Great first week, athletes!  I absolutely loved seeing you again, and also meeting so many new faces. In my application to the University of Pennsylvania Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program, in response to the question, “What do you plan to do with the knowledge you gain?” I answered, “If I can help five kids have more successful and thriving lives, this program will be worth it.” This first week back reminds me of why I feel that way!

A Writing Assignment for You

Yes, school is about to start for real, but I encourage you to take a moment to write down how you’re feeling after this first week of practice, especially if you’re a first-time team member. This is just for you, not for me. Here’s why: writing down your thoughts now will help you remember this experience and your feelings of growth in the years to come.

Writing down your thoughts and feelings during the first few weeks of running with your high school cross-country team can be incredibly valuable as a personal reflection tool. In these early weeks, you will experience a mix of excitement, frustration, exhaustion, and determination as you push your limits and adapt to the demands of the sport. You are going to be challenged by your feelings, and also by other people. Not all your friends will be understanding and supportive, and even your parents would probably be happy if you said you would drop cross-country and study math for two extra hours every day :). By capturing these emotions on paper, you create a detailed record of your challenges, progress, and the mindset that helped you persevere. You are going to forget how intense and detailed these thoughts are now. Two or three years later, when you look back on what you have written, you’ll be reminded of your journey. What you write will help you appreciate how much you’ve grown as an athlete and person.

I think this reflection you write now can be especially helpful when writing a college application essay. Admissions committees look for stories of personal growth, resilience, and the ability to overcome challenges. Angela Duckworth would tell you that if you claim to be a gritty person, you should have objective examples of your grittiness. Your early cross-country experiences are concrete examples of how you faced adversity, developed a strong work ethic, and learned the value of being part of a team. These memories of the emotions and struggles you document now will allow you to craft a compelling narrative that showcases your athletic achievements, personal development, and readiness for college life’s challenges.

Trust me–you will have the start of a college essay that will practically write itself!

Looking Back on the First Week of Practice

It was a great first week! Most days we had around 30 athletes. We hit some of the big MVXC runs: We ran up Fire Trail to Matt’s Hill, cruised the Palm Tempo Route, blasted out some Dirty Fours, said hello to Jollyman Park, and tackled Horse. Add in an extracurricular trip to Froyo and it was an excellent first week!

Next Week

We have a few things to highlight as school gets started!

  • Practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday will start at 4:10 pm, on Wednesday and Friday at 3:25 pm, and Saturday at 7:00 am.
  • You must be athletically cleared to join us! Here are the people who have started the clearance process but still need to be cleared: Anna Bauer (9), Elinor Byers (9), Varsha Supreeth (9), Mira Ram (10), Aletheia Ju (11), Elina Jalili (12), Andrew Liu (12), Cam Polidoro (10), Booker Volrath (10), Simha Satoor (10), Kento Murase (10), and Oliver D’Souza (9). If you know them, encourage them to wrap up their clearance and join us on Monday!  
  • People can still join cross-country! We are going to have a great season, including a trip to Los Angeles to compete at Mt. SAC. Cross-country is an excellent sport for preparing for soccer, basketball, and wrestling in the winter (fun fact: I was a high school wrestler before committing to distance running).
  • Thursday will be the Watermelon Run, so please let your parents know you might be a little bit late that day.
  • Friday at the start of practice, I plan on having us meet in Mr. Bonacorsi’s classroom, D101.  Come dressed to run but I’d like us to talk indoors for a bit that day.

Have a great evening and an excellent first day of class, and I will see you Monday at 4:10!