Cross Country Has Begun!
Some advice from Two-Time USA National XC Coach Peanut Harms

As a High School Coach I “live in your world”! I face the same dilemmas you face as you are trying to get a team together. After the recruiting is over and you have those 25-150 smiling  faces looking at you the question becomes, “How do I manage this mob?” 

In this installment (I will be updating this feature in our website bi-monthly) I just wanted to comment on how to “arrive” at workout groups which will help you get the most out of your athletes.  Quite simply, we all (this year we have about 50 kids out) start out the first few weeks together, with Gang Workouts. 

The entire group works out together, with the less experienced doing less but still being part of the whole group.  This helps everyone feel part of the group.  We also do group activities which are all inclusive (ice cream runs, relays, core work, drills, group introductions, etc.) whose purpose is to foster team bonding and prevent attrition.

After three weeks, we have our “Evaluation Workout” which we repeat three times during the season.  On a cross country loop (500 yds), we do an all-out mile, rest, do an all-out half-mile, rest, do an all-out quarter-mile.  This workout serves many purposes with the most important ones being:

1. Built-in success for all (speed people, & distance people)
2. A fitness benchmark to work on for each athlete and...
3. The workout allows you to NOW formulate Training Groups based on empirical results, eliminating guesswork and uncertainty. 

We celebrate results (we have gender, and grade records for each distance!) and the kids experience the “stress and strain” of exhaustion, as a team.  The next time we repeat this workout (in 5 weeks) we add another mile on the end, giving us 2.75 miles of all-out racing… as a team. 

Contact me at peanut@pcsportswear.com if you have any comments or questions on this article. Stay tuned!    

Upcoming Events

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If you have any questions regarding these events, please e-mail Peanut Harms at peanut@pcsportswear.com or call (530) 626-8596.

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