Dear Parents, Guardians, and Student Athletes,

Thank you for your interest in this year’s Cross Country program! I hope all of you are excited as we are for the upcoming training season.

The John Witherspoon Cross Country Program will focus on providing a learning environment that is fun, safe, and active for the student athletes. As this is a middle school environment, we tailor our workouts so they are age and developmentally appropriate. We welcome any student to try out for our team; however, we ask for dedication and discipline to our program.

The philosophy of our middle school team is to offer a balanced program that allows the all dedicated students to participate while cultivating a learning environment that prepares our young athletes for competition. It is our goal to develop the athlete’s cardiovascular endurance, speed, muscular endurance, and flexibility through a variety of workouts with regard to running, stretching, and strength training.

Practices will typically conclude at 5:00 P.M. each day. Information concerning meets, practices, etc.,

can be accessed at http://www.jwms.rschoolteams.com as well as the JWMS Athletics website.
After practice has concluded, students are required to stay on John Witherspoon Middle School grounds

until picked up by a parent or guardian. This is a precaution as we have a school security guard on premises to monitor student safety and activity. This rule does not apply to students that have written consent to walk home alone. Attached is a parent consent form to permit your child to walk home after practice. Please complete this form and turn in by the first cross-country practice.

The Cross Country Team expectations for behavior are aligned with the John Witherspoon Student Behavioral Rules and Regulations in the student handbook. It is important for everyone, regardless of your class year, to take on leadership roles demonstrating teamwork, positive attitude, respect, best effort, and good sportsmanship.

Each practice will begin right after school Monday- Friday from 3:05 P.M. - 5:00 PM, We will meet as a team inside the gymnasium to complete warm ups and take attendance. A typical practice will entail:

Start -

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

3:05 PM

Attendance
Warm Up
Static Stretching
Dynamic Stretching
Distance Run/ Hill Training/Interval Training Team Abdominal Workout

Team Myrtles
Team Building Activity Stretch/ Cool Down Practice Closure

End – 5:00 PM

***Please be aware that on days where we have a practice at Greenway Meadows Park, or we have a meet, we can only bring a limited amount of student-athletes on our bus. The athletes chosen to go to these practices and meets will be chosen by the coaches. Please refer to the attached calendar to these particular dates, as your child may have this day off from Cross Country. Changes to practice schedule will be announced at practice/via email. Last minute changes will be made in the morning/afternoon announcements.

Attendance: Attendance at practice and meets is crucial to your success as an individual and, more importantly, to the success of the team. Due to a large number of student-athletes trying out, some cuts

will be made this Fall 2018 season.
If you make the team, your attendance is MANDATORY at all practices and meets. If there are ever any conflicts, you will need to work them out with your coaches ahead of time.
Students that could not attend the team tryouts during the scheduled times due to absence, and has a note from a parent, illness etc. will have an opportunity to complete a make-up try out during a regularly scheduled practice.
Parents will be notified via email if their child has or has not made the team.
If you have a legitimate reason for missing practice (medical appointment, religious commitment, wedding, funeral...) you must communicate to your event coach through email BEFORE a practice.
2 unexcused absences= miss a meet; 3 unexcused absences = cut from team.

Registration and Participation: No athlete may tryout/participate until the school nurse and physician approve your medical forms. If you tried out for a sport and got cut, you CANNOT use Cross Country as a second resort.

There is certain equipment that would be extremely beneficial for the athletes to bring to practice:

• ?  Running Shoes - a supportive pair of running shoes is imperative for your child’s athletic career. This will help take the impact of the hard surfaces off of their legs and prevent injury. A highly recommended store to purchase training sneakers would be Princeton Running Company.

• ?  Running Stopwatch - sold at Walmart for $10. This gives the athletes the ability to time themselves and track improvement. We also will be running tempo workouts that require a timed increase in speed throughout their distance run.

• ?  Inclement Weather- Practice will still be held in less-than-perfect weather conditions. Please check the weather and dress appropriately.

• ?  Water Bottle - hydration is highly encouraged throughout the school day, before, during, and after practice.

• ?  Snack - after practice, a snack including protein or dairy is excellent in order to help repair muscles from the strenuous work out he or she just completed.

  Meet Attire:

• ?  All Athletes will be issued a JWMS singlet. Singlets will also be sold online at https://team.sportsparadise.net/teams/preview/5b75737ea265c . Students can have the opportunity to purchase their own singlet and black shorts to keep for their JWMS Cross Country/Track athletic career.

• ?  Each athlete must purchase their own running black shorts that is to be worn to every meet (Basketball/baggy shorts will slow you down).

• ?  Running shoes should be worn for all meets!

  Away Meets:

• ?  Only the top athletes in each event participate in away meets. A list of athletes on the away team will posted ahead of time.

• ?  We usually arrive back at school from away meets around 6:00 p.m. and all athletes must return home on the bus with the team unless they have a signed consent form or the parent of the athlete signs out with a coach.

• ?  While on the bus, team members will call home to notify a parent or guardian to pick them up upon return to JW.

  If your child still needs to take their IMPACT test, please visit:

  Thank you for all of your support. We are looking forward to a successful and exciting season! Please feel free to reach out to us via email with any questions or concerns- &