Two Words

I was originally going to leave E-City school early today to go up to N-City school to get my X-C money. And then talk to the Dean of Students about the teaching position he offered me last week on the phone. Well, we had three teachers out today. So because I had to cover a class in the late afternoon, I wasn't able to leave early to drive up there to see the Treasurer before she left. I'll try again next Monday.

But as for the teaching position, I thought about it over the weekend. And without meeting the Dean today, I was able to make a decision.

Here are some pro's and con's affecting my decision:

On the E-City side, I would have to give up coaching the softball team.

On the N-City side, I would have a shorter commute.

On the E-City side, I would have to give up my wonderful job of running the candy store.

On the N-City side, I would have a little more control over the X-C runners, i.e. seeing them every day and maybe getting them to go to practice more often.

On the E-City side, I would have to give up teaching the higher math classes like Honors Algebra and Pre-Calculus (I'm pretty sure the academic levels at N-City are a bit lower than those at E-City).

On the N-City side, the salary would definitely be higher based on comparing the X-C fees at both schools.

On the E-City side, I would be severing the long six year relationship that I've had with the students, the faculty, and the school.

So what was my decision? Well, it came down to two words (or one??).

White Board.

Leaving E-City, I would have to leave my cherished white board and go back to chalk boards.

And chalk dust. Chalk dust on my clothes, on my hands, on my shoes, in the air, on my desk, on my computer, etc. etc.

Nope. No chalk dust for me!!

Job Offer

A couple of days ago, the Dean of Students at N-City school called me. I know him because he was the Academic Dean at E-City school before he went to N-City. The N-City school will be expanding to three levels next year (grades 9 to 11) and he asked if I would be interested in a teaching position there. My plans were to go to N-City this Monday to finally get my X-C coaching fee, so I told him that I would think about it over the weekend, and stop in and see him on Monday.

Next Year

The state Meet of Champions was run last week so the Cross Country season in New Jersey has ended. Some teams and some individual runners will be racing today in the Nike and Footlocker championships in Wappinger Falls and in the Bronx respectively. But there will be no more X-C races in New Jersey until next September.

And now with the off-season here, it’s time to start thinking about next year. This past year, if you read my blog, I was coaching a brand new Cross Country team in N-City. At first it looked like a golden opportunity. At my interview I was told there were about 30+ runners who had signed up in the past couple of weeks. At that first practice, there were 11 runners. But as the weeks went by, personal issues came up as well as injuries. Work days took their tool as well as a growing lack of commitment. By year’s end, there was only one runner who went to the CTC championships. A sad showing.

As of today, I am about “30-70” for coaching a 2nd year at N-City. I know it is the first year that they have had a X-C program, but the work program and the lack of commitment could be serious deal breakers. The former is an excellent program that the school has but one day a week that runner is missing practice. The latter is something that can’t be taken lightly. A lack of commitment means missed practices which translate into zero improvement during the season. So the 30-70 means that I might be coaching there next year if I can’t find anything else and I would be able to put up with those problems.

The scenario that probably fits me best would be to take on a coaching position for a school that already has an established program. Between now and September I will be looking for any openings at northern schools. Starting a program and doing the normal practices is a bit more than I would like to handle. I would rather concentrate just on the coaching aspect instead of also initiating the program.

I did get one benefit from the N-City program (besides the money) and that was one year of experience. At the end of the 2 month season, I felt that I had learned how to plan a season, how to be organized, and how to get the most out of a practice. I hope to be able to use this experience in the spring’s softball program at E-City. But that’s for another time and another blog, if I create one.

Now I would be very hypocritical of what I said two paragraphs ago if I said I haven’t given up hope of starting a X-C program at E-City. Now that I look back on that effort, I realize that maybe starting a boy’s X-C team may not have been such a good idea. The reason why I did so was two-fold. First, I felt that a boy’s team would be better than a girl’s team and would be able to compete against the other schools in our conference. Second, there is currently only one sport in the fall and that is girl’s tennis. E-City does not have girl’s volleyball, field hockey, girl’s soccer, boy’s soccer, football, or any of the other fall sports that exist at larger schools. So the plan was that since the girls had a sport in the fall, I would start a new sport for the boys.

If I do decide to try again at E-City, I realize now that I will have to change genders. The 15 boys that had signed up the previous May were a total disappointment in terms of responsibility and commitment. And since my initial effort, the school has implemented a soccer club and an intra-mural basketball program during the fall which many of the boys have joined. That leaves very few if any boys who could be candidates for a new boy’s X-C team. At E-City, the boys are either big soccer fans or basketball fans. There is no third option.

So the option for a new team may lie with the females of the school. The girls are not as involved in sports as the boys are. They have the tennis, basketball, cheer leading, and softball programs. So since they are not that much into sports, the school’s girls may be where a new sport may grow and thrive. In fact, I feel that there is a different relationship with the females in the school than there is with the boys. The girls, whether they are athletes or not, will say hi and talk with teachers, while most of the boys won’t even look at you as you pass them in the hallway. So I need to count on this rapport with the school’s female population.

Why didn’t the girls come forward last year when I was looking for potential runners? Did they not listen to the announcements over the school’s intercom? Did they not see the 40+ signs I had posted around the school? I think they did. Two did come to me and I signed them up as managers for the short-lived boys team. What I think happened was that most girls in the school thought of X-C as a boys sport and didn’t realize that there are girl’s X-C teams as well.

So once I get an idea in my head, it always begins to grow. I have devised a plan for starting a new girl’s X-C team next fall. I don’t expect to get any of the girls from the tennis team. They seem too committed to that sport. Plus they don’t seem to be true athletes—walking around the court hitting a tennis ball softly is worlds apart from the demanding workouts of a X-C team. The same could be said for the cheerleaders. True, they are a bit more active and athletic than the tennis players, but still, too dainty for me to be a X-C runner. No, my target is going to be either members of the basketball and softball teams or girls who have no sport affiliation at all. Since I coach the softball team I will know which girls I can approach about joining a new team. This past week I dropped in at an open-gym session for the basketball team and I saw quite a few new faces (mostly freshmen) trying out for the team. Next spring I might touch base with the basketball coach and ask him if he would like any of his team to run X-C in the fall as part of a training program.

My plan will kick off on March 2, 2009. That is the day of the first tryout for my softball team. From talking to the girls at the school, it seems that there will be a lot of girls trying out for the team. That means I will have to cut girls which I didn’t do last year. To quash any ill feelings toward me from a girl who was cut, I’m hoping that by having an option to join a new sport in the fall, coached by me, may be enticing enough to the girl who was cut.

Next year, instead of putting 40+ signs around the school, I’m going to keep it very low key. I will put up just three signs which will be positioned at locations where all the girls of the school will see it and probably very few boys: outside the two girl’s bathrooms and one outside the girl’s locker room. And the key selling point of these signs will be that “you don’t have to be fast to be on a X-C team, you just have to be dedicated”. That way I could get both athletes and the girls who feel that they may not be athletes.

And the most important thing I have to do is to control any anticipated excitement on my part. I was in another world last summer anticipating the approaching X-C season and when it never got off the ground it was a crushing disappointment. When the N-City opportunity came along, that too was exciting, only to fizzle out after two months time. So as March approaches and my plan either works or not, I need to control my excitement. So as I always say, “stay tuned”!

End of the Season

The N City X-C season finally came to an end this past Saturday. During the week leading up to the final day, the lack of commitment by the runners continued to show at practice. The number of runners who showed up were 3, 1, 1, and 0. On Saturday, instead of five runners going to the CTC Championship at W Park in E City, there was only 1. So off we went, me, the runner, and the AD in two cars. The AD told me that he would drive the runner back and I could go directly home instead of driving all the way back to N City.

It rained the whole time driving to the Park. When we got there, the runner and I walked around trying to figure out where the 2.1 Freshman Course was. In the morning, the Public School North II teams were having their Sectional Championships. We got there just as the last race was finishing. The grounds were wet and muddy. As we walked around, we could easily tell who had run in a race that morning. If their legs and other parts of their body were muddy, we knew that they had raced. A beautiful site.

We went over to the finish line and checked in with the officials. The Freshman girls were to go off at 2 and my runner would follow in the boys freshman race at 2:20.

What a year this had been. It started out back in early September at an interview for the coaching position when I was told that 30 some kids had signed up for X-C. That was followed by that beautiful Saturday morning when 11 students showed up for the first practice. 9 girls and 2 boys. It had the makings of a solid girls team. But the apathy crept in along with a lack of commitment. And by year's end there were no girls and just one solitary brave soul, ready to run his heart out on the muddy fields of W Park.

2:20 came and he lined up with the other runners. The gun sounded and off he went. He was strong for about the first 1/3 of a mile but then the lack of practice began to show. He dropped back steadily. Finally as he came back to me from a loop to the other side of the park, he was walking and running. I spurred him on to the finish but he was experiencing pain and discomfort that an out of shape X-C runner always would. He finally crossed the finish line and he could barely stand up. We got him to the AD's car, loaded him in, drove over to where my car was, and got him some fruit and gatorade. Then I told him he ran a helluva race and off they went. He officially finished the race and his name appears on the online results. And he actually beat two other freshmen!!!

I decided to hang around and watch the rest of the races. I was able to take in the Girls Varsity as well as the Boys JV and Varsity races. It's hard to believe, but this was the first huge high school X-C meet that I had ever attended. It was quite exciting. I got in a position where with minimal walking/running, I was able to view the start, the middle, and the finish of the races. And along with the excitement, I also felt a bit of disappointment. As I watched these teams of young boys and girls battle over the muddy course, I realized that I was a coach without a team. Or more accurately, a coach without two teams.

And now the season is over. Today I had an open gym for my softball team. There were some new students trying out who showed some promise. But that's another sport for another time. As for X-C, I don't know what my future will be. I guess you will just have to stay tuned!!!

Bullet proof running gear?

If I was a betting man, and there was an "over-under" on the number of runners who would show up this week, I would have chosen the under. As I previously mentioned, the number of runners showing up has been dwindling. Three last Friday and two on Saturday. The weather has been getting cooler and today was rainy. Yesterday and today no runners showed up. But the real reason I haven't mentioned is that the official gang initiation period kicked off last Friday and is supposed to run thru Halloween. The annual event, held every October, got off to a roaring start last Friday with 6 drive by shootings in N City. Basically the runners on the team are just plain afraid to come to practice. So I will be canceling practice tomorrow. Thursday is a normal day off and Friday is Halloween and the team voted weeks ago not to have practice on that day. So the next practice will be Saturday. That leaves just one week to work hard to get in shape (the runners who will be going) for the championships on 11/8.

If this program continues in the future, having gang initiation week in October is going to put a crimp in this team's preparation for any late season races. I may have to google Bloods, Crips, and Latin Kings and find out how to contact their representatives. Maybe I could convince them to move their initiation period to another time of the year.

Highs and Lows

This season has been a roller coaster of highs and lows and this past week was no different. There was a high on Tuesday when we ran our second meet of the year. We had only five runners compared to the eight that ran in the first meet. But the four that were running for the second time knocked anywhere from 2 to 7 minutes off their previous times for the course.

A low came the next day when two of the female runners informed me that they wanted to go to basketball practice as well as show up for X-C once in awhile. The school had just started basketball tryouts last week and were allowed to start early in the year (as well as overlap our season) because we are not a member of the NJSIAA and are not governed by their rules. I didn't care for this news and told the AD in so many words. He put the kibosh on their intentions and they can only practice X-C until 11-8.

A high came on Friday when the Girls Basketball coach came over to me in the gym. I thought he was going to talk to me about the season overlap, but instead he informed me that he wanted his entire team to run X-C next year so they could be in better shape for their season. I've never subscribed to the idea of having basketball players running X-C to "get in shape". I've always preferred to have a team made up of "runners" who are dedicated to the sport and not some ulterior motive. But an increase in team members is a good thing.

And then more lows on Friday and Saturday when only three and two runners, respectively, showed up for practice.

Tomorrow we begin the final two week preparation for the championships on 11/8. There are 4 or 5 runners who will be running in that--the others have one scheduling conflict or another. It will be interesting to see how many show up for practice this week. The weather will be getting cooler (forecast is for 40s and 50s) and the other runners don't really have anything to run for other than to just run for the sake of running. The two basketball players won't be racing in November so they may not show up at all.

Every day I go to practice and instead of concentrating on my plan for practice, I wonder instead if anyone will be showing up. But it's still better than E City where the entire team quit. Next year has to be better. How can it be worse?

Here are pictures!

Here is the link for the pictures from Tuesday's race. Hope you enjoy them.

I don't have a photographer for the 11/8 race but am still searching :-)

http://albums.phanfare.com/5131397

The Hawk Rules

The second race of the season took place today. Four of the team's best runners were not able to make it for one reason or another, but the five that did race were the ones who have been coming to practice and working hard. The countdown to the start of the race had a few hiccups. With about 10 minutes to the gun, two of the runners tell me that they have to use the facilities. It's a bad thing that the johnnies-on-the-spot were about a tenth of a mile away, but it was a good thing that the last team to arrive was just getting there. We had a traditional huddle this time. As we walked towards the starting line, we noticed a hawk standing guard over its prey of a dead squirrel (no this is not an actual picture of the event). It was only about 20 feet from the starting line and most of the runners were staying clear of it. It eventually took off but not before one of our runners viewed it as a good omen for the team.

The gun went off and so did the four competeing teams. Four of the five runners had run in the first race. So besides finishing the course, they also needed to prove that they could lower their times. And they all did. And not by a little but by a lot. The top four runners on the team lowered their previous times by 7:21, 2:12, 6:17, and 7:06 respectively. An outstanding performance.

All five of these runners are freshmen and they were running a varsity distance (3.1 miles) against upperclassmen. Most freshmen in the sport are running freshman races of 2.1 miles. Again this was truly an outstanding result.

The next and last race will be at W. Park in E. City on 11/8. The freshmen will be running against other freshmen in a 2.1 race. They should do quite well that day.

Approaching Race Number Two

We will be entering our sixth week of existence tomorrow. And things have finally settled down. It's been three weeks since that day when I was alone at practice except for one other runner which was followed by a coach's tirade. Since then there have always been enough runners to have a practice. It's still hard to get these kids to appreciate how much work needs to be done to be a good runner, but I'm happy with what they have done so far. We are finally up to doing a little more than three miles during a practice. And it seems I'm giving out "PBs" everyday. A PB is a personal best, where a runner beats his/her previous time for a given distance. I give out a little card (in the school's color) which lists the event and the new and old time. Some of the kids are really into getting them. And like I said, there are always one or two given out every day.

The roster has also finally settled down. We're down now to 13 on the roster: four boys and nine girls. Of the four boys, one has mostly dropped out due to a serious family situation. Another boy, who is the best on the team, has gotten involved in two jobs which cuts down on his practice time as well as preventing him from running in the two races left on our schedule. Coaching this team is much different than a coach at any other school would experience. These kids have their normal school work day, outside school jobs, family problems, sicknesses, injuries, detention, staying for extra help, church and choir, sweet 15 rehearsals, etc. etc. I have yet to see the entire team in one spot at any one time. The thought of a team picture is a mere fantasy. I try to stay away from imposing any kind of consequences for missed practices in fear that it may drive the kids away for good. But next year I may have to re-think practices, absences, rules, and punishments.

As for the girls, my two best are now partial "shows". The best has been missing a lot of practices due to her Sweet 15 Party rehearsals. She will try and race on Tuesday in our second meet. But her lack of practices will hurt her and I don't expect a good performance from her. Her birthday is on November 8 (the CTC Championships in W. Park in E City) so she won't be racing there. The other top girl on the team has moved up to being the best. She has been improving each week and has been my unofficial winner for the "most dedicated" award for the season. But unfortunately she too is now injured and is out for the season. She joins two other girls on the "DL".

So with three runners on the DL and one with family problems, that has left me with a steady roster of nine runners who show up most of the time. This Tuesday is our second race of the year. There only will be 5 runners racing due to "work days" and other situations. I only know the host team (same as the first race)--the other participants are unknown. But we will again be running unofficially. Hopefully this time the start will be much smoother.

I hope to have a photographer there to get some shots of the race, and before and after. Check back to see if I am able to get them on the web.

That will leave only one other race, the 11/8 one. I did meet the coach of a Charter school from JC in the park this week. He would like to have a pick-up race with us. He has openings on his schedule and would like to fill them. He is going to contact our AD. I hope it can happen.

I'll be back Tuesday night with the story of Race 2.

Baptism By Fire

Well, the day finally arrived for the big race and in the end the minor problems were overshadowed by the amazing performance of the N City Runners. Today was only the 19th day that the team has been in existence. No runner had been able to run the 2.1 loop non-stop yet. And the total mileage for any practice had not surpassed 3 miles yet. And yet today the runners were asked to run a race of 3.1 miles, 1 mile longer than they had ever run before.

We arrived at the park about ten minutes before 4. The AD and the principal were already there. We found the coach and AD of the hosting school and told them of our arrival and gave them the info they needed. One thing I immediately found out was that since we are not a member of the NJSIAA, and since most races are monitored by the NJSIAA, we would be running as unofficial entries. That means that the times would not be included with the official results nor would our team of five girls be included in the team scoring. But regardless, it would prove to be a huge exposure to the sport of Cross Country for our young team.

The final roster for our team was five girls and three boys. About a dozen students and faculty were also present as well as other team runners who were injured or just starting to work out with the team. The amount of support of the spectators for the team was amazing. And the support of the runners towards each other during the race and afterwards was also truly noteworthy.

We were informed that our race, with about 4 other schools would be following a dual race by about 10 or 15 minutes. Also they would be running the boys and girls race at the same time and sort out the genders at the end of the race to determine the winners. So we waited off to the side, about 400 feet from the starting line. I figured we had enough time to have our pre-race huddle (a X-C tradition) before the race was to begin. Suddenly, the coaches of the other teams were yelling and calling for us to get up to the starting line. Apparently, they decided to switch the order of the races and we were going first. So he walked quickly to the start without being able to have the huddle. They lined up, all 8 of them. I knew they were nervous as you wouldn't believe, and about a minute later, the gun fired and they were off.

The course is basically a three loop so they passed the spectators two times before coming in the last time for the finish. We cheered them on each time they passed. I couldn't believe the perseverance and drive that these young runners had. True, they did some walking, but I knew they were keeping that to a minimum. As they passed each time you could see in their faces that they were hurting but they wouldn't quit. And keep in mind that these are sophomores and freshmen, and this was a varsity race, against teams of juniors and seniors.

Needless to say, they finished far back in the race but for the amount of time that they have been running, it was truly an outstanding performance. They all finished strong--there were performances by some runners that surprised me. But in the end they were all winners in my book (sound like N Dale again).

Some Gatorade, a cool down walk, and the day was over. They all walked off to their homes, and as I saw them get smaller in the distance, I knew that on this day, in this race, they had graduated from weekday practice runner to Cross Country Warrior.