CONARD CROSS COUNTRY
CONARD CROSS COUNTRY
2016
Coaches:
Head Boys – Coach ProAssistant Coach: Matt DeMarco
Head Girls – Coach HadraAssistant Coach: Steve Chase
Cross Country athletes are NOT permitted to run in road races after the first varsity meet has been held.
Attendance: Will be taken at the beginning of every practice for both the Boys and Girls Cross Country teams during warm ups. It is expected that you are there at 2:45pm running your warm – up of 2 laps around the track, 1:30 pm on Wednesdays. If there is not meet, Saturday practice will be at the WH Reservoir #1 on Farmington Ave at 10am, meeting at the green gate in the rear of the parking lot.
Attendance is mandatory every day at practices and meets unless previously discussed with Coach Hadra or Coach Pro. We will not practice on Thursdays, rather it will be a rest day for the whole team, physically and a chance to catch up on work, teacher meetings, etc. Practice or meets will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, where attendance is expected and will be recorded.
Penalties:
Unexcused Absence for:
Practice: 1st offense, verbal warning
2nd offense, parent phone call
3rd offense, turn in your uniform, your season is over, dismissal from the team
Unexcused absence from practice the day before a competition: You will not be competing in the next day’s competition.
Unexcused absence from competition (including Saturday Inv.): Automatic dismissal from the team, unless previously discussed and planned for.
Excused – excused absences are allowed with notes for various reasons, bring a note from a teacher or parent the next day you are at practice.
If you have an ongoing commitment conflict, please talk to a coach to discuss a plan for practice and workouts if you will be missing practice on a regular basis. It is expected that Cross Country is your 1st priority outside of academic help in after school extra-curricular activities.
Behavior Expectations
It is a privilege, not a right to be a member of this team. We welcome all who are interested in working hard, encouraging others, respecting one another, coaches and opponents, giving their best efforts for the demands of the workout and competing as hard as they can on race day. If you are not interested in competing, this is not the sport or team for you. This is a varsity level sport and team and participants are expected to behave like varsity level athletes.
Injury aside; cutting the runs short, dogging workouts, walking ‘because I don’t feel like running,’ removing your shirt during practice, making light/or mocking/taunting competition, rude, disrespectful and inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated and is grounds for removal from the team, decided by the coaches.
We expect our athletes to demonstrate the highest level of citizenship in the community; breaking the law will also be grounds for immediate removal from this team.
Running Logs – This year we will expect all runners to keep an online running log at It is a free service, and once signed up, they should join the “Conard XC” Group. We use this tool to teach self-responsibility of their running as well as to help set goals to achieve as they compete throughout the season!
All runners must bring a water bottle with them to practice and should be drinking from it all day long.
Competition & Events
Dual Meets – Held almost every Tuesday after school, home or away. When home, the meet begins at 3:45pm at the West Hartford Reservoir. We will take a bus to the reservoir; athletes must ride the bus to home meets – no exceptions. The bus for all meets will leave promptly at 2:30pm. Everyone is expected to participate in dual meets. Everyoneis expectedto remainat a meet until the competition is completed, returning on the bus; only in extreme cases will athletes be allowed to leave early and only with theirparents, not family friends.
Home meets usually end around 6:00pm – 6:30pm. Away meets, the bus returns to Conard by 7:15pm.
Saturday meets are Invitationals. These meets are entered by prior performance/time, which determines at what level an athlete will be competing (Varsity/JV/Freshman). Everyone can and will participate in Saturday Invitationals, please let us know ahead of time if you will not be able to attend. You will be told on Thursday or Friday before who is competing in the upcoming Saturday meet and at what level. You should plan on spending most of the day/afternoon at the meet if you are competing on Saturday. If you must leave early, you may sign out with your PARENTS. All races are 5k in length, which is 3.1 miles for both boys and girls. Results and schedules for invitationals can be found at
Varsity entries into invitational meets are based on the prior weeks’ performance. The Varsity team at the end of the season championship meets will be determined by the overall season performance and health of athletes by the coaching staff.
Varsity letters are awarded to athletes if they meet one of the following:
1. If you compete at the state meet and beyond,
2. If you are an alternate for the state meet and beyond,
3. If you earn 10 or more points during regular season competition (You get 1 point for each opposing Varsity team member you beat in a dual meet).
Footwear:Everyone needs running shoes (trainers). This is important for injury prevention. We do not ask anyone to purchase any other equipment outside of a one-time purchase of competition spikes/flats for our varsity athletes. Training shoes are designed to breakdown after 4 months and/or 300-400 miles of running. If you do not have new training shoes (thick white squishy sole) it is almost guaranteed that you will get injured from an over-use injury (stress fracture, joint/soft tissue pain).
WHPS Drug & Alcohol Policy:1st offense: 4 week suspension from competition, athlete must continue to practice to end the suspension and return to play. Loss of leadership position.
2nd offense: 16 week suspension from competition, athlete must continue to practice through that time to complete suspension and return to play.
3rd offense: removal from play for one year.
Meet Schedule: See the Conard Athletic Website. It will be updated as we add the invitationals to the schedule.
If you need to contact us:
Coach Provencher: ell: 860–874–4559
Coach Hadra: