LAKOTA CROSS COUNTRY 6TH GRADE INFORMATION SHEET
Mission -- Lakota Cross Country has a rich tradition of developing successful runners and having very competitive teams. Last seasons we ran as Lakota West (Ridge, Plains) and Lakota East (Hopewell, Liberty.) All Lakota schools will train together. Runners of varying talents have left loving the sport.
Reasons to Join – Athletes have joined for various reasons. To be a part of a successful team, to be a great cross country runner, to develop stamina (sometimes for other sports), to meet good people and start the school year with a sense of unity, etc. Regardless of the reasons, by the end of the season you will have a sense of accomplishment and will be proud of what you have done.
Summer Training – We do not ask athletes to devote high mileage as an incoming 7th grader. It is more beneficial to create a running routine of faster running. We suggest athletes start with 1 mile at a brisk pace. Try to do this for a week. Then increase by ½ mile one day the next week. (6 days of 1, 1 day of 1.5). Pace should be the same as mile. Week three would have 5 days of 1 mile, 2 days of 1.5. etc. Please chart/record mileage and hand in first practice.
Practices—we practice after school at one of the Butler County Metro parks. Lakota will transport athletes to the site. Practices last for 90 minutes. We try to be prompt and end on time. Parents will be responsible for picking up athletes up at the practice site.
Meets—everyone competes in every meet, exception is the state meet (if we attend). There will be many races on meet days. Meets are competed in varying styles. Girls and Boys will run separately. Sometimes 7th will run with 8th, sometimes they are divided equally. Sometimes they run as a top seven and open races. Our league has a separate 7th and 8th and Open race for each gender.
Scoring – In the US, Cross-country running is normally scored on a team basis. Points are awarded to individual runners equal to the position in which they cross the finish line. Only the first five on each team are counted towards that team’s score. The sixth and seventh runners on each team are called “pushers,” because while they do not earn points for their team, they push up the point score of each opponent after them. No runners after the first seven per team count in the scoring (in most cases.) Teams are awarded ranks based on the number of points their top five runners have, with lowest being the best. The rules in the event of a tie vary depending on the competition. Often, the team with the lower sixth place runner is the winner.
The lowest possible score is 15 (1+2+3+4+5), achieved by a team’s runners finishing in each of the top five positions.
What to expect on meet days- (We suggest having the athletes pack the night before)
· we will arrive and find a common area for team camp (this camp is like our locker room, parents, siblings, friends please respect this)
· if enough time, we will warm-up over the course and stretch along the way
· run 2.0 mile race
· we will run a team cool-down over the course, this should be the entire 2 mile course by mid-season.
· stretch
· check-out / depart
What to pack –
· pack rain gear, a garbage bag works well to put all the gear in.
· Water bottles,
· uniform,
· a couple of pairs of dry socks (one to warm-up with, one to race in, and one to cool-down in.
· extra sweats, they can always take them off
· older shoes to warm-up with, and dry shoes to race in
Transportation-Busses are provided to get athletes to the venues. Parents will provide transportation from the venues.
Directions-Provided on the Cross Country Web page.
Participation Fee- (tentatively)- $150 per athlete; Financial assistance on Web page through the Community Foundation
To register--please log onto https://lakota.finalforms.com The district will open final forms up in May to register.
Communication—Email addresses will be obtained thru final forms after you register. During the season, we also use a text feature for time sensitive information. (info on web page)
Questions can be directed to Tom Thompson tom.thompson@lakotaonline.com
