THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON!

I just wanted to thank everyone for a great season! 

We really appreciated everyone's help with the team. Thanks especially to the following people:

• Mrs. Rose for organizing our Friday night dinners
• All the parents for donating to our team dinners and for the volunteers who helped feed and serve the team
• Mrs. Byrne & Mrs. Brown for taking pictures this season
• Mrs. Walters for putting together our team video
• Mrs. Fababe for organizing the team bowling party
• Mr. and Mrs. Deaton for donating desserts and gift bags to the kids

I'm sure we may have forgotten some people...if so I apologize--a lot of people helped make this a great season, so thank you! 

Finally, we'd like to thank the MIGHTY SHOREMEN & SHOREGALS! It was good to get back to a normal season, and I'd like to thank the athletes for giving us their very best this season. We were extremely proud of how you conducted yourselves as a TEAM this season, and last Saturday was another reminder of how tough you all are. Peepers, Ferrari, and I saw some girls on other teams tip-toeing around puddles at the start line...while our girls were chanting as one team as they went through their warm-ups, already muddy, defiantly telling us they weren't cold. That's when we knew it was going to be a special race. You didn't just endure the tough times this season, you embraced them. So thank you for that as well.

You are two tough teams that have bright futures. We'll be back next season :) 

A couple notes:

• I'll be reaching out in the next few days as we put the finishing touches on this season, so you'll be hearing from me soon. 
• I'll be switching off two-way communication on REMIND in the next few days, so if you need to reach out for any reason just email me at rob.rocco@avonlakecityschools.org. I'll still send out texts via REMIND this off-season.
• If you no longer need to receive texts, just reply LEAVE to one of my texts and I'll remove you. Or email me to let me know you no longer need to receive texts. 
• Three families ordered shirts that aren't in yet, I'll reach out to you once they come in.
• For those athletes not participating in a winter sport, we'll be taking three weeks off to rest and then we'll start our off-season training for Track & Field! I'll post information about that in a couple weeks.

Practice Schedule: Monday 10/4-Friday 10/8

Here's this week's practice schedule:

• Monday
• Learwood (on campus)
• 3:15 - 4 p.m.
• Parents we should be ready for pick-up at 4:10 p.m.
• Tuesday
• Learwood (on campus)
• 3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday
• NO PRACTICE (Teacher Conferences)
• We'll send out a MANDATORY practice to do on own
• Thursday
• Kopf Reservation (meet at Avon Lake Public Library)
• 3:30 - 5 p.m. 
• If conferences run late, we'll text when we're headed to the library
• Friday
• ALHS Track (meet at the caboose)
• 10 - 11 a.m.

TIFFIN REMINDERS

Just a couple reminders about today:

• Don't forget your masks for the bus ride!
• STAY IN GROUPS OF THREE AT ALL TIMES TODAY
• Support your teammates when you are not running or getting ready to run
• We are going to Tiffin to compete FIRST, then fun comes SECOND
• After we walk the course, you can buy apparel...but concessions should be purchased AFTER all races are completed
• When we are done with all races today, we will stretch as a TEAM at camp
• Coach Ferrari will be at the finish line for parents who would like to sign out...athletes you will have to get your gear and then help your parents find coach

Race Schedule:

BOYS TEAM (1:05 p.m.):

• Nate
• Reid
• Lincoln
• Riley 
• Finn
• Laith
• Dennis 

GIRLS TEAM (1:50 p.m.):

• Hannah
• Kelsey
• Mia
• Cassidy
• Isabel
• Rebecca
• Gianna

BOYS OPEN (2:15 p.m.):

• All other boys

GIRLS OPEN (2:50 p.m.):

• All other girls

AVON

Here’s our weekly update:

• Great job at Early Bird last Saturday! The boys came in 1st place out of 19 total teams, and the girls came in 4th out of 19 total teams.
• Apparel orders are now open, the deadline is Sunday, September 12th at 11:59 p.m. The link is in a previous post sent Friday, September 3rd.  

Avon Meet (ATHLETES):

• The Avon Meet on Thursday is going to have a lot of great competition. This is a perfect opportunity to practice racing against our SWC competitors!
• Stay hydrated throughout the day, eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, and bring a snack for both after school (before the bus gets to Learwood) and for after the race.
• We will be leaving Learwood at 3:15 p.m. and we should return around 7:30 p.m. (also returning to Learwood).
• Bring sweats, 2 bottles of water, a sports drink (along with your snack), and some money. They will be selling concessions at this meet.
• Online sales for apparel can be found here: CreateMyTee.com/Join/132926
• All proceeds of apparel sales will be donated towards Disaster Relief American Red Cross. 
• We’re including a course map here: Link to Course Map
• Results will be posted on baumspage.com for this meet. 

Schedule:

          Boys Team – 5 p.m.

Ian

Nathan

Lincoln

Reid G.

Riley 

Finn

Laith

Ajay

Reid E.

Abraham

          Girls Team – 5:30 p.m.

Hannah

Kelsey

Isabel

Rebecca 

Cassidy

Gianna

Madeline

Caroline

Avery B.

Mackenzie

          Boys Open – 6 p.m.

              All other boys!

                Girls Open – 6:30 p.m.

All other girls!

Avon Meet (PARENTS):

• The course will be held at 3701 Veterans Memorial Parkway Avon, OH 44011
• Parking will not be permitted beyond the playground area
• It looks like timing chips will be used again, so we'll make sure we have twist ties for the athletes
• Races start at the west end of the park (by fields #6 & #7)
• If you need to sign out your child, Coach Walters will either be at the finish line or camp (we'll text to let you know). 

A Few Notes About Tomorrow's Race

Parents:

• Just a reminder we're meeting at Troy tomorrow (to avoid any traffic jams at Learwood like we experienced Monday)
• We're bringing the water left in the cooler from tonight's team dinner, so kids will have access to cold water tomorrow after their races.
• We have QR codes set up on all three coaches' clipboards (Ferrari, Peepers, and Rocco)
• After both races are completed the three of us will head back to camp (we'll let everyone know where that is but you won't be able to miss our tents this season)
• You can use your phone to take a picture of the QR code, then you'll sign out electronically and we'll get your sign-out submitted onto a Google Spreadsheet
• We would like all athletes to cheer each other on until every Avon Laker has finished, but if that's not feasible tomorrow, Coach Ferrari will be at the finish line for both races 
• We will be taking two buses back as well so athletes can always ride the bus back to Troy
• We went over how meets are scored with the team, and they scored their own practice race last week, so your child should be able to explain how it works
• However, here's a pretty good video explaining how it works (certain runners score, other runners work for a potential tie, and other runners 'push back' other team's runners): HOW A CROSS COUNTRY MEET IS SCORED

Athletes:

• Bring two masks! 
• Both teams need to come up with a team chant this season, so make sure this is done prior to getting to the start line
• Get some rest, try not to get too nervous for the first race! But if you are nervous, just remember the feeling of accomplishment, pride, and camaraderie you'll have after your race will dwarf any nervous feelings you'll have before the race. It will be worth it. 
• See you all tomorrow morning!

Modified Schedule: Tuesday-Friday of this week

We're going to modify our practice schedule so we can better deal with the heat. Here's what we're thinking:

• Tuesday 8/24             Kopf (meet at library)     8:30 - 10 a.m.
• Wednesday 8/25       ALHS Track                       8:30 - 10 a.m.
• Thursday 8/26            Learwood                        3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
• Friday 8/27                 Learwood                        3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
• We'll have a short run, then team meeting
• After the meeting we'll have our team dinner

Thursday's Practice

Hey everyone, there are a few things about today's practice I'd like to preview with you:

• FIRST: If you have an idea for a quote for our team, make sure to fill out the Google Form and submit it today!
• We'll meet at ALHS (caboose) at 3 p.m.
• We might be done by 4:15 p.m., but that's just our best guess.
• Bring water!
• Regular practice attire should be worn, do NOT wear your uniform.
• Regular running shoes should be worn, do NOT wear spikes.
• We'll start and finish the race behind the stadium, and you'll run through Kopf Reservation.
• We'll gather the teams together, figure out who's in attendance, and adjust teams accordingly.
• Coach Peepers will be leading everyone on his bike, but make sure to be aware of others in the park...look both ways when you make a turn.
• You are racing today! So make sure to run your hardest. Pace yourself as best you can, then on the final stretch back to the stadium, you can start your kick.
• When you finish the race, one coach will yell out your time (this is only for you, we won't be documenting times today...it's a 1.8-mile run not 2.0 miles).
• Another coach will give you a card with your place on it, keep that card. 
• Cheer on your teammates after you finish.
• Gather your team together and stay together. 
• Once everyone is back from your team, add up the places (points) on your cards, then double-check your math. 
• Report your score to Coach Rocco, and once we get all scores we'll have our awards ceremony.
• (There will be no actual awards, we'll just go over the places of each team)
• After the 'ceremony' you will stretch-down and then we'll see everyone tomorrow!

Lastly, the coaching staff would like to hold a brief 5-minute meeting with all runners who ran on the team last year.

See you all later today!