My numbers are low this year. We start school on Wednesday and I’d like to add a few to our roster.
Does anyone have successful suggestions for getting kids to join xc (I realize they missed the base phase, but they may help next year).
My numbers are low this year. We start school on Wednesday and I’d like to add a few to our roster.
Does anyone have successful suggestions for getting kids to join xc (I realize they missed the base phase, but they may help next year).
make it a difficult and proud tradition.
part of the reason that xc sucks is because every loser and his sister can not train over the summer and be on an athletic team because xc coaches are so desperate.
hey coach, do you know why community bikes end up in the drainage ditch, in the pond and thrown off of the top of dorms? because they are free.
Contact Dan Green at the Woodlands HS. He might have some good ideas for you.
Have your team captains and seniors to go during their lunch hour and sign up freshmen kids. Build your team for the future and a new tradition of getting kids to come out.
Contact Joe Newton at York High School. He might have some good ideas for you.Since he has 230 runners this season.
a bit late this yr. you need to get to the jr hi - middle school. contact the PE teachers and or coaches. when my daughter started running (some yrs ago) the team went from 7 runners to over 100 in one yr. Went from 6 runners to about 60 for boys.
It starts to take care of itself if you get some of the more 'influential' kids. You can do the frosh thing but the real benefits are in the jr hi. Little more complicated than this - but ... you can fill in the blanks. Also went from 3rd/4th place team in league/conference to top 10 in country.
The key is to challenge the kids you have this year, yet still make it fun. Kids want to work hard. (If have some on the team who don't, you don't want them around.) Then next year, have the kids that you trained this year work on their friends. A positive experience and word of mouth is the way to build programs.
When I started 19 years ago, we had 3 girls on the team. At our first practice this year, we had 18.
Wait for soccer to make cuts, invite them to 'try out' for cross
Check with the registrar and ask for the Honor Roll lists. Scan the list and look for those on Honor Roll that aren't doing a fall sport.
Runners tend to be inwardly motivated and hard working; the same characteristics apply to your honor students. I have used this recruiting tactic for years, and it has brought many of the fringe (non-jock) smart kids into a sport that they ended up loving.
My school at the time had the leading program in So California. The main thing the coach did was if you showed up to practice everyday, did all the workouts he promised you would never be cut. And if you did it all 3 years you would letter.
We had alot of kids who were not athletic turn into athletes. We even got people from corrective PE who ended up being pretty good.
The main thing about our team was no one was ever left behind. We continuously regrouped. The fastest runners always encouraged the slower guys, we promoted the team concept of running. When someone was dragging we always made sure they didnt feel bad about it. Since we did alot of fartlek it allowed the fast guys to get alot of good hard work without leaving the slower guys to far behind(the would keep a steady pace while we would be sprinting/jogging)
Anyway when the kids in your school find out there is a team where no one is a star, where they wont be made fun of where they might fit in you will have a team.
PS check out the math club or computer lab, most of our team were math geeks. Also point out to the skinny kids that in running unlike other sports being thin is a trememdous advantage due to the strength to weight ratio.