Getting high school kids to come out for cross country

Get excited. Convincing a bunch of hs kids to go train and run is a hard sell, so you have to demonstrate to them it is worth it. Enthusiasm, energy, the promise of what they will gain by taking on the challenge. Share with them the tradition that distance running carries, the honor, the pride, the glory of past champions, etc. Put up some record boards so the kids can see what they're shooting for. Show them video of state meets, hold time trials with ribbons or medals to pique their interest.

What got me hooked on running in 7th grade was my first medal I won. But what snagged me for good was the feeling of running fast. Plus, I witnessed my sister's boyfriend become state champ in the 1600m, which I thought was awesome.

The main reason I ran XC was because of my brothers running in the past, but by my Soph year I realized that I loved it so much because it was almost the opposite of football. I went to one of the top football schools in the state (and country) and wanted to participate in something that was totally different than them. Everytime we would run by their practices, we would feel so much more dominant than them. Use the old if you can't play football run XC.

highschool kids or high school kids?

You need to go the middle school(s) in the same district and introduce yourself to the principals and tell them what you are attempting to do. In most cases, they will let you speak to the kids.

This is exactly what my HS lacrosse team did (and still does), which is why the men's and women's team have won many state championships and every kid wants to do lacrosse coming in as a freshman.

Also, speak to the P.E. teachers so they can identify talent at a young age and encourage them to come out for cross country.

Participate in your local RRCA or USATF youth development programs or volunteer to create one. When these same kids come to HS, they will most probably join the team because they will look up to you.

For kids already in HS, usually most schools have announcements over the intercom once or twice a day. Throw in a message for XC once or twice during the spring semester before your first XC season coaching.

these are just some ideas, good luck with your coaching position.

-Soup

It should be part of the program that the experienced kids take an interest in the younger talent. At my school, the seniors would go out of their way to make sure the freshman chicks and guys felt welcome at practice and in school. That was unusual for high school where seniors were practically gods and generally beat on freshman.

Runners create runners. Most of your success will come from that. If you succeed in convincing your existing team about the beauty of the sport, their friends will eventually show up.

I'm not sure on tips to get people to initially come out for a sign up meeting in the spring or anything like that. However, for the people that ARE there, you might want to show some great endings of Olympic races. Almost everybody appreciates a close race and it gets the adrenaline pumping. That could serve to inspire.

The middle school idea is perfect. Most kids are intimidated when they first come to High School (I know I was)...if they've already met you before entering HS they will naturally come to .

Quick example...my middle school had a huge XC program (60+ kids) we were never really good but we had the numbers and a good coach could have molded us into an amazing team. Anyway, we get to high school and there is no word of any XC team. Nobody knew where to look and most people didn't want to go out of their way to find the people involved in it. Our HS team had about 10 kids in a good year and we were a joke.

The music program...which did come to our middle school and introduce themselves was huge in high school. It was one of the first things that everyone signed up for because the faces of the music teachers were the only ones they recognized.

Good luck coaching!

Thanks for the advice, everyone. These are all good ideas. One problem that I forgot to mention is that this is a boarding school that starts in 8th grade, so I can't really go to local middle schools or anything. One of the things that I have been thinking about the most is dropping in on a school assembly in the morning (this school has these regularly) and making an announcement for everyone interested in trying out for XC... I have a feeling that a lot of people don't even know what it is. Any ideas for a good witty cliffhanger type of line that might attract people?

good luck. I coached high school XC for three seasons and have coached HS boys track for two. the numbers game is the toughest part especially with the boys team. distance running is difficult, and HS guys are generally lazy. my assistant coach and I tried everything - recruiting from gym class, talking to younger kids, having team members encourage friends, approached the AD and principal about having XC runners exempt from Phys Ed, etc. we got the numbers up to 14 girls and 12 guys, but truthfully, 4 or 5 of each were not there to run, but just to hang out with friends. we made it to top 3 or 4 (of 10 teams) running against teams with 30-50 kids that had some of the advantages that we tried to get (exemption from phys. ed)

my best advice is train the best kids you can get to run their asses off and hopefully, success will create participation. train your best, qualify a couple for state meet and let the chips fall where they may.

XC, at least in the part of the country where I coach is dominated by upper middleclass kids whose parents run or force them into it. or by private schools that recruit the best kids from local CYO programs. or by young phenoms who burn out from too much racing.

good luck. XC is the best sport to coach. the season is 100 days of training and hanging out with some of the best kids you'll ever get to be around.

Right.

The success breeds imitation theory is key. You have some guys on the team, you need to get them on board with your plans. Get them committed to being fast, and get em working hard. Then play up every thing they do. If they get a school record, make sure the whole school knows.

Ask them if they know anyone who's fast.

You could also talk to the winter sport coaches about trying to get some of their kids in shape for the winter sports by running XC for pre-season. Talk about how great their cardio-vascular fitness will be and how they'll never tire out on the court.

You also want to try to get some of your spring sprinters out there. Base Base Base.

The key is to get tons of 7th/8th graders to come out. Make it very fun for them. The cream will rise to the top and the better ones will continue.

Don't leave it all to chance. Even though kids improve at different rates, a key is to identify those with talent. Develop a unit for the JHS PE teacher that includes testing items such as 600m or longer run (if too long, many won't try), 2 legged hops, vertical leap, obstacle course, etc. You want some potential talent, not just the kids who can't do anything else. Personally talk to any kid showing talent including home visits if necessary. Address all PE classes personally to show enthusiasm and attract numbers. Overkill the morning announcements to generate interest and with results and other items of interest once the program is up and going.

I agree with the posts emphasizing numbers, making it fun (although, instill from the beginning that the most fun is success at meets), and get the program attention through the school and local media.

Good luck.

my high school got 57 eighth graders to sign up for cross by putting a guy in a gorilla suit by the cross country stand at the 8th grade "welcome to high school" thing. although not all 57 eventually ran, we still managed to get a humongous freshman class. (madison west high school)

use the Muslim method- tell the boys there will be virgins at the finish line to deflower.

i was on the jr high track team. the summer before hs i received a letter from the hs coach asking me to come out. worked for me.

I know what got me out for the track team my freshman year was the XC/track coach spoke to the football coaches about kids who delusions of playing football, but didn’t have the size for it, but did well in the running drills. The XC/track coach spoke with me about coming out for the track team and sold me on the realization of where my true abilities were. My grade school (K-8) had no track program of any sort, so it was nothing I ever considered. He convinced me to give track a shot and if I didn’t like it, could just go back to football the following fall. Nothing lost. He worked with me about trying to train over the winter and be ready for the track season and had moderate success that freshman year in track. Enough to convince me that I was much better suited for XC/track. I went on to have a solid high school career, with enough success to get recruited by some mid-level D1 schools and offered some scholarship money. The XC/coach also did this with the schools lacrosse and soccer coaches as well. It wasn’t too hard given my high school had strong football, soccer and lacrosse teams and he was able to lure kids away who could make the connection of what the likelihood of opportunity would be in one sport versus the other.

Run with your kids. This is the absolute most important thing you can do early on. Since there are not going to be any returning studs out on the roads with your runners, you need to get out there with them and show them what it's like to be a runner.

Also, try to get some kind of fun summer program going. The school that I coach at is in a hot, flat part of central California. When the air is clear, you can see the hills off in the distance. Once a week, we take out the school vans and get parent volunteers to drive to a park or a hilly road. We try to find some water and a picnic area afterward. It makes a fun morning/early afternoon for the kids and provides some team bonding time.

An interesting aside here... The first couple of years I did this, it was free. The third year, I started charging $30 and my participation went way up. I charged People assign more value to something they have paid for. The $30 was ostensibly for summer running t-shirts and to cover the cost of picnics, but it had the effect of totally increasing attendance during the summer.

Also, I made a little handbook. I have my team rules, history, records, workouts....anything I think will be useful. The kids get one of those when they start.

where I come from 'coming out' has nothing to do with cross country running

I agree with football rejects' suggestion. Keep an eye out for running talent on the soccer, football, lacrosse teams. lots of the rejects are kids that are willing to work hard to succeed in any sport, and if you pull them aside to explain their opportunity as a stud miler, varsity athlete, and *gasp* the possibility of a letter jacket, they wil take it to heart and show up to practice every day. Also, ask the P.E. coach to do a mile run on the track early in the year. Most kids will walk it, some will try to run, and one or two might actually complete it without stopping. Those are your guys, the ones that will be ready to kill themselves in workouts. They might suck for a semester, but they'll come around eventually if you can work with their form. That's where my coach found me.