Help - Need high school sports advice

[golfgal]

That is how it is here too. Practice starts mid-August and they are very, very strict about it. My brother is on Cross Country and vacations with us. So, if we want to do Disney, it has to be between Cross Country and Track.

Can you reschedule your trip? Less crowds/lower heat after X-C season. He may have to miss some school, but it would be worth it.

A side note: Although most Cross Country programs don't "cut", many don't realize that it is sometimes the 5th or 6th place runners that can win a meet for the team!

Good luck w/ your decision!

Yes, that all important 6th man! At the Nike Team National Cross Country meet they give an award for the highest finishing 6th person. I thought that was a great idea (our HS boys team ran there last year, the first year they had it and our girls have a good shot of getting an invite this coming year-we will have the #1 ranked girl in the state, too!!!). The great thing about CC is that everyone runs. Jr High and JV meets are usually unlimited entries for most meets so if you aren't a top 7 runner for varsity, you run JV. No one sits on the bench. One team we saw at a meet had 150 GIRLS out last year (7-12) and close to that many boys. It was great to see.

 

[KelNottAt]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I guess it boils down to this: It doesn't hurt to request a late arrival when practice starts in August. We just need to be prepared to accept an emphatic "no." The fact that it's cross country may be in our favor if there's no limit to the number of runners they'll take.

Regrettably, changing our dates is not an option for us. We definitely can't go later due to school (and hopefully sports), plus DH's busy time begins in late August. Going earlier is also out due schedule conflicts for the other 10 family members and doubts about DVC availability.

I think I know parents whose kids are or were on the cross country team. I'll contact them to see what they think DS's chances are for joining try-outs on 8/21 instead of 8/15. If they think it's worth a shot, we'll approach the coach and AD with a formal request in a few months. (Right now might be too early with spring sports foremost on their minds.)

Also, I think I might suggest that the county include the August 15 date on the master academic calendar they distribute to parents and students a year in advance. Since I now understand its significance, communicating that date early could possibly prevent parental heartburn and reduce the requests for exceptions coaches have to deal with. (As it is now the first official notice about fall sports only comes out in June, 8 weeks ahead.)

Cheers,

 

[trip]

Did your son run CC in 8th grade? If so, I'm surprised his 8th grade coach didn'nt tell the team what to expect at the high school level.

 

[Barb D]

Could you give your son the option of coming back from vacation early and staying with a trusted friend? That would really tell you how important xc is to him.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My kids aren't that old, by my cousin was on her h.s. volleyball team this fall, and she missed a practice when her older brother came home from Iraq, and they put her off the team.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I am so glad my DD#1 isn't in sports anymore since she got cut from the 8th grade volleyball team (BTW her best friend missed the week of tryouts but tried out the week before since she was going on vacation, and she made the team). What a pain! I guess since next fall starts 10 years of one kid or another in high school, July vacations will be the norm for us just in case. Summer is all we have since I teach anyhow.
At the school where I work they let kids on the cross country team into mid-September. It's just not that popular, although I think it's a great sport.
Robin M.

 

[KelNottAt]

Did your son run CC in 8th grade? If so, I'm surprised his 8th grade coach didn'nt tell the team what to expect at the high school level.

Unfortunately, there are no school-based teams in middle school here. Just rec and travel league teams. And, understandably, there isn't a rec or travel cross country league, or even a convenient club. DS just enjoys jogging with his dad for exercise and has run 3 5Ks. Plus, he's always excited on "mile run day" in gym.

 

[pooh4evr]

Anothe reason the start date is important is here anyway- the athletes have to have a certain # of practices before they can compete in a meet. I think when I was in school it was 15 so that would be a good 3 weeks of weekday practices with the team and a coach present. So if he has 10 practices on the day of their first meet he can not compete until he has all of his practices in- don't know if that is a rule everywhere but...