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10 Rules to Run By from “Coaching Cross Country Successfully”
by Joe Newton, with Joe Henderson; Human Kinetics 1998

1. Team is the essence of life. It’s how to blend the talents and strengths of individuals into a force that becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
2. Great teamwork is the only way to reach your ultimate moments, to create breakthroughs that fill your life with a sense of lasting significance.
3. Everyone is a team player, whether he knows it or not. His family, his workplace, his place of worship, his neighborhood functions as a team.
4. However, teamwork isn’t simple. In fact, it can be a frustrating, elusive commodity. That’s why there are so many bad teams, stuck in neutral or going downhill. Teamwork does not appear magically just because we talk about it.
5. Forty years of coaching have proved to me, over and over again, that the complex inner rhythms of teamwork (flows of ambition, power, cooperation, and emotion) are the keys to making dreams come true.
6. People are territorial animals. We all want to take out something to call our own. We strike back when our turf is threatened. Don’t smother those territorial and competitive instincts. Harness them for the good of the team. Understand that sometimes the individual must give up some territory for the good of the team.
7. Willing sacrifice is a great paradox. Runners mostly give up something in in the present (comfort, ease, recognition, hair, rewards, and so on) to attract something even better in the future: a sense that they did something that counted.
8. A team needs a covenant, an agreement that binds people together. Sometimes a covenant is written. Sometimes it is unspoken, complete expressed through action or thought. Any team afflicted with the DISEASE OF ME functions with a tacit covenant of self-destruction.
9. There are only two options regarding commitment to a good covenant. Team members are either in, or they are out. There is no such thing as life in-between.
10. Being ready isn’t enough. Runners have to be prepared. Being prepared demands mental and physical conditioning and conscious planning. A runner who is just ready and not totally prepared simply increases risk and is a liability to the team.

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Frequency

Frequency is how often one runs. The more often or frequent one trains, the greater the aerobic capacity (ability to consume O2) you will develop. This will often lead to the increased rate of getting this O2 to the muscles as needed, as well as using the O2 more efficiently. Since running is an oxygen-driven sport, running frequency is the basis for training. If one wants to get into shape, run often! Not running for a period of no more than 2 days often will result in the loss of previous physical fitness. In a seven-day week, running for about five of the seven days is a good strategy. Running six days is excellent. Many runners run all seven days of the week; however, it is highly recommended that one day per week be taken off for rest for a beginner runner. (more…)

SIMPLE RULES TO FOLLOW DURING THE BASE PHASE • DO NOT run faster than at a conversational pace unless specified. This means you should be able to converse comfortably in FULL SENTENCES. DO NOT run with anyone faster than 20-30 seconds per mile faster than your current PR. Another words, Read more…

How do I enroll in Cross Country? Contact Coach Masci at ajmasci@cox.net or 949-293-2544 or speak with your guidance counselor. Other questions? Please navigate through this website Is there a Try-Out? No, not for an incoming freshman.  Please check our website at www.eltorocc.com under CC Team Policy for additional info. Read more…

Course Overview

Please click on the Team Contract link below to print and sign.

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PROGRAM AND PHILOSOPHY

Obviously, you’re a brand-new runner. But, before you begin your first run with the team, perhaps you wonder, “What’s all this cross country stuff about?!” This page will hopefully help answer your questions. (more…)

Rob Bethmann of Arlington, Texas reached out to MileSplit to offer a few words of wisdom about the recruiting process from a parent’s perspective. He is the father of Cade Bethmann, who improved his 800m time from 1:57.51 as a sophomore to 1:52.4 as a junior and placed third at the Texas State Championship. The senior at Arlington Martin High School committed to Ole Miss in November.

Here are a few thoughts from track dad Rob:

This is supposed to be fun, but it won’t always feel fun.

There is a business aspect to college track and field and you need to face that reality quickly in the process. Schools can give 12.6 scholarships for men and 18 scholarships for women.  There is no limit on roster size, so schools can put 50 athletes on the roster and then divide the scholarships however they’d like.

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