Cross Country Online Track General Information

Date:

12-Sep-2021

Details:

General Information on Cross Country Track

Open to ages 6-18 with most from ages 8-14 which is typically up to through middle school.Practice Starts August 30, 2021

Parents Meeting: TBD

Practice times: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 6:00-7:30 (or dark) starting from the GMA track. Late in the fall we move up practice to 5:30PM due to the earlier sunset.

Distances: 6-8 and Under–2k(1.24 miles), 9-10–3k(1.86 miles), 11-12–3k(1.86 miles), 13-14—4k(2.5 miles), 15 and older –5k(3.1 miles) 

Races are separated by Gender

Meets are typically on Saturdays and many of of meets will be at Belmont Plateau.   The first meet is Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia on Sep 18, 2021All of our practices start at the Gwynedd Mercy Academy Track.  Any parents who wish to run with us are more than welcome as we are always looking for additional helpers at practice.  
At AOC- XC we welcome kids who do other sports and understand there may be conflicts but with that said a few important things to keep in mind.

  1. We are careful not to over train and burn out our kids both physically and mentally.   It is crucial that the AOC coaching staff understand what other sports (including other Cross Country) the athlete is doing.  MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER.  We build a certain amount of stress with expected recovery into our workout plans.   Not having enough recovery WILL often lead to injury and burnout.  We want our kiddos to learn to love this sport and hopefully continue on in high school and perhaps college. 
  2. Cross Country is a team sport and this is especially true in the post season.  If we enter teams and athletes do not show up it is not fair to the athletes who do show up.   (Obviously, injury and Covid concerns are understandable reasons to miss meets or practices). The key here is communication with the coaching staff and  setting mutual expectations early in the season.
  3. Please make sure to communicate with the other sports coaching staff as well.   We should all work together as a team in the best interest of each child and their LONG TERM health and success.