We are now well into summer and MVXC Summer Running is in full swing! I hope that your summer training is going well. As always, if you have questions about your training please talk with your summer running leaders (Ananya, Anjali, Aravind, Kyle, Nitin, Rohun, Sanjana, Triya, and others have been leading practices all summer long which meet on the Monta Vista track at 7am and 6pm, Monday through Friday) or get in touch with Coach Flatow (coachflatow@gmail.com) or Coach Johnson (jodi_johnson@fuhsd.com). Also there is a lot of information and updates at mvrunning.comso check the team website often for news and inspiration!
I have had many email and text and photo updates from athletes that end with ‘I can’t wait for cross country practice to start!’ I love these messages! I have also some more concerned questions about the MVXC practice schedule for 2018, so this post will try to clear all that up.
General Expectations
Everyone on the cross country team made a personal choice to join our team. Your coaches expect your actions to support this choice. Your talent level and physical gifts are less important to the team than your effort, attitude, your desire to work hard to make the most of your talents. The choices you take to support your teammates are valuable and important choices for each athlete, and these actions do not depend on your physical gifts. Your coaches will not cut athletes because they are slow, however we will cut athletes for lack of effort, negative attitudes, or other choices that make it more difficult for other members of the team to work hard, be positive, and have the best team experience possible.
Practice Attendance Expectations/Earning PE Credit
We expect all athletes to attend practice from start to finish every day, Monday through Friday. Practices on Saturdays are optional but highly recommended. If you choose to join the cross country team, the team should be your highest priority extracurricular activity during the cross country season; for example, if there is a conflict between a club meeting or after school test review class and cross country practice, we expect you to skip the club meeting or optional test review class and attend the cross country practice. Every athlete will be given five excused absences from practice (not from competitions, we expect all athletes to be at our competitions) during the season, these excused absences can be used for conflicts that are difficult to manage. If an athlete is absent from practice more than these five excused times, the athlete will not earn PE or elective credit for cross country during this season. At the coaches’ discretion, the athlete may be allowed to continue to be part of the team without earning PE credit. The coaches will evaluate whether the athlete may stay on the team or be asked to leave. The coaches’ decision will be based primarily on the coaches’ opinion of the athlete’s demonstration of personal day to day effort and dedication to the team, not athletic ability.
Practices Before School Starts in 2018
MVXC practices will start August 6, 2018 and will be held Monday through Saturday. All practices will start at 7am (with the exception of Tuesday, August 14, when practice will start at 3pm). Expect practices to last two hours. You must be cleared by the Monta Vista athletic department before joining practice (see the notes on clearance procedures below).
All practices before school starts are required (Saturday practices are optional but highly recommended). Athletes may be absent for Running of the Bulls, other school required (not optional) activities, or if returning runners have volunteered to help with freshmen orientation. We do understand that some athletes may have vacation plans with their families that take them out of town during this period, or have internships or classes or job commitments that conflict with practice. If you have an existing conflict that prevents you from attending any practice prior to the date school begins, please fill out the August 6-17 Absence forms downloadable below, have the form signed, and either scan or photograph the form and email the form to Coach Flatow and Coach Johnson before August 6 (before the date of the first practice) [Coach Flatow (coachflatow@gmail.com) and Coach Johnson (jodi_johnson@fuhsd.com)].
Athletes that do not attend practice prior to school starting, have not completed clearance procedures on August 2-3, and have not submitted the August 6-17 Absence Form may join the cross country team during the week of August 20-24 only at the coaches’ discretion, however these athletes will not earn PE or elective credit. We will expect all athletes to be fit and ready to train with the team when school starts, as most of the team will now be two weeks into their training. Those athletes that have submitted pre-season absence forms that have been accepted by the coaches prior to August 6, will only lose one of their five allowed/excused absences for each week of practice missed before school begins. After August 24, athletes will not be added to the roster except under extraordinary circumstances (an athlete that is an out-of-area transfer to Monta Vista High School is one possible example), and again is subject to the coaching staff’s discretion (and one expectation is that the athlete is serious enough about distance running that they are already fit enough to run with the team at practice).
The two weeks of practice prior to school begins are two of only twelve weeks of training prior to League Championships. Two weeks is more than 15% of your training for the season! We expect our dedicated team to wantto be training together for all twelve weeks of the season.
Practices After School Starts
MVXC practices start 20 minutes after the last bell Monday through Friday. All athletes should be dressed for training, hydrated, fueled and ready to run, and seated in the grandstands at the track when practice starts. Expect practices to last for two hours. Saturday practices will begin at 7am (later in the season we may modify Saturday start times when sunrise is later).
Athletic Clearance
Athletes must be cleared before they may join an organized practice. Clearance information is on-line here:
https://matadorathletics.org/2018/06/08/important-information-for-all-fall-athletes/
Please note that you must be cleared before you join an organized team practice. It is your responsibility to be cleared in a timely manner and not being cleared is not an acceptable excuse for missing practice—that is an absence. The athletic director and trainer will be clearing athletes on August 2 and August 3 from 10am to 2pm in the library.
If you have not had your annual physical yet, please schedule this now! If you cannot make an appointment with your doctor before August 2, most walk in or urgent care clinics will also perform a physical examination. Remember you must have a doctor sign off your physical, not a nurse or chiropractor or other healthcare provider—your physical must be completed by an M.D.
Conclusion
Monta Vista Cross Country is a team, not a club. We all are here by choice! We are joining the team because we want to be the best runners we can be, we want to help our teammates achieve their goals and we desire to have teammates that will help us work to achieve our own goals. The starting point is for all of us to come to practice every day, all season long, ready to try our best. If we all do that…we will have a great and gritty team!
