The first day of Cross Country practice was exciting to me. Why? Because we had kids. If everybody stays with it we'll have a complete girls team with runners to spare and 3 or 4 j.v. girls to go with them. The boys might have enough for Orange to actually enter an A and a B team in the Ragged Mountain Cup. After slogging through 2009 wondering if the girls would even have enough for a team this is really exciting. I hope all the kids stick with it and convince their friends to stick with it.
My thoughts on the girls' first day:
Helen - Her summer work ethic really paid off and the practice seemed really easy for her.
Lindsey - Lindsey is going to have a great year, but it might take another month to get her base built up to a point where her athleticism will take over.
Anna and Emani - They'll be big plusses for the team if the Field Hockey coaches will let them run.
Rain - She has a perfect runner's build. She'll be a big asset to the team and will amaze us with how fast she's going to improve.
Kauri - I could tell she's been running. She's in good shape and she's going to be one of our best.
Ashleigh - Big surprise here. She only ran a couple times this summer, but her mile time was good. If she works she could be qualifying for regionals in a year or two.
Cheyenne - Once she learns how distance running "feels" she's going to be great.
Emily - A little under confident right now. In October when Emily looks back on August she'll be stunned how far she has come.
The boys are going to be great this year with all the returners going under 20:00 and some even faster than that. The three new gentlemen that came out all look like they have a lot of potential and will keep our program rolling after Avery and Adam graduate this year.
I can't wait to track how much everyone improves this year.
My thoughts on the girls' first day:
Helen - Her summer work ethic really paid off and the practice seemed really easy for her.
Lindsey - Lindsey is going to have a great year, but it might take another month to get her base built up to a point where her athleticism will take over.
Anna and Emani - They'll be big plusses for the team if the Field Hockey coaches will let them run.
Rain - She has a perfect runner's build. She'll be a big asset to the team and will amaze us with how fast she's going to improve.
Kauri - I could tell she's been running. She's in good shape and she's going to be one of our best.
Ashleigh - Big surprise here. She only ran a couple times this summer, but her mile time was good. If she works she could be qualifying for regionals in a year or two.
Cheyenne - Once she learns how distance running "feels" she's going to be great.
Emily - A little under confident right now. In October when Emily looks back on August she'll be stunned how far she has come.
The boys are going to be great this year with all the returners going under 20:00 and some even faster than that. The three new gentlemen that came out all look like they have a lot of potential and will keep our program rolling after Avery and Adam graduate this year.
I can't wait to track how much everyone improves this year.