ljxc team information
Cross country is a competitive running team at LJHS with girls and boys teams competing at the JV & Varsity levels. Races are typically 3 miles long, some shorter at the beginning of the season, increasing as the season progresses.
The cross country team trains six (6) days a week. We start training in the summer to prepare for the fall race season. Summer group training runs are not mandatory, but highly encouraged. August 7th, is the official start of the cross country season, after that time you are required to be at every practice, on time and ready to run.
TRYOUTS:
This year we will be holding tryouts, at school, on the following days: 8/17 & 8/18. You will be expected to run a 3 mile course within the time frame below. We have posted the summer training plan on the SUMMER TRAINING page. If you follow this plan, even as a beginning runner, you should have no trouble with the tryout. Also, we have planned group runs throughout the summer, see the TEAM CALENDAR page. Group runs are great, you can meet the coaches and teammates, it’s motivating to run with a group, learn running terminology, take advantage of extra training such as plyometrics for strength and form work for efficiency.
PE CREDIT: A word about 6th period PE. While it is an option to have cross country count for PE credit, we do not meet during 6th period. We highly discourage you from coming out for cross country for the sole purpose of getting into 6th per PE. Cross country is extremely hard work, it involves running everyday for a minimum of an hour. We run in the heat, hills and rain. You will be required to keep up with the team and commit to being a member of the team throughout the entire season, even through winter sport tryouts. (You will still get your tryout for winter teams!) This will be your PE grade if you chose to do 6th per PE. You will need to do the summer training and tryout, if you can’t make the time standard you will not be able to join cross country this season and you’ll be put into a regular PE class.
LJXC Mission:
To develop a team culture of hard work and commitment.
Build friendships; improve health, and overall well-being.
Teach athletes to take ownership of their running development by making them students of the sport, regardless of their talent level.
To become good supportive teammates, by cheering and encouraging each other in workouts and in races.
LJXC Goals:
To help every athlete achieve their personal racing goals as well as the goals of the team.
To teach the athletes the value of setting goals, the commitment to work towards those goals and to realize the success that comes from that commitment and the fulfillment that comes from reaching those goals!
To help athletes understand that setbacks can be a part of the process of improvement and the determination to work through
Team Requirements:
Cross country is Monday through Saturday. Please take this into consideration before committing to the team. If you are in another sport outside of LJHS, contact the head coach with your schedule and we’ll determine if it makes sense for you to try to do both.
Attendance:
Again, we practice every day, Monday thru Saturday, rain or shine. Success in distance running depends on a variety of training phases which are covered weekly and monthly throughout the season. If some of the critical phases are missed too often, improvement will be dramatically limited.
We allow for unexcused absences, see below, up to a point where it no longer makes sense for you to continue with the program. After 3 absences we will meet with you to determine why you are struggling to get to practice. If after that meeting we can’t help sort out the issue we will ask you to come back next season, if your schedule allows.
Unexcused absences include: Doctor & dentist appointments, driving lessons, college entrance exam prep classes, college visits, other school activities (band, speech/debate, theater, etc) … I think you get the idea. These need to be scheduled outside of practice and race times.
**You must notify one of the coaches- 24 hours prior - of an upcoming absence**
In order to do well in this sport, you need to be consistent. Each workout builds on the previous days’ work. If you need to miss more than 4 days, you may want to reconsider cross country for this season. SEE PRACTICES below: You will have 2 afternoons a week to schedule appointments, etc – please use these days for your outside conflicts.
Excused absences: Sick and home from school. Injured. If you are injured, you need to check in with a coach daily, and then you will be sent to the athletic trainer.
**You must notify the head coach if you are absent from school**
Clearance: You must be cleared through La Jolla High School for athletics before coming out to run with the team. The information is posted on the school’s athletic site ljvikings.com.
Practices:
Morning Practice: There are three (3) morning practices each week; Wednesday & Friday at 6:20am sharp and Saturdays at 8:00am. Weekday practices will end by 8:00am in order for the students to get to class by 8:35am. Showers are available in the new boys and girls locker rooms.
Afternoon Practice: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday starting at 3:45sharp We will usually finish by 5:30pm.
SEE COMPLETE SCHEDULE ON THE CALENDAR PAGE
CROSS COUNTRY LEVELS & RACES:
Varsity:
A varsity cross country team is made up of 7 athletes. Of those 7, only the top 5 score. Your score is your place in the race, for example if you come in first you get 1 point. Like golf, the lowest scoring team wins. The 6th & 7th runners are there to displace runners from the other teams. A perfect score in cross country is 15 points. Normally, only your top 7 runners race in the varsity race, but some competitions allow for more.
Mostly, varsity athletes are determined by ability. The fastest 7-10 athletes are usually part of the varsity training group. However, the coaching staff also takes into consideration attendance and attitude. To represent LJHS as a varsity athlete, you must adhere to all of the requirements of LJHS and of LJXC.
Junior Varsity:
The JV races score the same as the varsity race. The races are much larger because everyone is allowed to compete. This is what’s great about cross country, everyone gets to race!
League Meets:
We currently compete in the San Diego City Conference – Eastern League. We have 4 league races and a championship meet in November. This will be the last race of the season for the JV.
Invitationals:
These races are on weekends throughout San Diego and California. Some are varsity only; others are open to the entire team. These are great opportunities for the athletes to gain race experience on various courses. They also get an opportunity to race against athletes from areas outside of the San Diego City Leagues. We pay for invitationals, so it is important to let the coaches know if you have a conflict with one of these meets.
CIF San Diego-Championships & CIF CA State Championships:
These events are varsity only. Normally, we will have up to the top 10 stay out and train for these meets. Placement in the San Diego CIF championship determines whether the team or individuals qualify on to the State XC meet.
The CIF State Cross Country Championship Race is always on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend in Clovis, CA.
XCStats: This is a program we use to manage the team. All athletes must be enrolled. You can register at XCStats.com, the registration information is attached.
ATHLETES: Please go on your account and activate texting, this will allow me to send a group text if we have a last-minute change, for example dismissal for a meet. Also, verify that you have at least one parent(s) email address associated with your account.
PARENTS: You can sign up as well and have your own account, you cannot share an account with your athlete. The program tracks their race results, so they need to have a unique account.
Team Dinners: We like to have 2-3 team pasta dinners each season. It’s an opportunity to have the athletes enjoy a meal together and relax. We hold them at one of the team members’ homes within running distance of the school. Parents supply pasta, salad, garlic bread, dessert and water/drinks. The dinners will start at about 5:30 and finish by 6:30 – they eat fast! If you can help out with organization, location and/or food please email me at ljxcountry@gmail.com. This is one of the athletes favorite events during the season!
Saturday Runs: There are team runs on the schedule for most Saturdays during the season. We will meet at the De Anza Cove parking at 8:00 AM. Some Saturdays we have “Pancake Runs” and we’ll start in other locations and end at one of the coaches homes for pancakes!
Equipment: Every runner should start the season with a new pair of running (training) shoes. If you started training the beginning of the summer, you may need a new pair by the league championships. If you started running at the end of the summer, with new shoes, you should be good through the season. Everyone will need a new pair for the spring track season. Shoes do not need to be expensive, but they do need to be a good quality high mileage shoe. Milestone in PB will give discounts to La Jolla runners. Roadrunner Sports will give discounts to high school runners as well.
Nutrition: The athletes are going to be very sore, tired and hungry during the season, especially the first few weeks. Your calorie intake should be high and include a lot of lean protein, fruits and vegetables, and water. You need to get in protein and carbohydrates 5 times a day in the form of meals and snacks. Hydration with water and a little added Gatorade in it is a great option. Gatorade alone has way too much sugar and can end up making you feel sluggish. There are a lot of hydration products on the market today, find one you like without a lot of added sugar. We’ll be talking more about this during practice and at the parent meeting.
PARENT MTG: The parent meeting will be held with in the first couple of weeks of school, see the team calendar.
FUNDRAISING:
High school sports in SDUSD are not pay to play, while the district provides some of the funds required to run the team, it doesn’t cover everything. Therefore, we need to do some fundraising from our community to support the needs of our program.
While cross country is a fairly inexpensive sport, we do have some needs that extend beyond the funds supplied by the district. Below is what we will be using our funds for this season.
Upgrade of uniforms and sweats for both the varsity and JV athletes.
Team T-shirt
Strength & agility training equipment
End of the season banquet & awards
How you can help:
Help your athlete to fully participate in one of our annual fundraiser events.
Donate to the La Jolla High Foundation – please specify Cross Country