Fall Sports Meeting Information

Athletes & Parents:

Here's information from our Athletic Director:

• The Learwood Athletic Director, Kaitlin Leonard, has changed the Fall Sports Meeting to a VIRTUAL MEETING. The information for this meeting can be found on the Learwood Athletic Department website: https://avonlakesports.com/2020/07/09/learwood-fall-sports-2020-important-information/
• The Learwood Athletic Office will be open Tuesday, July 28th through Friday, July 31st from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. to collect physicals and all other paperwork.

Here's information we typically go over at the Fall Sports Parent Meeting:

• The FORMS tab on the blog (up at the top) will go over all pertinent forms that need to be filled out prior to the first day of practice. We've posted everything you need on this tab, no need to go searching the district website. 
• The SWC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY tab highlights our performances at the SWC Championship. 
• The BOYS' TOP TIMES and GIRLS' TOP TIMES tabs highlight the top individual performances since the early 1990's. Middle school cross country course lengths have changed from 1.8 miles to 2.0 miles, so I've included equivalent times in order to better compare athletes.
• The SCHEDULE will have the meets we're planning on attending this season. A couple things about the schedule:

1. We haven't heard anything about how meets will be run this season. I've asked around and I haven't heard anything yet. 
2. We have our Fun Run scheduled with Amherst at ALHS (we run through Kopf Reservation). I usually have to reserve the reservation through the Lorain County Metro-parks, so we'll see if we can access it this season.
3. I was so excited to get this email from Seneca East this past winter! It's about a night run where they set up a course that is lined with lights. So I registered our team for this race, with the thought being we could take the top 7 boys & girls to run here. This will also allow our next top runners to run varsity at Cloverleaf earlier in the day. Hopefully we can get this race in, it's one of the things I was looking forward to this season--a few of the runners I had in class already heard me talk about this when I got the email.

• Finally, the CROSS COUNTRY EXPECTATIONS has all the information regarding our season, including Student Expectations, Paperwork Requirements, Attendance Policy, Discipline, Transportation, Uniforms & Equipment, Athlete Participation, Miscellaneous Items, and Parent Communication. I did not update this document yet as nothing is set, but we will communicate everything to you once we have a better idea of how the season can progress.

A note from the coaches about this season:

• We met as a staff recently to discuss our concerns and ideas about how we can safely conduct a season.
• Because of this, a lot of what we would typically go over at the Fall Sports Meeting may be obsolete this season.
• With that said, it might not hurt to take a look at last year's CROSS COUNTRY EXPECTATIONS so you have an idea of what a typical season would look like.
• We are taking a look at the following items as we prepare for the season, and they may change: 

1. Attendance: we're looking at staggering practices and then splitting that smaller group into groups of three (one group per coach). We're thinking of meeting with boys & girls separately this season, helping us to maintain social distancing. We'll send out a separate post with information about summer practice days/times and school year practice days/times for both groups. 
2. Transportation: we want to set up a meeting with the Athletic Department and I'll reach out to the Transportation Director to see how we can set this up this season. There are a couple issues we may face: will the district be able to provide enough busses with the social distancing measures put in place (our teams have ranged in size from 75-93 total athletes the past several years), and what can we do if we don't have enough adult monitors on the busses? We would like your feedback as well, so feel free to fill out the Google Form below.
3. Athlete Participation: I've reached out to a few other coaches and no one has heard anything about how meets will be run. We may be told how many athletes we can take to meets (but that's just speculation). Personally I don't want there to be any restrictions, as one of the great things about this sport is not just the team component; it's also how the individual athlete can track his/her own's progress from week to week--everyone can demonstrate growth. However, as a staff we're going to be more stringent on taking only those athletes who can complete a race without walking. 

• Once we have a clearer picture of how things can be run this season, we'll be sure to communicate that to everyone.
• The biggest concern we have is how to keep everyone safe, yet still getting the kids out and running and being part of a team. 

Let us know what questions, concerns, and/or ideas you have:

• Post your questions/concerns to the following GOOGLE SURVEY
• If anyone is interested in joining the team, please feel free to pass along the link to the blog--especially the post with the REMIND information.

Thanks!

Cross Country Coaching Staff
Aubin D'Andrea
Scott Peepers 
Rob Rocco

Cross Country Team Manager
Anna Walters