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

Pre-season Running Session: Week #3 (July 13-July 18)

Hey Everyone:

I wanted to go over a few things regarding our team so far:

• First, we have 50 runners signed up. That's awesome! If anyone still wants to join, make sure you refer him/her to this blog site so they can sign up online and for REMIND texts.
• Of the 50 runners signed up, 41 of you logged in your minutes/miles for Week 1's Pre-season Running. That's not bad, but if you haven't started running yet, you really need to begin now.
• Of the 50 runners signed up, 25 of you logged in your minutes/miles for Week 2's Pre-season Running. Make sure to log your times from last week!

A few things about running in this summer heat:

• It's important to stay hydrated. The best way to do this is to stay away from soda, limit the amount of fruit juice, and definitely limit the sports drinks. Stick to water, and hydrate throughout the day. The best way to do this is to have water around you all the time, and take sips of it throughout the day. Once you get thirsty, you're already dehydrated. If you're thirsty before practice (when we have practice) you'll already be dehydrated and then you're not able to reach your optimal performance.
• I said a couple weeks ago that If you're on a treadmill, my suggestion would be to set it at 6.0 MPH for now, at zero incline, then hit your time you've picked for that day's workout. You are allowed to adjust this! If you are struggling, you can lower the MPH (just don't walk). At this point, we're not too worried about speed, just get your volume (hit your times). The speed will come later.
• I'm going to get personal for a moment...last week was a rough week of running for me. My asthma has gotten worse this summer (since March, actually). I'm really struggling with this pollen and it's affecting my training. If you're battling asthma, I empathize with you. So...do your best, stay hydrated, and realize that your training will get better as the season progresses!
• With that said, remember that whatever you're doing NOW to train is like getting a good head start to your season. So don't get down on yourself if you feel like you're not where you think you should be...think of it as you're already ahead of where you should be at this time of the year, and you're getting yourself ready for when actual practice starts. Make sure to practice positive thinking!
• Let me repeat what I said a couple weeks ago: you can definitely supplement your running with other cardiovascular activities, but those don't REPLACE the running you need to do. I've had runners tell me they missed a workout but 'it's okay because I did a lot of walking at Cedar Point'. Yeah...that's not the same. Any runner will tell you you cannot replace the actual act of running with other activities (as good as they may be). I love kayaking but I still get my run in if I've kayaked that morning, I don't congratulate myself on a good run after I'm done kayaking.
• This week's running is going to be the same as the last two: three days of running but you can go up to 4 days this week. Next week we're going to increase it to 5 days of running. 
• If you really want to add more to your training, then you should be involved in other cardio activities! Biking, swimming, playing other sports...this will help with your training and mobility and will complement your running (just as running will complement your other sports).
• I have to tell you all to not congregate in groups. You are advised to run individually. If you happen to run with a few friends, make sure to exercise social-distancing pre- and post-workout and avoid running in groups at all times (or spread out during your run). 

Here's this week's running times:

• Session #1     16 - 26 minutes
• Session #2     20 - 30 minutes
• Session #3     18 - 28 minutes

These times are listed as a range of times, you can pick a time in between (for example if you decide to run 16 minutes continuously you can run 8 minutes out and 8 minutes back).

When this week is complete, you can log your minutes on the Pre-season Running Log (remember it's the same log in the same blog post as the last two weeks).

Good luck, keep up the good work and don't forget to log your minutes!

Pre-season Running Session: Week #2 (July 6-July 11)

Hey Everyone:

Coach Walters and I will be going over your running times from last week. Here are this week's running times:

• Session #1     16 - 26 minutes
• Session #2     14 - 24 minutes
• Session #3     18 - 28 minutes

A few things to remember as we progress into our second week of pre-season running:

• If you haven't yet, check out last week's post regarding the beginning of our season
• This is going to be a really hot week, so try getting your run in early in the day
• Same guidelines for running pertain to this week as last week: keep it light, same speed on the treadmill, the main thing is to maintain your jog WITHOUT walking at any point!
• Hopefully you are troubleshooting the times you can run without walking and you're gradually building your stamina up...keep progressing with this
• Log this week's running times in the same log we sent out last week (it's the post prior to this one)

One last thing, if you know of anyone who's interested in joining the team, feel free to send him/her the links to this blog site so they can sign up and start training...so far we've got a lot of kids signed up but our teams have traditionally grown over the course of the summer and we allow athletes to join throughout the summer. 

Hope you guys are good! 

Pre-season Running Log

Hey Everyone:

Here's the running log for the pre-season: Pre-Season Running Log

We'll be keeping this log for the next three weeks, then the final two weeks of July we'll be running 5 days per week (we'll send another log for those two weeks).

Pre-season Running Session: Week #1 (June 29-July 3)

Hey Everyone:

We're beginning our pre-season training this week, even though we won't be able to meet in-person. Here are a few things to focus on as we begin our season:

• We're starting off with three running sessions per week.
• Workouts will be listed in minutes (as opposed to miles).
• This way, you can time yourself out and back. For example, if you plan on running 10 minutes (approximately 1 mile), you can run 5 minutes out, turn around, and then run 5 minutes back.
• We're starting out with a light jog...don't worry about speed yet! Some of you are probably ready to go and want to start sprinting out of the gates. Concentrate on sustained running (jogging) at this point. Trust me (or ask an 8th grader), we'll be doing plenty of speed work in the weeks (and months) ahead!
• However, if you pick a time to run, you have to finish that workout WITHOUT WALKING at any point. If you find you are out of shape, then taper your workout so you can complete it WITHOUT WALKING. It's better to run a shorter time/distance continuously than to try to run a longer distance but spend large chunks of the workout walking. This may require some trial and error on your part, but, we're starting earlier this season, you're on your own, so spend this time trying to gauge where YOU are at in your training...and don't worry about comparing yourselves to your teammates. If you walk during your first session, pick a lesser time to run on your second session and make your goal to complete it without walking.
• If you're on a treadmill, my suggestion would be to set it at 6.0 MPH for now, at zero incline, then hit your time you've picked for that day's workout. 
• You can definitely supplement your running with other cardiovascular activities, but those don't REPLACE the running you need to do. I've had runners tell me they missed a workout but 'it's okay because I did a lot of walking at Cedar Point'. Yeah...that's not the same. Any runner will tell you you cannot replace the actual act of running with other activities (as good as they may be). I love kayaking but I still get my run in if I've kayaked that morning, I don't congratulate myself on a good run after I'm done kayaking.
• Which shouldn't be an issue for you all...right now we're only focusing on three days per week of running, so pick your days, complete your workout, then write it down in your log. It's not a lot of running yet, so it should complement whatever else you're currently doing.
• NEW RUNNERS: Like I said, start off gradually, build your confidence (and your lung capacity, stamina, mental toughness, etc.). If you've been a coach potato for a large portion of quarantine that's okay! Treat this as your beginning to getting in shape. The 8th graders will tell you: you WILL get in shape! Plus, you've got plenty of time to get in shape. 
• EXPERIENCED RUNNERS: Don't overdo it! It's a long season, and one of the worst things you can do is start over-thinking the times listed by saying, 'the coaches want me to run 3 days a week, so if I run 6 days a week, I'll be twice as good as everyone else!' This attitude may lead to shin splints, stress fractures, or other issues. We want to increase your training volume 10-15% per week, and that's tough to do if you start out running too much too early. Plus, if you've been running zero days per week and then all of a sudden start running six days per week, your body may not respond kindly. Trust us, we'll get to where you want to go, but we need to be smart about it and realize it is a long season.
• With that said, if you really want to add one more day of running, that should be okay...but I'd cap it off at 4 days per week at the most. 
• If you really want to add more to your training, then you should be involved in other cardio activities! Biking, swimming, playing other sports...this will help with your training and mobility and will complement your running (just as running will complement your other sports).
• I have to tell you all to not congregate in groups. You are advised to run individually. If you happen to run with a few friends, make sure to exercise social-distancing pre- and post-workout and avoid running in groups at all times (or spread out during your run). 

Here's this week's running times:

• Session #1     10 - 20 minutes
• Session #2     14 - 24 minutes
• Session #3     12 - 22 minutes

These times are listed as a range of times, so new runners may want to start with a 10-minute jog, experienced runners a 20-minute jog, or you can pick a time in between (for example if you decide to run 16 minutes continuously you can run 8 minutes out and 8 minutes back). 

Lastly, we're looking at a couple options for athletes to log their training on a platform that the rest of the team can see. I want to do it in a way that is safe, so I'll let everyone know about this soon.

Okay, have a good start to your season and we'll touch base with everyone throughout the week!

2020 Cross Country Sign-Ups & REMIND Information

2020 Cross Country Sign-Ups

Welcome to the 2020 Avon Lake (Learwood) Cross Country season! The coaching staff is glad you're interested in joining the team! You can sign up for the team (make sure you're logged into your Google account): HERE

Usually we hold meetings at Learwood for incoming 8th graders and at Troy for incoming 7th graders, so bear with us as we get the word out differently this year.

There is a lot I can say about our season and the fun things we plan for the team as we gear up for our season. However, there also is a lot I don't know about this particular season. Once I find out information about what we are able to do to--and what we must do as a staff--to begin our season, I will communicate that with everyone. 

With that said, at this time we're not committing to certain dates/times. I would like to start meeting the last week of June, but once I get confirmation we are able to do that I'll send out our pre-season schedule and we will begin the process of commencing with our season.

One thing I can tell everyone is that cross country is a really fun sport! It's one of those sports that kids will tell us was a lot more fun than they thought it would be, and it's definitely unique from other sports in that we get to train and compete in a lot of different locations. You get in great shape, maintain a healthy lifestyle, make new friends, and learn how to push yourself and your teammates! We've also had a lot of success the past several seasons so you'd be a part of a great program!

REMIND INFORMATION
REMIND is limiting its participants to 150 per group, and with both athletes and parents signing up, we're most likely going to exceed that amount. So, here's what we're going to do:

• We're going to set up two classes, one for each grade level (we'll send the same texts to each group)
• GRADE 7 team members, text @alcc7 to the number 81010 to receive texts
• GRADE 8 team members, text @alcc8 to the number 81010 to receive texts
• 8th graders, if you were on the team last year and had already signed up for REMIND, I already moved you to the 8th grade REMIND so you don't have to sign up again (it's just for new 8th graders joining the team)
• If you would like to remove yourself from REMIND, reply LEAVE @alcc7 or @alcc8 to the latest text message
• If you have any questions, email me at rob.rocco@avonlakecityschools.org

If you have any questions, please let us know! We'll be sending more information regarding our season once we find out!

High School Cross Country Sign-ups

8th Graders:

For those interested in running cross country at the high school, please contact Coach Juergens by providing the following information:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Athlete E-mail
• Parent E-mail

Email this information to: avonlakexc@gmail.com

I would sign up soon as I know they are planning on starting pre-season conditioning earlier than normal (with the cancellation of Spring Sports). 

Any questions regarding sign-ups, the high school season, and training should be directed to Coach Juergens via the email provided.