MARTIN LUTHER CROSS COUNTRY
Coach Mike Loveless, Cell phone: 418-6375,
School: 421-4000 ext. 268, E-mail:
“…but those who hope in the Lordwill renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
TEAM RULES
1.Your priorities during the cross country season as a member of this team are:
GOD
Family
School
Cross country
Remember this when planning other activities. (example: a job, driver’s ed., should not take precedence over cross country.)
2.Cross country is a commitment. 100% attendance is the ideal. Please plan school, work, and family events accordingly. Minor exceptions can likely be worked out with the coaches.
3.Cross country practice is daily, Monday through Friday, 3:30-5:30. We will practice outside in almost any weather unless we consider the weather dangerous. In that case practice will be moved indoors if possible.
4.All absences must be cleared AHEAD of time with your coaches, otherwise you are considered UNEXCUSED. If you are on the school’s absent list, you are automatically considered excused.
a.If an athlete is not feeling well, but is well enough to be in school, participation in practice will be expected.
b.If an illness or injury prevents an athlete from practicing normally, that athlete will do an alternate workout at school for the same length of time. That alternate workout will include a combination of the following:
1)stretching
2)100 push- ups
3)300 sit-ups (in sets of 50)
4)2 miles of walking
5)20-30 minutes on the bike
6)weight lifting
7)assisting the coach
8)any other activity which the coach feels is appropriate
c.Athletes should not be late for practice due to the need to do academic work after school, except in rare and extreme cases. In such cases, a pass must be obtained from the teacher you were with. Plans should be made to work with the teacher at another time.
d.Possible consequences of unexcused absences include not being allowed to run in the next meet, not earning a letter, and being cut from the team.
5.In order to practice, you will be expected to have the following requirements completed and on file at school:
Athletic physical (or alternate year form)
Agreement for Medical Treatment
ML Athletic Code
Concussion Acknowledgement Agreement
Sports Participation Fee Paid ($75) – for every sport season you participate in
If you have questions or concerns, please see me or contact the school office.
PRACTICE GEAR
A.Training Shoes - See below for more information
B.Sweats - We use them to warm up and practice in when outside. Expect togo outside every day, and have them available.
C.Shorts/T-Shirt/Socks/Sports bra (a t-shirt must be worn)
D.Towel/Soap/Shampoo
E.Water bottle
F.Running watch
Highly Suggested:- tights (must be all black for our team)
- hat and mittens
- technical top (must also be all black for our team)
- racing spikes
-a post workout drink and snack
We provide:- locker and lock
- meet uniforms
TRANSPORTATION
No transportation will be provided by the school for Saturday meets, either to the meet or from it. For meets that will be held on weekdays, the school will provide transportation to and from the meet. Parent drivers might be needed depending on the number of athletes who will be going. You are certainly welcome to take your son or daughter home from the meet. If an athlete will be getting a ride home from another parent, I need to have a note or to have spoken to the parent.
UNIFORMS
All items issued to you for use during the season are to be worn or used only during cross country competition. No other use is permitted. Please help us enforce this.Uniforms are to be washed inside-out on a permanent press setting and drip dried. Please do not put uniforms in the dryer.If a uniform or piece is lost, replacement cost is 150% of the original cost.
AWARDS
In order to letter in cross country, a runner must compete and finish in at least six varsity meets, including conference and sectional. Extenuating circumstances will be considered for those who have experienced injury or illness.
PREPARING FOR THE SEASON
In order to have great success individually and as a team it is necessary that athletes run in the off-season. Many dedicated, high school distance athletes log hundreds of miles in the summer and winter seasons. Cross country and track provide opportunities for intense training that builds on the broad base established in the off-season. One of our long-term goals for this program is to have many athletes who show this kind of dedication. However, we are aware that some of our athletes this year may come into the season with minimal preparation. If that describes you, it is necessary that you gradually improve your level of fitness. Attempts to quickly increase mileage are very likely to result in a variety of injuries that could ruin your season. We am happy to take all athletes as they are and work with them to get where they want to be. Begin working now to get yourself in shape! We suggest getting out for a run of at least 30 minutes, six days a week. Inexperienced runners may need to do a combination of running and walking.
INJURIES
Please understand that during participation in cross country, certain injuries arepossible. If you sustain an injury, please let us know immediately. Always iceand elevate, for about 20 minutes followed by no ice for about 20 minutes. Do thisseveral times within the first 48 hours after injury. Martin Luther has a trainer available for injury evaluation. Call a physician immediately if the injuryseems serious. For more information about injuries, see the link on the ML Cross Country web page.
Possible injuries:- pulled muscles
- sprains
- shin splints
- abrasions
- swelling in joints or muscles
SELECTING A SHOE
We strongly suggest that you purchase your training shoes from a running store. Although most running shoes look similar they are different inside. Running stores carry a higher quality of shoe, and the people who work there are very knowledgeable about the features of each shoe. The right shoe can help correct for things like a low arch or poor form. The wrong shoe (even an expensive, high quality shoe) can exacerbate a flaw in your form and contribute to an injury. We highly recommendPerformance Running Outfitters at 2205 N. Calhoun Rd.Rodiez’s Running Store at 10903 W. Lincoln and InStep Physical Therapy and Running Center at 5700 S. 108th St. are also good. Each of these stores offers a discount for cross country runners.
DIET AND SLEEP
In order for the body to handle the demands of cross country, certain guidelines on diet and sleep are strongly suggested.Remember, what you eat is going to be fuel for your body during yourwork-outs and races.Eat fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, etc.Avoid junk food like soda, chips, greasy foods, etc. For more information about nutrition for runners, see the link on the ML Cross Country web page.
Sleep is a key time for your body to rest and recover. Your body will adapt to the work you do, but the adaptation takes place during rest. Get into a good sleepingpattern. For example, try to go to bed and get up at about the same time each day. Eight to ten hours of sleep a day is ideal.
Although in the real world of a high school student a perfect diet and ten hours of sleep may not always be possible, you should understand that a good diet and sleep pattern will directly lead to greater success.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The 2017 cross country schedule has beenposted on the cross country web page. If additions or changes to this schedule occur, we will inform the athletes. Remember that the school’s web site also has a schedule of all team activities. In the event of inclement weather for a scheduled meet, do not call the school before 2:00. Normally we will not have any information available before that time.
Clothing Order:Clothes have been ordered in the past for athletes who wanted to purchase them and we will be ordering again this year. The online store should be open soon. We will be giving more information to the athletes as it becomes available.
The CC Web Page:contains a great deal of helpful information including this booklet, meet summaries, schedules, and information about running. Some of the content changes weekly if you want to see the progress of the team and your son or daughter.
Team App:I will also be putting out information through a free app called Team App. You will be able to see pictures, access meet sheets, and get announcements. Although it isn’t set up yet, it will be ready to go by the first practice.
WIAA Rules to Note:Cross Country is a relatively simple sport that has fairly obvious rules for the most part, but there are a couple of rules that I would like to note explicitly. Athletes areallowed to participate in organized fun runs during the season if the coach and school are notified. For instance, any 5K run, Dirty Girl, or Mud Run would be allowed. However, I would like to discourage you from participating since it would likely interfere with our training and races. I won’t say no if it’s important to you; make sure to notify me. Another rule of note is that energy drinks are a discouraged substance. Coffee and tea are acceptable but energy drinks are unhealthy and are discouraged by WIAA rules. One of our jobs as coaches is to enforce WIAA rules, and we take that responsibility seriously. Please help me send a clear message of sportsmanship and fair play.