The last MVXC conditioning session was held Saturday, January 30…and the first day of the new cross country season is Monday, February 1. FINALLY!
What the season will look like is still fuzzy, and one of the key words for the team this year will be ‘flexibility’ (along with grit and perseverance). The important thing is…we have a season!
Practices will be from 4pm to 6pm, Monday through Friday, rain or shine, and on Saturdays starting at either 7am or 7:30am (coach likes to share the sunrise with his athletes). We meet at the track…when athletes arrive they should find an orange cone where they wait for the practice to start, and leave their gear while running.
You must be athletically cleared and your parents must have filled out the COVID release form…please do NOT come to practice if these items are not done (and please don’t show up and say ‘I wasn’t sure so I thought I’d come out and see’ or ‘it will be done soon can I come anyway?’ Please, please, please take care of this before coming to practice!
Every athlete should arrive at practice ready to start training. Gear that should be brought to practice includes:
- A personal face mask (required!)
- A water bottle (required!)
- Dry clothing, a sweat shirt and track pants to provide warmth after the run.
- Dressing in layers is highly recommended in the winter; a long sleeve running shirt over a short sleeve running shirt is a good move)
- Three big trash bags (to keep your gear dry if it rains, to stash your gross wet gear after a wet run, and as an emergency poncho)
Safety is an expectation of all MVXC athletes:
- Six feet from everyone at all times
- While running you might be passing a teammate or be parallel for a while but be conscious of this and try to minimize the time you are close to each other
- Masks on from the moment you are on the school grounds until you are on the way home after practice, except when you are actually running
- No MVXC athlete may be part of another Monta Vista or club team during the XC season
- We hope everyone on the team is following–or exceeding!–Santa Clara County and CDC recommendations for safety. If anyone tests positive or is exposed, the whole team can be shut down. Let’s value our opportunity to work together as a team and raise our level of safety!
We always want to be considerate of our community; MVXC is a part of our society:
- Give pedestrians a wide berth–if safe, get off the sidewalk and out into the street when you encounter walkers or other runners.
- If you can’t give other people a wide berth, 25 feet or so, then stop, put on your mask well in advance of getting close to the walker, and give them as much space as you can (while saying ‘have a nice day’!)
- Do not bunch up in groups or run in packs that might look unsafe to a random person who sees you. Imagine your grandmother watching you run…would she think you are being safe??? 🙂
- MVXC athletes want to be seen as good citizens! We want people to be saying, ‘those kids running around in purple are so nice and considerate…I wish everyone was like that group!’
And don’t just follow the rules while the coaches are watching. In cross country, all the important stuff happens when the coach is not watching; this is true now in more ways than ever. Help each other remember to be safe. If a teammate reminds you to pull up your mask, don’t say ‘stop bugging me’, say ‘thank you for reminding me!’ This is a great team…let’s be safe!
YAY!
See you at practice soon!
Coach Flatow
Zoom call before first practice:
Kirk Flatow is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: My Meeting
Time: Jan 31, 2021 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86592641827?pwd=bXJ1Q1hqN2tQSUV3bTJ6ZVVjZnB0Zz09
Meeting ID: 865 9264 1827
Passcode: 540297
