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Fees

Parents, you should be seeing your fees online as of today. In the name of transparency, this post is intended to break down each individual charge in more detail than what you can see on the website. I'll go through each one and explain exactly what the money is used for, and why it is set to the amount that it is.

Mandated Fees

1. Bus Fee- $50

    This is a school-wide fee that applies to every sport. It covers the transportation costs to take us to each race. The school sets the amount. They based it off of previous, as well as projected costs. From what I understand, the school is already in the hole a bit with busses and they may be using a portion of this to pay it up.

2. District Participation Fee- $35

    This is a mandated fee set by the District. We have had trouble getting clarity of what exactly this goes towards, but it also applies to every sport.

3. Drug Test Fee- $5

    Hopefully Self-Explanatory. Also District mandated.

4. Operation Fee- $60

    This is another mandated fee from the school. From what I understand, it is new to this year, and the intent is to use it for equipment such as team tents, canopies, necessary gear, etc. My hope is that this means we can get things like racing spikes and running watches.

Extracurricular Fees

5. Competition Fee- $100

    This is used to pay the registration fees of all our races. In the past, region races such as Pre-Region, JV Region, and the Region Championships all charged little to nothing, as it was covered by the region. This is not the case this year, as the only race the region is covering is the region championship. The cost of all the others now falls to each team within Region 5. We set it at $100 based on what it has cost in previous seasons, as well as factoring in the additional cost with that change. Each individual meet costs us anywhere from $150-250 dollars in registration fees.

6. Uniform Fee- $50

    The school introduced a fee structure that pools funds for uniforms between sports, but we opted out to keep the costs lower and exclusive to us. This money was and will be used for new uniforms. This fee may not appear every year, as uniforms are returned at the end of the season, and then handed out again. 

7. Program Fee- $50

    The idea with this one is to use the money for anything related to team building. Things such as team breakfasts, dinners, events, training camps, bringing chocolate milk/gatorade to practice, bringing snacks to races, senior gifts, etc. Any surplus can then go towards providing gear such as shoes and stopwatches to those who don't have access.

Hopefully this provides some clarity and explanation. As you can see, nearly half of the total fees are mandated and out of our control. I'm proud to say that we are still one of the cheapest sports that you can do.

    

    

2024 Practice Schedule & Training Tips

It seems like it snuck up on us, but school has started, and summer is officially over. We had a really good group that put in some solid summer miles. That work will pay off! With that being said, we are now undergoing a complete schedule overhaul. This post is intended to clarify and solidify the plan for practice times, meeting places, and any other logistical details. Also, it will include some basic information and advice about training philosophy and methods. While there are plenty of members of the team who are familiar with my coaching from last track season, there are just as many who aren't, or who may be new to running altogether!

Practice Schedule/Outline

• A Days
• Practice begins after school, at 2:45 P.M. and we will meet at Creekside Park, or the track, once construction is finished. I'll take a headcount, then we will drive to a spot to run from as a team. Immediately after the run, we will drive back to the school, where parents can pick up 9th/10th graders. This will allow for some variation in our routes, and encourage teamwork! We will never drive more than 2-3 miles from the school. Nothing like Legacy Parkway, Bountiful Pond, or anything like that. We'll stick around Cheese Park, North Canyon, Holbrook, etc. so that it's as efficient as possible. The calendar will have a link to where we will be driving to start the run, but we will still meet at Creekside before heading there. We will try to wrap things up at 4:30 at the latest on these days
• B Days
• After checking in at the field house, Practice will begin during 8th period, at 1:10 P.M. and we will also meet at Creekside Park/the track. We will do our "speed" workout days on B days, either Mon/Wed, or Tues/Thurs depending on the week. We will warm up/cooldown jog to East Mueller Park for a lot of these, and once the track is finished, we will utilize that frequently as well.
• Immediately after the cooldown, we will lift weights in the fieldhouse, starting at 2:30. It's imperative that we start our warm ups as close to 1:10 as possible so that we can be ready to lift at that time. 
• Those not enrolled in the 8th period course will simply report to weights as close to 2:30 as they can, do the lifting workout with the team, and then do the run workout immediately afterwards. I will usually be there to give details on their running workout, but if not, it will always be posted on the calendar, and I can provide details on GroupMe.
• We will try to wrap things up on B days at around 3:30-3:45, and if we don't lift that day (Fridays) it will be more like 2:30-2:45.
• Saturdays
• This is generally the day that we do our long runs. There is much more freedom to meet further from the school, and do things like trails, legacy parkway, etc. to keep things engaging. We will meet at 7:00 A.M. for the majority of the season, until it starts to get dark and cold, at which point we will move it to 7:30 or 8. Again, location will be posted on the calendar. 

Training

Those who did track with me will know that I utilize a minutes approach, rather than miles. For example, rather than recommending a 6 mile run, I will often give 45 minutes, and instead of doing mile repeats, we might do 5 minute repeats. There are plenty of reasons for this, but most pertinent to the team is due to the wide variety in experience/skill level. Minutes allow me to prescribe workouts that accommodate everybody, and keep things organized, especially on speed workouts. Your body is not an odometer! 

• Philosophies/Principles
• This is a visual representation of the training model we generally follow. Zone 1/2 being "easy" intensity runs, and increasing to zone 5, which is essentially a maximum effort.
• As you can see, easy running forms the base of the pyramid. The most important, and largest in terms of size/volume. Approximately 80% of your running should be in that green zone1/2 intensity level. 
• Zone 3 is referred to as threshold or tempo. This should make up a much smaller portion of your runs, about 15%.
• Lastly, we have zone 4/5, which is known as speed work. The remaining 5% of running is at this intensity. This will be your strides, races, and very short intervals, usually 1 minute or less.
• As with any pyramid, the larger the base, the larger the peak. This means that the more easy running that you can sustain for long periods of time, when we do zone 3 and 4, you will be able to safely handle much higher volumes of that as well, leading to better adaptations and faster times.
• These zones are difficult to quantify accurately, but a fairly reliable method is using the "conversation test." It's literally just attempting to speak out loud to get a gauge on where you're at.
• Zone 1/2, you should be able to hold a conversation with relatively little difficulty. Of course, it will be harder than simply standing and talking, but you should be able to say a couple sentences without interruption or large pauses.
• Zone 3, you should be able to say at least one sentence before taking a gasp or breath. On a scale of 1-10, this should be about a 7 in difficulty. You should be able to hold this pace/effort for several minutes at a time.
• Zone 4/5, this is where it starts to hurt. You can only say two or three words at this effort before gasping for air.
• A typical week of training should look something like this
• 4 days of zone 1/2 easy runs. Duration from 30-50 minutes depending on age and experience level. One of these runs will be the "long run", which is about 15 minutes longer than your standard zone 1/2 run. 2-3 of these days, you will perform "strides" immediately after the run, and these should be at zone 4/5. Generally, 4 of them, 15 seconds long each.
• 2 days of zone 3 intervals, with some zone 4/ sprinkled in. Generally separated by one or two days of easy running to allow for recovery. This will be Mon/Wed, or Tues/Thurs
• Some examples of zone 3 interval (threshold) workouts.
• sets of 3 minutes on, with 75 seconds rest
• steady, continuous 15-25 minutes known as "power run"
• sets of 70 seconds on, with 30 seconds rest. 
• As the season goes on, and we approach meets like region and state championships, the emphasis will slowly tilt towards zone 4 and 5, but as of right now, it is still largely zones 1,2 and 3.
• Injury Prevention
• Consistent, high-quality sleep
• This is easily the best thing you can do to avoid injury. 8-9 hours each night is ideal. Try to establish a routine and that includes weekends.
• Easy days Easy
• We do the vast majority of our runs at zone 1 and 2 for a reason. A quick way to get injured is to do those runs too fast or hard. Committing to a conversational pace, even if that might mean teammates that are at a higher current fitness or experience level will be ahead of you, is absolutely essential to preventing injury. Running is a sport of patience!
• Sufficient Calories
• Eating is training! When putting in training like this, standard 3 meals is not sufficient. Of course, eat a healthy and balanced diet, but don't be afraid of dessert or getting seconds. Under fueling is a common issue in distance running, and it can lead to all kinds of bad outcomes. I generally recommend runners to take an iron supplement a couple of times per week as well. 
• Strength Training
• This is where our weight lifting comes in. This will address muscle imbalances and deficiencies that many runners unknowingly have, and build a stronger foundation that can handle training better.

If you made it this far, congratulations!! You get a virtual golden star. But seriously, I'm excited for this season. We are going to work hard, have tons of fun, and make some lifelong memories. This group has great energy and positivity. Let's make sure we are constantly encouraging each other, regardless of skill or experience level. At the end of the day, running is about self improvement and dedication. We are all in a race against ourselves! 

 

Welcome to Bountiful High Cross Country

For those interested in doing cross country this year, we will begin summer practice one week from today, on Monday, June 10th. The first day of practice will be held at Lewis Park, but meeting places each day can be found on the "Training Calendar" link found at the top of the blog. The "Calendar" link will also contain any relevant information, such as team events or parent meetings, etc. Parents are encouraged to subscribe to the Google calendar. Of course, this blog may also be utilized periodically for updates and additional information.

Team Goals

Ultimately, we want to see Bountiful High have successful and competitive cross country teams. This can only be achieved through developing a team culture. This means that every single individual, regardless of ability, is valuable and instrumental. Creating a positive, encouraging environment where we all cheer for each other's success is what this sport is all about, and what will allow us to raise our level of performance on the course. Developing lifelong virtues such as discipline, grit, and consistency will help us in all avenues of life. 

Summer Practice Starts:

Monday, June 10th, 7 AM @ Lewis Park

Summer Training

Summer practices will be held daily at 7 AM. We will also lift weights at the school on most Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 AM. Those days are provided on the "Training Calendar" Tab as well. The purpose of summer is to build a base and develop team bonding & relationships. We will steadily build up weekly mileage in preparation for the fall racing season. Mileage needs will vary widely between groups and individuals depending on your current fitness and experience level.

PLEASE BEGIN TRAINING THIS WEEK

• Complete Beginners will be utilizing the "Run/Walk" method for the first few weeks in order to safely ease them into the sport. This is done by alternating between a jog and a walk, usually each minute or two. It's a great way to allow the body to adapt without risking injury. These sessions will be in the 15-25 minute range to start out.
• Returners/Moderately experienced runners will be doing easy runs in the 25-35 minute range for the first couple weeks, with slightly longer Saturday runs.
• Varsity/Senior level runners will take a similar approach, with slightly more volume.

Our priority during this training phase is to develop the endurance and strength necessary to be able to safely handle the demands of the fall training and racing season, which means we will focus on consistent easy running rather than intense or difficult running. A key aspect of the summer base phase is the weekly long run. Most weeks, this will be held on Saturday mornings, and it is easily the most important run of the week. In order to keep motivation and engagement up, we would like to hold team breakfasts after our runs 2-3 times per week, hosted by willing parents at their home, or any park of their choosing. 

XC Official Season

Eligibility

Before you can compete you need to make sure that you are eligible through academics, completing the registration. View the link below for details on that.

• Each student must have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA from the previous term.
• Each student must have fewer than 2 failing (F) grades, meaning you may have 1 as long as your GPA is still above 2.0.
• All Us (citizenship) must be made up and paid for before you can compete.
• Register My Athlete must be completed, which includes passing a physical within the last year.
• All participation fees must be paid before a student is allowed to compete

Cross country class

BHS offers cross country course that takes place during 4th period on each A day. This is when practice will be held on A days. Enrolling in this course allows student athletes to optimize their time and have more freedom after school hours. While it is not mandatory, I strongly encourage everybody that can to enroll in this course, as it really helps the team feel unified and purposeful throughout the season. Those that are not enrolled in the course will still be able to come to practice as a group immediately after school ends each day.

Races - Varsity/JV

For those of you who are new to the sport, XC scoring is done by adding the places of the first 5 runners of each team. The place you get is the score you contribute to your team's total. A team finishing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 would score 15 points. The lowest score wins.

Varsity races are generally done with 7 runners, but sometimes we are allowed more, like 10-14 runners. When you have more, the additional runners beyond the first 7 no longer contribute to the overall places of other teams' runners - meaning if the 8th runner on our team finishes ahead of a 1-5 runner on an opponent's team, the scoring will be done as if our 8th runner was not in the race. JV races are scored the same, and because there are generally way more than 7 runners per team, runners after 7 are likewise not scored nor contribute to the opponents' scores.

To determine those 7 we look at a variety of things, namely the latest race results,  past race results, best paces, and consistency. We also consider practice attendance and overall consistency. Ultimately, the coach will have the final say in who is entered into the varsity races. Having run in a varsity race multiple times does not guarantee future participation in a varsity race.

With all this talk about varsity it's easy to think that is the most important element of the team, but the fact is that the greatest indicator of a good team is how good the JV team is. The varsity group is just the tip of the iceberg. The JV group challenging and vying for varsity spots is what raises the level of our team. Any success the varsity group has at a meet is a credit to the entire team, not just the varsity 7.

It's time!

 Cross Country 2024

Click here to sign up!!