:45 p.m. Learwood
    Saturday, Dec. 8th        10 - 10:45 a.m. ALHS Track

SWC Week

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE YUMMY MOVIE SNACKS!!!  

Cross Country Parents:

This is it! SWC Week is here. Here’s an update about our final 3 days!

Thursday 10/11    

• After practice we will have an OPTIONAL team movie night in the auditorium. The movie will start at 4:30 p.m. and should end around 6 – 6:15 p.m. Parents should plan on picking up athletes around 6:15 p.m.
• We will be watching Kicking and Screaming, a comedic sports movie with Will Ferrell as a hapless coach.

Friday 10/12

• Practice is canceled! Athletes need to run 15 minutes VERY EASY! Take it easy! Rest is the best thing you can do at this point…all our work is done!

Saturday 10/13

• Be at Learwood at 11:45 a.m.
• Bus leaves at 12 p.m.
• SWC Championship Race is held at LCCC—course map is the same as previous LCCC races. The map is located on the blog and we have extra copies.
• Boys run at 1:30 p.m.
• Girls run at 2 p.m.
• Awards Ceremony will be held by the tennis courts at 2:30 p.m. The top 7 runners will be honored with All-Conference, and runners 8-14 will be honored with 2nd team All-Conference. Team Awards for both boys and girls will be announced.
• We will be back at Learwood around 3:45 p.m.
• We will have our End-of-Season Celebration at Spevock’s Bowling in Avon Lake afterwards!

Things to Keep In Mind This Week:

• Athletes need to rest this week! Other than the mile run on Tuesday, we are TAPERING! Athletes need to eat healthy all week! Stay hydrated throughout the entire week. Stretch before and after workouts, and then again at home. Get a good night's sleep each night this week, and sleep in on Saturday! Athletes need to wake up well-rested and ready to go! No late nights out! All energy is to be focused on race day this Saturday.
• On race day, athletes should eat a healthy breakfast, and then they should eat a small, healthy snack before they get to Learwood. We will NOT be eating a snack when we get to LCCC as we are getting there about an hour before our race.
• Normally athletes are permitted to sign out and leave a meet early, and we understand the busy schedules of families. However, if it is at all possible, we would like the entire team in attendance for the awards ceremony after both races! This is the only race where we ask that all athletes be in attendance as we conclude our season!
• There will be SWC apparel to purchase at the race.
• Remember to represent yourselves, your teammates, your school, and your town well at the meet! People are watching and your positive behavior is recognized by other teams, parents, and the varsity teams (who will be there to cheer you on!).

Lastly:

This has been a great season! All athletes have worked extremely hard this year and your training will set you up for a great finish! That goes for both the boys and the girls! All our work is done! We have come a long way since July, and now we will see all our hard work pay off. Everyone has been trained to peak at this race! You will be amazed at how well you have progressed, both individually and as a team, when you run on Saturday. I'm looking forward to a great week and, although we all know our competition will be tough, we are READY! Get some rest, believe in yourself, and believe in your TEAM!

It's been a great season...now let's finish it! See you all Saturday!

GO SHOREMEN & SHOREGALS!

Coach Rocco
Coach Walters

Shutter Fly and Pictures

Attention Photographers,

A private team website has been created for the cross country team.  I have noticed parents have been taking a lot of pictures throughout the season, so I have created a website that we can use for you to upload any pictures you would like to share.  

Here is what you need to do to gain permission to view this PRIVATE site.

1. Go to learwoodmiddleschoolcrosscounty.shutterfly.com

2. If you are not a member of ShutterFly you will need to create a FREE account.  

3.  After you create a FREE account, it will prompt you to hit "ASK".  It will have you type in your NAME and a message.  You don't have to type a message BUT please type in your CHILD's FULL NAME--not your name.  That way I know it is actually someone from our team.  

I will get a message telling me that you have requested to be a member of my site.  If I like you, I will give you permission (haha).  Once I have granted your request to join this site you are free to upload and view pictures on the site.  

One more important message and this is VERY SHORT notice.  But if you can upload any pictures by SUNDAY EVENING that would be super awesome.  We are still looking for a parent that could put together a slideshow.  This slideshow will need to be finished by Tuesday, so we can put it on the Thursday announcements (gulp-I know...short notice). 



Also, as long as I have you all here, I also created a ShutterFly account for track and field in the spring.  If you know your child will be doing track... you can go ahead and request to join that site right now...follow the same directions but use the site below.  

Website:  http://learwoodtrackandfield.shutterfly.com/#

Thanks for all of your help this season!!



Coach Walters and Coach Rocco  

Jack Wilhelm

DON'T FORGET BOWLING MONEY IS DUE ON MONDAY!!!!  $11.00 in a sealed envelope with athlete's name on it. 

 

Cross Country Parents:

 

Here’s the information for the Jack Wilhelm Classic. The race is at Lorain County Community College (LCCC). Here are the race details:

 

      ·                 Athletes need to be at Dairy Queen at 7:15 a.m.

·                 Bus leaves at 7:30 a.m.

·                 There are no more team/open races—all boys will run together and all girls will run together!

·                 Girls run at 10 a.m.

·                 Boys run at 10:30 a.m.

·                 Our estimated return to Avon Lake is noon.

·                 We are going to Dairy Queen after this race. Because of this, we are asking athletes to be dropped off at Dairy Queen in the morning and picked up at Dairy Queen between 12:15 – 12:30 p.m. Coach Walters & Coach Rocco need to park their cars there so they can go home after ice cream!

  

About SWC WEEK next week…this is lengthy but bear with us:

 

·        I am keeping a Cross Country Lost & Found in my classroom. The Lost & Found is growing! If you’re missing anything this week, please stop down to Room 404 and claim your lost items!

·        This is the time of year for athletes to start eating healthy! Athletes need to stay hydrated (lots of water) this next week, and they need to continue eating healthy. One (small) dessert per day is all right, but other than that athletes should avoid all other unhealthy food/drink.

 

FOODS TO AVOID

Soda (NO SODA)

Candy

Sweets

Chips/Junk Food

 

RECOMMENDED FOODS

Fruits/Veggies (salads are great)

Whole Grains

Chicken

Fish

Pasta (carb loading)

For snacks…granola bars, crackers, pretzels (skip the chips, cookies, and candy bars!)

 

·        Athletes also need to get rest this next week. Athletes of this age group need a little over 9 hours of sleep per night. While this may not always be feasible, they should try to catch up on sleep on the weekends. I would STRONGLY ENCOURAGE all athletes to start catching up on their rest. This next week is crucial in their season-long recovery!

·        Athletes need to make sure they are STRETCHING after practice and at home! We are doing dynamic stretches prior to practice, but athletes need to make sure they are doing their static stretches at the end of practice and then at home! We need to stay healthy for this stretch run of the season.

·        Please check your running shoes to make sure they are holding up! We’ve been running for almost 3 months, some of you have been running for even longer. Check to make sure your shoes are not worn out! I can check your shoes at practice if you want. I know this is an expense, but running shoes are something you can always use. We will be running in the off-season and during track season so they will not go to waste!

·        We have put together a Cross Country Bulletin Board at Learwood! Check this out…it has pictures, records, and team standings at the SWC Meet for the past 9 years. Parents, if you have pictures you want us to post, just send to us and we’ll add it to the board!

·        Any parents who took pictures this year—We would like to put together a power-point for the morning announcements next week. If anyone can put together an approximately 5-minute presentation and send it to us, we can put it to music and share it with the school prior to SWCs! Let us know!

·        Next week marks the time when athletes participate in the tradition of toilet-papering my home. More important than this tradition is the new tradition (started last year) of athletes coming to clean up the day after (Friday may be the best day for clean-up). I don’t mind this tradition, as long as it is limited to toilet papering, forks/spoons, and signs in yard. Shaving cream, silly string, or anything on my actual house actually damages it (this has occurred in years’ past). This should be a fun endeavor but remember to be respectful! Also, a cop lives a few houses down from me.

·        We will have our movie night on Thursday after practice! We are planning on watching the classic movie Kicking & Screaming. Athletes are not required to attend, but most of them said they wanted to so we’re doing it again this year. We will meet in the auditorium after practice. Athletes should plan on getting picked up Thursday night between 6:30-6:45 p.m. Just a reminder: there is no school the next day!

·        Practice on Friday, October 12^th will be held in the morning from 10 – 11:30 a.m. at Learwood! Attendance to the final practice is mandatory! There will be NO Friday night dinner on this date!

·        Make sure all uniforms are in code for the championship! You may want to wear compression shirts/shorts so make sure your logos are checked with a coach PRIOR to the last race!

·        The LCCC course map is the same for the last 2 races as the first 2 races. It is located on our blog site. Parents can cheer on athletes at the start/finish, the mile mark (by tennis courts), and the base of the hill. The base of the hill is CRUCIAL, as athletes are usually alone at this point, with no one cheering them on as they gear up for the last leg of the race (and the season). Parents, if some of you want to go there, it would really help the runners out! The only down-side is you won’t get to see the finish (unless you sprint back!).

·        At the beginning of the season we talked about getting ALL athletes to attend the championship meet and STAYING for the entire meet! While this may not be possible it would be great if the team were together. At the end of the SWC Championship Race ALL teams will meet for the SWC Awards Ceremony, where all conference schools (Amherst, Avon Lake, Berea Roehm, Berea Ford, Brecksville, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, and Westlake) gather and honor both team and individual results. This is an awesome opportunity for our team to recognize other teams and to celebrate their accomplishments at the meet and for the season!

·        Lastly, parents, if it is at all possible, we are asking athletes to make cross country the priority for next week! We are very accommodating with everyone’s schedules for the 11 weeks leading up to SWC Week, but this final week of our season, we ask that athletes rest as best they can. This means sacrificing games/practices for the 3-4 days leading up to Saturday’s race! In the past we have had athletes manage their schedules so they are fully rested and ready for the final race of the season. Thanks for all your support on this!

 

We will send out the SWC Championship schedule and End-of-Season Celebration reminder after the Jack Wilhelm Classic. Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters

 

Westlake Fun Run

Cross Country Parents:

 

Here’s the information regarding the Westlake Fun Run. The race will be held Wednesday, October 3^rd at Clague Park in Westlake. We’ve included a course map from previous years’ races so we hope they use this one!

 

·         Our bus will leave between 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. Athletes are encouraged to bring a healthy snack!

·         Here’s the schedule:

 

7^th grade GIRLS – 4:30 p.m.

7^th grade BOYS – 4:45 p.m.

8^th grade GIRLS – 5 p.m.

8^th grade BOYS – 5:30 p.m.

 

·         The course is about 1.5 miles in length

·         We should be back at Learwood no later than 6:30 p.m.

·         As always, if you need to sign out your child just find Coach Walters (it will be MUCH easier to find her at this race!)

 

Finally, there are a lot of things we need to communicate to athletes/parents this week, so please check the blog as we update everything we are planning for the end of our season.

 

Thanks for everything this season! The team’s really come a long way. Let’s have a great finish!

 

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters

 

End of Season Bowling Celebration!!!!

Let's Celebrate!!!! 

When:  October 13, 2012 from 4pm-6pm
What: Bowling and Pizza
Where: Spevocks
Why:  To celebrate our bumpy BUT fantastic season!
How:  Please bring in $11.00 CASH in a SEALED envelope with the ATHLETE'S NAME on it and give it to COACH WALTERS no later than Monday, October 8, 2012

Looking for a parent volunteer to stay and wait until every athlete is picked up from the bowling alley.  Please let me know if you are willing to stay for pick-up!

Thanks

Coach Walters

Vermilion Invitational

Cross Country Parents:

Very important:  Coach Walters will not be at the meet because she is running her half marathon in Akron tommorrow.   Coach Rocco may seem a little lost without her valuable help... so be kind to him.  Ms. Lyons will be helping Coach Rooco out, though.  Ms. Lyons will be your person to go to, to sign out your child.  Thanks!!

Here’s the information regarding the Vermilion Invitational. The race is at Vermilion High School. The weather looks much better than last year (it couldn’t have been much worse), but make sure to dress warm prior to the race! Also, bring sandals to wear on the way home as your feet will most likely get wet! Here are the race details:

 

·         Athletes need to be at Learwood at 6 a.m.

·         Bus leaves at 6:15 a.m.

·         Girls’ Team runs at 8:30 a.m.

Paige, Taylor, Sarah, Allison S., Jo, Ali S., & Mary

·         Boys’ Team runs at 9 a.m.

Alex, Andy, Peter, Stefan, Michael, Daniel, & Matt

·         Girls’ Open runs at 9:30 a.m.

·      Boys’ Open runs at 10:00 a.m.

·         Our estimated time of arrival back at Learwood is 11:45 a.m. We will have athletes call home when we are almost back in Avon Lake!

  

About the team:

1)       I am keeping a Cross Country Lost & Found in my classroom. It is filling up fast! If anyone is missing anything, please stop by room 404!

2)       We have two weeks left in the season! We will be communicating a lot of things over the next

couple of weeks regarding our end-of-season plans. This is the fun part of the season and we are looking forward to the SWC Championship Meet!

3)       This is the time of year for athletes to start eating healthy! Athletes need to stay hydrated (lots of water) these next two weeks, and they need to start eating healthy. One (small) dessert per day is all right, but other than that athletes should avoid all other unhealthy food/drink.

FOODS TO AVOID

Soda (NO SODA)

Candy

Sweets

Chips/Junk Food

 

RECOMMENDED FOODS

Fruits/Veggies (salads are great)

Whole Grains

Chicken

Fish

Pasta (carb loading)

For snacks…granola bars, crackers, pretzels (skip the chips, cookies, and candy bars!)

We’re going to Dairy Queen after Jack Wilhelm, and we can also pig out if we go bowling after SWCs. Until then, ALL athletes should be picky eaters!

4)       Athletes also need to get rest these next two weeks. Athletes of this age group need a little over 9 hours of sleep per night. While this may not always be feasible, they should try to catch up on sleep on the weekends. Parents, I normally do not tell athletes to stay home on Friday nights, and I realize athletes like to go to the Friday night football games. However, these last two weeks I would STRONGLY ENCOURAGE all athletes to start catching up on their rest. These next two weeks are crucial in their season-long recovery!

5)       Please check your running shoes to make sure they are holding up! We’ve been running for almost 3 months, some of you have been running for even longer. Check to make sure your shoes are not worn out! I can check your shoes at practice if you want. I know this is an expense, but running shoes are something you can always use. We will be running in the off-season and during track season so they will not go to waste!

6)       We are focusing on the following 3 things this week:

·         Getting a good start at the beginning of the race. Athletes need to identify who they are running with and who their competition is!

·         Surging around turns and dips in the terrain! Make sure to talk to each other when doing this!

·         Pacing with our competition and each other and then finishing strong at the end!

 

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters

 

Cloverleaf

Here's the information regarding the Colt C.C. Cloverleaf Invitational:

·         Athletes need to be at Learwood at 6 a.m.

·         Bus leaves at 6:15 a.m.

·         Girls’ Open runs at 8:40 a.m.

·         Girls’ Team runs at 9:05 a.m. – Paige Hood, Taylor Baiers, Allison Shryock, Jo Klingshirn, Ali Sorensen, Mary Ross, Megan Twyman

·         Boys’ Open runs at 9:50 a.m.

·         Boys’ Team runs at 10:10 a.m. – Alex Holtz, Pete Shepherd, Andy Shee, Michael Petrus, Daniel Francy, Chris Stepak, Matt Timar

·         We should be back between 12:15 – 12:30 p.m.

About the meet:

·         Bring something to eat as it will be another longer day

·         Parents, there is an admission fee of $3 for this meet. This is the only meet where they charge people!

·         Coach Walters will be at the finish line for this meet, if not at camp. She most likely WON’T be at the start line as they are in 2 different locations. The start is at the base of a hill and the finish is at the top.

·         Concessions & shirts will be available at this race

·         This is the 2^nd to last race where athletes are separated into team/open races. Therefore, this is the last race to determine who will be running certain races.

·         Here’s the course map, which you can also find on baumspage.com: http://www.baumspage.com/cc/cloverleaf/2012/2012%20M.S.%20Course%20Map.pdf

About the team:

·         I only have a few missing things, but they are in my room. If you’re still missing things, check with Coach Walters as well. I have 3 water bottles, 2 pants, and a comb.

·         This is the meet where we typically rest our ‘team’ runners…but we haven’t really run a race with ALL of our team members together this year, so we’re going to go ahead and let them all run this race Saturday. It’s a tough course, and it is truly a 2-mile course, so times might not drop as much as athletes would hope. That’s okay! The last 3 races (and the ‘fun run’) are pretty flat.

·         Athletes received a copy of a Coach K (Duke University basketball coach) book excerpt, which deals with RESPECT, OWNERSHIP, & COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY. If you need a copy let me know, I’ve got plenty of extra copies.

·         We are focusing on the following 3 things this week:

1)      Getting ourselves, and our teammates, into ‘race mode’ prior to the race. Start thinking, concentrating, and mentally preparing yourself for your race! Talk each other up and start visualizing a good race!

2)      Encouraging each other! This sounds so simple…but it is so powerful. Racing is such a lonely, isolating sport. To have your teammates encouraging you, talking to you, and pushing you is so important. It also helps you to release that nervous energy to talk up your teammate! When you are working for yourself AND your teammate, you have little time to get too nervous!

3)      Finishing the race with NOTHING left! We want to stop running and start RACING! We are going to concentrate on pushing ourselves as much as we can!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters

Wadsworth

Cross Country Parents:

 

Here’s the information regarding the Grizzly Run at Wadsworth Memorial Park:

 

·         Athletes need to be at Learwood at 6 a.m.

·         Bus leaves at 6:15 a.m.

·         Boys’ Team runs at 9 a.m.

            Alex Holtz, Andy Shee, Stefan Nieschwitz, Peter Shepherd, Matt Timar, Michael Petrus, and

Daniel Francy

·         Girls’ Team runs at 9:20 a.m.

We’ll have to talk about this Saturday morning! As it stands, we might have just enough athletes to compete in the team race!

·         Boys’ Open (all other boy runners) runs at 9:40 a.m.

·         Girls’ Open (all other girl runners) runs at 10 a.m.

·         Our estimated time of arrival back at Learwood is noon

 

Some reminders about the meet:

 

·    Bring something to eat as it will be a long ride home. Please refrain from eating on the bus.

·    Parents, the directions to this meet can be tricky. We will be at Wadsworth Memorial Park in

     Wadsworth, Ohio 44281. The park is in the center of town where the football stadium is located.

     Bring your GPS and make sure to leave a bit early! Directions are on the blog!

·    Make sure to sign out your child with Coach Walters. She will either be at the start/finish line (this

     meet’s start/finish is in the same area) or the team campsite (which is also close to the start/finish).

     Only parents can sign out their children, they cannot sign out other athletes.

·    This race’s results will NOT be online for this race—this race is run old-school!

·    This course, as long as they have not changed it, is awesome! It’s a medium-sized meet with some

     great teams, and it’s fun to watch the runners at this location.

 ·   If you go to the blog for directions there is a spot on the right side of the blog titled: Cross Country

     Meet Directions.  That is where you will find directions to all the meets. 

 

 http://learwoodmiddleschoolcrosscountry.blogspot.com/

 

(Also, below that are the links to the meet results.)  

 

This first link are directions that I got from Mapquest:

http://www.mapquest.com/mq/9-zzGsuJTYHmvBOvtc

 

This second link are directions I found from the Wadsworth School Districts website.  This map shows more detailed information once you enter the Wadsworth community:

http://ww2.wadsworth.k12.oh.us/wms/athletics/crosscountry/WadsMemorialPark.htm

 

Thanks for your help so far this season, see you Saturday!

 

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters

 

Week of September 10-14

Cross Country Parents:

We have some updates to our weekly schedule:

Tuesday               Cahoon Park for hill work

                                We should be back between 4:45 - 5 p.m.

Wednesday        Practice Canceled

                                Coach Walters and I have a mandatory staff meeting after school

                                Athletes need to do the following workout: 20, 32, 36, or 44 minutes EASY

                                Parents, the athletes are talking about meeting together on their own for this workout. Please be advised that if they choose to do this, they

must meet at a location off school property. Also, please be advised that we will not be there to supervise and therefore will not be responsible

for their behavior or for what occurs during this run. While it is great the kids want to run together, they do not have to…they can run on their

own if they want!

Thursday             Normal Practice

Friday                    Practice Canceled

                              All Learwood sports teams are asked to cancel practice on this date due to the Student Council Activity Night, which will be from 3 – 5 p.m.

                                Athletes need to do the following workout: 10 or 15 minutes EASY

 

We will send information regarding Wadsworth later in the week.

 

Thanks for your continuing support,

 

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters