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

Tiffin Information

DON'T FORGET TO ORDER APPAREL!!!  Click HERE!!

DIRECTIONS TO MEET ARE ON THE RIGHT!! 

Cross Country Parents:

Here’s the information regarding the Tiffin Carnival:

·         Athletes need to be at Learwood at 9:00 a.m.

·         Bus leaves at 9:15 a.m.

·         Boys’ Team runs at 1:05 p.m.

Alex Holtz, Andy Shee, Stefan Nieschwitz, Pete Shepherd, Matt Timar, Michael Petrus, Dan Francy

·         Girls’ Team runs at 1:50 p.m.

Sarah Lucas, Allison Shryock, Taylor Baiers, Ali Sorensen, Mary Ross, Jo Klingshirn, Shaye McManaman

·         Boys’ Open (all other boy runners) runs at 2:15 p.m.

·         Girls’ Open (all other girl runners) runs at 2:40 p.m.

·         Our estimated time of arrival back at Learwood is 6 p.m. (maybe earlier). We will have athletes call home when we are almost back in Avon Lake!

Here’s what we can tell you about what we know about Tiffin:

·         We have not gone to Tiffin the past 2 years so it is a meet we all need to get used to (including coaches). We took the athletes to this race 3 years ago and they LOVED it! It’s a long day, and quite a ride, but it is one of the biggest cross country races in the nation that day! You will see some awesome competition!

·         Meet is held at Hedges-Boyer Park (491 Coe Street, Tiffin OH)

·         All information at meet can be found at tent near finish line (located near finish line…directions I have state the ‘start and finish are located in the upper oval of the course’)

·         Here is the course map: http://www.tiffin.k12.oh.us/userfiles/939/CC%20Carnival%20Course%20Maps.pdf

·         Results are NOT on baumspage! Results will be available at http://www.tiffin.k12.oh.us

·         All runners will need to turn in their computer chips in the bullpen area after their race!

·         Apparel is available and costs between $10 - $35

·         Runners: the entire course is marked with a painted white line.

·         Parents: meet managers request spectators do NOT park on or near the course. They also note there MAY be a delay in start times for the middle school races.

·         Parents also are reminded to sign out athletes with Coach Walters. The finish line is SUPER congested at this meet so why don’t we plan on meeting at the campsite. We’ll try to be accommodating but if sign-outs can occur at the campsite before or after races, that would be convenient for everyone. Signing out during races can be hectic!

·         Athletes will want to eat a BIG breakfast Saturday morning. They also will need to pack a LARGE lunch to eat after their races. We also recommend bringing a pre-race snack to eat. Parents, this is completely OPTIONAL, but if you want to provide snacks for the kids, that would be great! If not, we understand. It’s a bit much to ask parents to donate more than you’ve already donated with the Friday Night Dinners…so if we want to just have kids bring their own food, that’s fine. But…I’m going to provide extra water for the kids so they stay hydrated. If you want to bring granola bars, bananas, apples, etc., let me know and/or feel free to stop by my classroom tomorrow during the dinner!

·         That should be it! Any questions, let us know!

About the team:

·         The team is improving! We’re having a great year so far. The hard part is maintaining a level of commitment and improving on our good start! The next 2 races are on BEAUTIFUL courses!

·         Continue to display excellent sportsmanship at this meet—we get a lot of compliments from other teams/coaches on the size, talent, and especially the behavior of our Avon Lakers. Keep this up as well!

·         This meet will help determine who runs team/open races at next week’s Wadsworth Invitational. The top 7 runners will be on team, all other runners will be open runners, but all runners will have the opportunity to run.

·         All apparel orders are due Sunday, September 9^th! Check the previous email sent out and/or the website with information.

• The kids voted on a quote for the back of their t-shirts. This was the winning quote:

WHY IS EVERYBODY CHASING ME?

• Finally, if an athlete is injured you can take him/her to the ALHS trainer at the high school. She is available after school, but said 3:30 – 4 p.m. is the least busy time. Also, last year there was a doctor there on Tuesdays from 3 – 3:30 p.m. (free of charge). No appointment is necessary to see the trainer.

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

Coach Rocco

Coach Walters