Heritage Scrimmage this Saturday

I have collected all of the information for the Heritage Scrimmage for the Chaparral Track Team. Remember, the bus leaves at 8:15 at CHS, the meet starts at Heritage HS at 10. Below is a picture of what I have on my clipboard right now. There are hurdling races, but Coach Hawk was still figuring out who was doing what by the time I left to go grab the tent this afternoon. No worries though, if you are a hurdler, you are hurdling!

If you name is not on this list, and you are planning on attending, please let your coach know ASAP. It could simply be my mistake, I make lots of them!

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Orlando Trip Reminder

So far, I have received paperwork from Alex, Josh, Melanie and Alexis. That means I still need the forms from Tyler, Julia, Katelyn and Ashley. No paperwork, no trip.

Any questions, come see me at practice today!

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New Shoes!

The turn-out last night at Runner's Roost was fantastic! We had lots of kids show up, get hooked up with lots of new fast training shoes and racing shoes, and even the coaches got new shoes. (It was so strange seeing Wojan and Whitenack trying on shoes next to each other. One was a size 15, the other, a size 5! Guess who was who!) I also got some new shoes, not really for running, but for standing around, writing down times, and other miscellaneous coaching activites. Here they are:
The Pearl Izumi Seek III WRX. It's very comfortable, black, and water resistant. Perfect for coaching! Pretty slick, huh?

In other news, today is the day your choices for events at the scrimmage are due. Here is a schedule of events, remember, this is just a scrimmage, so there will be LOTS of teams there, with LOTS of kids particiapting. Patience will be a must.

10:00 Start time (Be at CHS at 8:15 though)
4 x 800
60H
1600
4 x 100
400
200H
800
200
3200
4 x 400

The field events also start at 10, and they will be on a rolling schedule, with the order of them determined by the coaches on Saturday.

So, look over this schedule, get with your individual discipline coach, and sign up for many events. If you are not going to the scrimmage on Saturday, then you will have a chance to run Friday the 6th at the JV meet.

The most important note I have today is that picture day is THIS FRIDAY!!! Picture packets will be handed out today, and the individual and team pictures are two days from now. For the team picture, all of the athletes must be wearing their blue sweat tops and blue sweat bottoms that were given to you when you turned in your gold card. If you do not have them, we will continue distributing them today.

Do not forget, (we will remind you constantly), to wear your sweats on Friday, as that is our team uniform and we wear our team uniform in our team pictures.

Thanks for reading, see you all this afternoon at the last Spenst Hill day of the season!

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Heritage Scrimmage

I am sitting here at my family's house in St. Louis. My niece Sarah is sitting here right next to me. She would like to say "Hi" to everyone. She plays on a basketball team, and they are 5-0. This is a picture of her and I.


My head looks like a giant pumpkin compared to her cute little peanut head, don't ya think? :)

But, we have some stuff to figure out before the scrimmage this week. So, let's talk some track. :)

The scrimmage is at Heritage HS this Saturday. This is the only meet where the athletes get to choose their events. All distance runners are expected to sign up for two events. All other runners are expected to sign up for three events, one of which may be a field event. There will be no relay races, all of the races are open races.

On Wednesday, before Spenst Hill, we will be asking athletes what events they want to do. Please be prepared with your choices. Please choose wisely. Please do as many events as possible, as to maximize your chances to make the varsity team.

The meet will be a normal schedule, but if you have any questions, you need to conference with your discipline coach before Wednesday.

Remember, this scrimmage will determine who runs in what events at the first meet, LEague Relays, which is only 14 days away!

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Locker Room Security

When you go to college, and you are running for your collegiate team, you will be lucky enough to have a locker room that is for your team only. Until then, however, everyone at CHS, (non-athletes included) shares a locker room. This makes for a very unsafe situation for your valuables. It seems like every day I get an email from Mr. Thompson about an athlete getting things taken from the locker room, and almost every time, the items that were taken were not locked away in a safe place.

What I am trying to say is, if you leave anything (backpacks, water bottles, large lumps of gold) in the locker room, it needs to be LOCKED up in a locker. (A zipped backpack is not a locker.) If you do not have a locker, put it in your car, or in the car of the person you ride home with. Leaving anything unattended is a bad idea, and 99 times out of 100, it will be taken.

Unfortunately, I do not know all of the guidelines for getting a locker, but I know that your phys. ed. teachers do, I know Coach Hawk does, and I know Mr. Thompson does. So, if you need a locker, please talk to one of them today. Don't continue to gamble with your stuff being left out!

I hate hearing about athletes getting stuff stolen, I think the coaches do as good of a job as they can patrolling the locker room, but we cannot keep our eyes on everything. Keep your valuables locked up, keep them in your car, keep them at home, so we can focus on running fast, instead of filling out incident reports on stolen property.

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P.S. 16 days until League Relays!

Captains

 Elections were yesterday, the voting was close, but the people have spoken!  Congratulations to the captains of the 2009 CHS Distance team!

Trey

Melanie

Taylor

Kelli

Derek

Alex

Congratulations!

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Improvement Trends

Looking back at the meet at CU yesterday, I would say that is the most successful indoor meet we have had since the WTAFC started attending these things 4 years ago.  One of the great things about track is that if you go to the same meets year after year, as we do, you can look back and see how you compared against those times.  For example, Alex ran a 4:52 at this time in 2008, and a 4:49 this time in 2007.  In 2009, he ran a 4:37, for a 5.1% improvement!  Wow!  Here are just some of improvement trends I tried to calculate:

From last year,

Cam had a 5.4% improvement in the 1600,

Company had a 5.5% improvement in the 1600,

Mel had a 2.5% improvement in the 800,

Derek had a 2.3% improvement in the 1600,

Cabbage had a 2.9% improvement in the 1600, and

Tyler had an 11.4% improvement in the 800!  Holy smokes!

Last year at this time, we had four girls in the high 2:30's, not the low 2:30's in the 800.  We had two men under five in the mile, not four, we had no men under 2:10 in the 800, now we have one, most likely three.  Fantastic, I am so happy and impressed! 

Now, onto the analysis.  I know I could calculate everyone's percentage improvement, but I got get ready for my NASCAR party this afternoon.  Sorry. :)

What this shows me as a coach is a couple of things.  One, the older you are, the better you know how to race, so the faster you will be able to run.  Also, the older you are, the more miles you have accumulated under your proverbial belts, so you will be able to call upon those miles to get some more speed.  But, it really shows me that the long kilos we have been doing, the hill work we have been doing, the drills we have been doing; even without any true "speedwork" we are running faster than we ever have before at this point, and that is EXCITING!  As Coach Laster used to say, half of the plan is sticking to it, so we need to stick to our plan of working hard, doing all the little things right, and believing in ourselves, because I know we are going to get a LOT faster.

New practice schedule on the left, I hope everyone is out running a recovery run this afternoon, and I hope to see everyone tomorrow at Sierra MS at eleven.  We will be out back by the track, and be ready to run, as this will be the hardest workout of the year so far.   At the end of the week, I will be out of town, so the workouts will be on your own, or captain's practice.  Let's get ready to have a good week of training! 

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P.S. 20 days to League Relays!

Valentines Day Entry Form

The slightly fuzzy picture above is what I have on my clipboard for the entries for the Valentines Day indoor meet at C.U. on Saturday. The meet starts at 8:00 sharp, they are utilizing a rolling schedule in the order at the bottom of the chart, and there will be LOTS of little kids competing in the laned events.

Please double check your USATF number, make sure it is up-to-date. If it is not, please email me tonight, and I can change it at the registration table tomorrow morning.

Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow at the race!

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Orlando Confirmation Due Friday!

If you are planning on attending the Disney/Orlando Meet on March 13th-15th, you need to have an official confirmation for me tomorrow, Feb. 13th.. Even though we do not have official practice, I will be at the bottom of the CHS main stairs at 3:00 with my computer to take care of all of this data collection. Please be there with a print-out of your flight information. Thank you.

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P.S. 23 days to League Relays!

Orlando Trip Forms

Before I start rambling on about forms and signatures and medical stuff, I just want to make sure people are clear on the flying portion of the Disney trip.  I understand that we probably will NOT get on the same flight, which is a real downer, but it is what it is.  Now, if you can get a flight that is *close* to the chaperones flight, that would be great.  The chaperones plan on being at DIA very early to help any athletes with check-in, security, getting to the right gate, etc.  We will also give you instructions and a map for when you arrive in Orlando.  We will have set up a meeting place in the Orlando airport (most likely the food court or baggage claim) where you will need to wait until everyone from CHS arrives.  So, you will probably need to pack a book, or some homework or an iPod, something to help pass the time while you wait for everyone.  Once we all arrive, we get the rental cars and head on over to the hotel.  Simple, huh! :)

So far I have received actual confirmation of flight purchase from one athlete.  You can email me your flight details or you can print me out a copy.  Text messages or verbal communication is not confirmation, I need something more official. 

The deadline for athlete confirmation is this Friday.  Even though we do not have practice, I will be at the stairs at 3:00 with my trusty com-puter ready to get everyone's confirmation.  Please be there on Friday if you plan on going to Orlando.  Also, be ready with the ideas of the events you would like to run.  Unlike spring track, you will have some choice in the events you wish to compete in.  Unlike winter track, you will not have total autonomy.  We will work together, as coach and athlete, to choose your events.

When I do get your official confirmation, I will give you three white packets.  (Color coding would have been nice, but colored paper is getting very expensive, so I stuck with plane ol' white.)  One packet will be titled "CHS T & F Team Medical Release Form".  This is a three page form that needs to be filled out completely by you and your parents.  I will need a copy of your health insurance card attached to it, as well as a copy of a photo ID.  (Student ID's work just fine.)  The firstpage of this form also needs to be notarized by an official notary.  (There is a notary at Sierra Middle School, Chris Van Doren, who said she can help notarize documents for us if need be, just don't forget an ID!) You cannot go on this trip unless I have this form in my possession with all of your information.

The second packet is the standard parental permission slip for overnight trips titled "Douglas County School District Extended Field Trip Parent/Student Permission Release And Agreement Form"  This is three pages long, needs to be filled out totally, and in my possession before you go on this trip.  No notary is needed here, just signatures.

The third packet is the behavior contract.  It is titled "Trip Guidelines for Athletes"  This needs to be read, understood, and signed by both the parent and the athlete.  Only the bottom half of the last page needs to be given back to me before the trip.  Please understand, this is a behavior contract.  Any violation of the rules outlined in this contract will result in two missed varsity meets, no questions asked.  Please do not put me or any of the other chaperones in a position to enforce these consequences.

Looking at the calendar, I will need all of these packets and signatures and forms returned to me by Tuesday the 24th of February.  Earlier is fine, but no later than the 24th.

I plan to have a meeting, tentatively scheduled to be on March 2nd where further details such as hotel arrangements, rental car arrangements, and meet entries will be discussed.

Any specific questions, please feel free to email me, and I will get back to you with the best answers possible.

Thanks for reading this far!

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Flying to Orlando

Wow, I just spent a very long time on the phone with Carmen, a very helpful lady from the internet airplane ticket website. And I bought three tickets, for the three chaperones/coaches who are going, and here are the details.

Coach Maroney, Ms. Maier, and myself are flying out of Denver on Southwest #0972 at 8:00 am on Friday the 13th. We will be there early if athletes are flying out beforehand, to help with check-in, ticketing, etc, but we will not be there afterwards, obviously. So, try and get a flight out of Denver at or before 8:00. Otherwise, you might be on your own. We will wait at the airport in Orlando for as long as neccessary, if prior arrangements are made, to transport athletes to the hotel.

Coming back on Sunday the 15th, now this gets complicated. After many cancellations, begging from me, and re-booking overbooked flights, I will be flying back to Denver on AirTran 746 & 342 (44 min for lunch in ATL) that leaves at 10:11 am. Coach Maroney and Ms. Maier are flying on Southwest #1012 at 10:30 am. I guess there were no more seats on the direct flight, or something got booked wrong, I really don't know. So, we will be able to help any athletes with ticketing, check-in, etc. in Orlando, until the later flight at 10:30 leaves.

I guess the whole point to the story is (other than flying being one of the leading causes of stress in my life), please do your best to communicate your needs to the coaches if you are not on the same relative time schedule as us. Also, we are a team, and we will all need to help each other out. I don't think any problems will arise from this, but if they do, we need to be mature adults and handle them appropriately. This is one of the potential problems that I feared would arise from not purchasing bulk tickets, but we would not have even been able to attend the trip if we had to buy all the tickets from the track budget on this short notice.

So, let's all try and make this work, let's all be positive, and let's all get excited. I think this trip is going to be great, and I am very eager to show CHS track off to all those schools in Florida!

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Schedules

I am getting the left sidebar of this blog pretty crowded, I know, but I have posted the track schedules for this spring up there.  Some disclaimers.  The meets are pretty much set in stone, both varsity and sub-varsity.  Now, the locations could very well change at a moments notice.  So, please pay attention to everything your coach says, and if there is a last minute change, make sure you are aware of it.

We have scheduled the best meets we could attend this year, in order to give us the best chance to run some fast times.  Most are pretty close to Parker, but a few are in the Springs or in Ft. Collins.  If you have any questions about them, please ask away!

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Saturday Happenings

Tomorrow, I am hosting a practice at my house.  8:00, jog down to Holly Tennis Court Complex, and we will do Two Kenyan intervals.  This week, however, we will be running five laps instead of four.  The weather looks like it will be ideal for some fast running!

Next Saturday, we have our final indoor meet up at the Fieldhouse at C.U. in Boulder.  The deadline registration is going to be Wednesday the 11th.  While I will not be at practice (Parent-Teacher Conferences at Sierra), you will need inform Coach Hawk what events you would like to do.  The choices are: 60 m H, 60 m, 1600 m, 200 m, 800 m, 400 m, 4 x 200 m R, Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump and Shot Put.  The meet starts at 8:00 sharp.  You may choose whichever events you want to do.

At the meet at the Air Force Academy, we had an issue with some expired USATF numbers.  Please, make sure you have an updated USATF number.  Monday, before we start practice, if you feel you have an expired number, please check with me.  I will have all of the numbers you have given me on file, so we can double check.  This just makes Saturday so much easier.

See you all tomorrow!

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P.S.  29 days until League Relays...

One Month

Only 30 more days until League Relays!

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Disney Track & Field Showcase

The CHS Track & Field Team has planned an out-of-state meet that all dedicated winter track athletes are eligible for. The informational brochures were handed out yesterday at practice. In case you lost yours, here it is again in electronic form.



Contact me with any questions!

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P.S. Only 31 days to League Relays!

Kenyan Intervals

On Saturday, we had a fantastic practice. Beth took some good pictures of all the intervals we did, here are just a few of them!

Wow, those kids look fast!!!