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1 Follow us on Text Notifications on Your Phone: Text Follow OSXCFalcons to Olathe South High School Zach Pope, Head Coach Cell Phone: Lauren Jaqua, Assistant Coach Scott Quaife, Assistant Coach Jordin Brouhard, OS Athletic Trainer ext. 905

2 OSXC Program Goals 1. We want to cultivate a positive and supportive team atmosphere. 2. We strive to create better runners, students, teammates, and young adults. 3. We want the athletes to set goals for themselves and work hard to reach those goals. 4. We want this to be a positive experience for ALL athletes, regardless of ability level. 5. We want to have FUN! If we can be successful at #1 5, the competitive results will follow. Olathe South Cross Country Expectations 1. Show respect to your coaches, teammates, parents, fans, and other team s runners at all times. Don t do anything that would embarrass yourself or your team. We are all representatives of Olathe South High School. 2. The two most important things to remember are commitment and communication. Commitment starts with attendance: Attendance is mandatory unless: o You have discussed an absence with Coach Pope beforehand, AND o Provided a valid WRITTEN ( /text counts) excuse from your parents. If you become sick during the day or have some sort of emergency o It is expected that you will talk to or call one of the coaches, OR o Send an or text to one of the coaches, preferably Coach Pope If you do not, then you are unexcused. o Telling another runner to tell us that you won t be at practice does NOT count Being injured is NOT an excuse to not come to practice (unless told do stay home by Coach Pope) Try to make all appointments outside of practice time. If you have difficulty attending practice regularly, please talk with Coach Pope and we will determine what can be done to help the situation. 3. Persistent unexcused lateness will not be tolerated. We will start practice at 3:30 pm. 4. You are expected to try YOUR best at ALL times. Not everyone can be THE fastest, but everyone can be THEIR fastest. 5. Maintain good academic standing in the classroom. Your effort and results in this area are as important (if not more so) to the success of our program than what you do on the cross country course.

3 6. There will be no drinking, smoking, or drug use on this team. The Olathe School District s substance abuse policy will be strictly enforced. 7. Coaches will make all decisions about meet entries. Most of the time this will be based primarily on performances and times at past meets but attitude, attendance, and effort may come into play as well when deciding Varsity, JV, and C team spots. 8. WE ARE A TEAM SPORT! Therefore, all runners are expected to stay for the entire length of meets unless there is a valid reason that has been pre-approved by a coach. Runners are expected to cheer on teammates who are in other races. All athletes are expected to ride the bus both directions unless approval has been given by a coach for an athlete to ride home with their parent. This is a safety issue as much as anything. 9. Have fun! This should be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all involved. There is nothing better than being part of a team, surrounded by positive and supportive people. The work is hard but the benefits are huge! Cross Country Equipment In order to be a competitive cross country runner, you will need very few pieces of equipment. The beauty of this sport is its simplicity. Right, Left, Repeat. Get from Point-A to Point-B faster than all the others and you win. No worries about playing time everyone get the same chance on the same day. Do you want to move up onto the Varsity? Then beat the Varsity runners times TODAY! You do not have to wait to be picked JV, V, or C-team what YOU do determines what team you run on. The clock does not lie! With that being said, here are the few things you need to bring to be a competitive cross country runner: Running Shoes o Good training shoes are the most important piece of equipment you have in XC. Please spend the money for good ones. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Running specific stores such as Gary Gribbles are better than large chain stores as they have better selections as well as more knowledgeable sales people. Run around the store (or outside if they let you) to get a feel for the shoes. You would not go into a football game without proper pads; do not attempt to train as a distance runner in old or inappropriate shoes. Running Watch o Very inexpensive watches can be found for $5-$10. Better ones will obviously cost a little more. Many of our training runs are done off of time, not distance, so it is important for all runners to be able to tell how long they have been running.

4 o We will train every day using watches, but we will NOT race with them. They are a tool to enable you to train at paces and learn what certain paces FEEL LIKE. But when you race, you are to RACE other RUNNERS. Water Bottle o Please think about getting a reusable one especially one you can carry! Put your name on it or personalize it somehow. o We will often have extra water available on our runs but not every day. Racing Spikes o For race day, you may want to get some racing spikes. Every ounce you can take off your feet will make a difference in your times. Spikes are racing shoes that are very lightweight and have spikes in the forefoot to provide better traction on the uneven terrain of most XC courses. Make sure your spikes have a heel on them and are designed for distance running, NOT SPRINTING. If you already have distance track spikes those will almost always work (although they do make XC specific spikes). As a coaching staff... Coaching Expectations We will OFTEN be demanding. We will NEVER be demeaning. Meet Participation Policy All athletes will run in every meet (V, JV, C) The only exceptions are Regionals and State (varsity only) However, this is dependent on the following expectations: Athlete is not injured Athlete has attended all practices that week (unless excused) Athlete has demonstrated a positive attitude during the week Athlete has given quality effort during practice that week

5 Practice Schedule Practice will be Sun./M F every week Saturday practices on the following dates: August 18 th (Heritage Park) August 25 th (Olathe South track) September 1 st (Heritage Park) - Practice will usually be done between 5:30 and 5:45 pm - Attendance at practice is mandatory Sunday Practices Beginning on Sunday, September 2 nd, we will be having Sunday afternoon practices from 3:30 to 5:45 pm for our weekly long run If an athlete cannot come on Sundays, they will be required to attend Monday afternoon s practice Athletes come to either Sunday or Monday, NOT both. They are expected to take the other day off from running. Sunday practices will be STRONGLY encouraged for the following reasons: 1. Taking Monday off will allow athletes recover more fully for the rest of the week 2. Running the day after races (Sunday) will help get lactic acid out of athletes legs 3. Running on Sunday allows for 1 extra day of rest before the next race 4. Running Sunday allows athletes to prioritize academics after school on Monday (get teacher help, retake tests, etc.) 5. Running Sunday sets ups Monday s as the preferred days to schedule appointments

6 OSXC 2018 Schedule DAY DATE SQUAD EVENT/MEET LOCATION TIME Mon 8/13/18 First Day of Practice Olathe South 3:30 PM Sat 8/18/18 Saturday Practice Heritage Park 8:00 AM Fri 8/24/18 V/JV/C Team Time Trial Olathe South 6:00 PM Sat 8/25/18 Saturday Practice Olathe South 8:00 AM Thu 8/30/18 V/JV/C SM South Quad JCCC 4:00 PM Sat 9/1/18 Saturday Practice Heritage Park 8:00 AM Sat 9/8/18 V/JV/C Olathe North Twilight ODAC 6:00 PM Sat 9/15/18 V/JV/C Baldwin Invitational Baldwin City Golf Course 8:30 AM Sat 9/22/18 V/JV/C Ottawa Invitational Ottawa, KS 9:00 AM Sat 9/22/18 V Rim Rock Classic Rim Rock Farm 9:00 AM Sat 9/29/18 V/JV/C Kansas City XC Classic Ray-Pec High School 8:00 AM Sat 10/6/18 V/JV/C Haskell Invitational Haskell University 10:00 AM Sat 10/13/18 V/JV/C Sunflower League Rim Rock Farm 9:00 AM Sat 10/20/18 V Regionals TBA 10:00 AM Sat 10/27/18 V State Rim Rock Farm 10:00 AM ** We may be taking some of the varsity runners to the Rim Rock Classic on this day again like we did last year. This would be the only time we split the teams. More details will be provided in the near future. Gary Gribbles Running Sports Running Shoe Store Discounts Now until the end of the XC season 119 TH & QUIVIRA in the Stoll Park Shopping Center 10% off all training shoes (just tell them you run high school cross country) KC Running Company 135 th and ROE 20% off all training shoes (just tell them your run high school cross country) Bring your current/old shoes with you because seeing the wear patterns help in selecting the correct new shoes. Requirements for: Varsity Letter Compete at Regionals OR Sub 17:30 5K - Boys Sub 23:00 5K - Girls