Here we are. The last few days before this season begins. All is well. More team members are prepared, and even better prepared, than ever before. This promises to be very interesting, and I’m very much looking forward to it. The summer has been so good, I almost hesitate at starting the season; as I relish what has transpired.
I’m very tired after spending the day on the roof. With the help of a couple of friends much was accomplished, and now I wax philosophical as I recoup.
Team members have 2 workout days to themselves before I begin to dictate what to do each day. So I say- work out the workouts for yourself. Mon. & Tues. should not be very hard, maybe a distance run one of the days. Save the harder work for what will happen W-F. Enjoy yourselves. If you aren’t fully fit; ya better run and get as prepared as you can. If you are one of those that are very fit, just run, but don’t race or beat yourself up.
“The first rule of success, and the one that supersedes all others, is to have energy. It is important to know how to concentrate it, how to husband it, how to focus it on important things instead of frittering it away on trivia.” – Michael Korda
” I learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and be interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. – Walden H. D. Thoreau
Well, last night we had a very good parent meeting, and then parent party afterward. Thanks again go out to LuAnn & Don Innis for hosting the affair. The first ever parent party was a great success.
For those of you who were not there, your son will receive the team packet this week. It is strongly recommended that you go though the packet, especially the team policies, if there are issues that arise during the season, be certain that you know the team rules. The answers to most questions are in there.
Workout sites for this week will be posted here. For Weds. it is at Hickory Hills gate – our new xc course at the meadows. 8 am until between 10:30 & 11:00. We will start on time.
The first 3 days of the season – W-F this week are a tryout of sorts. THERE WILL BE NO CUTS! I want you to understand that! We will be able to create a varsity and jv team when we’ve had a good look at all team members. Those that are landed on the jv squad, do not have to stay there. They can work their way up to varsity. Those that are on the varsity squad to begin with, are not guaranteed to stay on it. It’s a fluid system, and it will allow us to have more contact time with each runner. More learning, encouragement, more growth.
We have decided to take the full team to Portage. This will mean taking a charter bus, so it also means money out of pocket for families. It was decided by consensus last night that this was fine. If there is anyone in the team that can not handle the $30 or so that it will cost, please let me know, and we’ll see that it’s taken care of.
Camp is coming up very soon. Tues. 18th ’til 2 or 3 on Sat. the 22nd. We will practice Monday as usual, and the location will be posted. (as usual) Then Tuesday the camp reservation specialists will go to DH Day and reserve sites for us while we load up. When we’ve received the site biz we’ll be on our way. The cost for camp this year is $85.00. Please pay me for it prior to that time, as I have to buy all supplies. Make checks out to Dan Zemper. We’ll have your son home on Saturday feeling like a full fledged team member.
Physicals must be complete before Wednesday! Please be sure to sign in all of the spots that need it, otherwise I have to send it back home! Without a physical in the AD office Weds. or handed to me, your boy won’t practice!
Welcome to Joel Gaff! Our new assistant coach. Joel brings to the team his years of coaching experience as well as personal experience in XC, track, triathlons and road racing. We do still have Izaak as well. We simply have 2 assistants now.
Another note about camp – we’ll be going over everything about camp during the practices. Who will share tents, what to bring, (what not to bring) and all of the education that your guy needs, we’ll have 4 days to accomplish. I will hand out a list of what to bring – or not forget anyway. We always need team drivers, and I know that at least 3 of the seniors are planning to drive. We as usual will take the least number of cars necessary, and we reimburse for gas used. So if your son is driving – he needs to show up Tuesday with a full tank! Then he’ll only use the car for getting us to workout locations.
Team uniforms – the team buys the shorts and singlets. We use a brooks jacket & pants nowadays as the team warmup. These are family purchase, and are a nice quality. Of course they are his to keep, and as such Frosh. are encouraged to buy them big enough to fit when they are Seniors. Last year I believe the cost for both was $80.00. I will need to check with Running- Fit on this years’ price. We also have the jackets embroidered with TC West on the back and his first initial & name, + Titan CC on the front. They are sharp, and we look like a true team with them.
Fundraising. An important topic. We have one more fundraiser coming up, and it’s the big one. We make the most money from the car wash, and we need all team members to participate. I like to have the guys offering a service, not just begging for money. We do a quality wash, and they are trained how to do it. First though, they need to sell tickets at $5 apiece. A pre-sold car wash and it works well. It’s on Sat. the 29th and as usual we will have 2 shifts each covering about 3 hours. So please plan on that.
The importance of raising funds can’t be understated. Many don’t realize that we cover the many of the expenses for the team. Things like : uniforms, some transportation expense & race entries. All equipment, or supplies, or rentals needed for the course all come from what we earn, and it takes around $2,000 per year for this show to roll. (give or take some) Plus the expense goes up each year, so it’s hard for me to judge accurately, but you get the idea. So it’s important for your son to go out and offer that service to others in return for $5. We do everything but wax the cars.
That’s all I can remember now. Team gear, decals, etc. are available. See ya soon! Z
