Home Meet & Family Pot Luck - Thursday September 7th

From Coach Z:

One of the finest Storm Cross Country traditions continues this season on Thursday, September 7^th after our home meet!  Our annual kickoff potluck takes place giving families and athletes a chance to mingle and get to know each other while sharing awesome dishes together.   The pot luck commences immediately following the award ceremony and will be held in the High School Commons.  Food will be held in a room to be determined as you arrive at the school for the meet. 

Families should bring their own beverages and here are the food assignments:

Grades 6-8: fruits/veggies, side dish or dessert

Grade 9: desserts

Grade 10: side dishes

Grade 11 & 12: main dishes

Of course families are welcome to bring more than one dish if they desire!  The coaching staff will be supplying eating utensils, plates, napkins, etc.  The Storm cross country squad numbers around 50.

Secondly, we will need volunteers to assist at the home meet.  Many of you have volunteered in the past and we thank you and hope that you can help out again.  We need a minimum of 10-12 volunteers so families can switch off to watch their athletes participate in their individual races.  If you can help, please email Coach Zeilenga at Marie.Zeilenga@isd47.org or tell her in person at an upcoming practice!  Assignments will be given to the volunteers on the date of the race but most of the volunteers needed are just to stand on the course and make sure the runners go the right direction at the forks in the trails.  Easy peasy! 

2017 Apollo Early Bird Invitational - Monday August 28

Apollo Invitational will be held on Monday, August 28^st at the VA Hospital located across the street from Apollo High School, 1000 44^th Ave. No., St. Cloud.  

TIME SCHEDULE:

4:00 p.m.         Junior High Girls          3200 m            

4:25 p.m.         Junior High Boys          3200 m            

4:50 p.m.         Girls JV                         5000 m            

5:25 PM              Boys JV                             5000 m

6:00 PM                Girls Varsity                          5000 m

6:30 PM                Boys Varsity                          5000 m

Awards to follow at the finish line

Concessions on site

Restrooms:  Portable toilets on site near the course.

Parking is available at Apollo High School parking lot or the VA lot by the stoplight.  

Busses please unload and park in the Apollo lot or bus chute.  Athletes driving, please park in the Apollo lot.  Spectators – please park in the lot between the fence and stoplight. Do not park on VA grounds. Coaches- Please bring 1 pin per athlete.

Participating teams in 2017: Sartell-St. Stephen, Sauk Rapids-Rice, St. Cloud Tech, Elk River, St. Cloud Cathedral, Wayzata Boys, Monticello, and St. Cloud Apollo.

A maximum of 7 runners will be allowed in the varsity race.  **Junior High consists of grades 6,7 ,8.

AWARDS:

The first place team in the varsity races receives a cake.

The top 15 varsity runners will receive medals.

In the JV races, the top 10 will receive medals.

The top junior high runner will receive a medal and places 2-10 will receive ribbons.

Home Meet Volunteers Needed! Thursday September 7 (Post Race Pot Luck too)

Thursday, September 7 @4 PM

We are going to need help for this meet.  I need at least 12 parents to help with various aspects of the meet.  You will still be able to watch your athlete run! If you are able to help out, please message me so I know I have enough help! I would love to have you there around 3:30 to get you instructions. 

I will also need some parents to step up once the meet is over to get things ready for our potluck. My veteran parents...if you could step into that role that evening, that would help me out a ton. Again, I will send out more information about the potluck next week. 

Coach Z 

6th Grade Participation Information

From Coach Z: 

Just to clarify, 6th graders will be joining us their first day of school.  Buses will get them over the high school.  Coach Lahr will make sure they get onto a bus that will get them there.  There will be high school athletes meeting them off the buses.  If you have any questions about what they need for the first day, please email me. Also, we have our home meet that week on Thursday.  Our 6th graders will not be running in the meet, but we would love for them to be there to support their teammates and see how a cross country meet goes.  It might be helpful for parents as well.  At the conclusion of the meet we have a potluck.  This event is for all 6-12 athletes and their families.  I will send more information out about potluck next week.  

Welcome Newcomers!

1. From Coach Z for newcomers:

If this is your athlete’s first cross country meet, please know that we will do our best to make sure they understand what they need to do and when. In the handbook, there are meet expectations and a timeline of things as well.  We ask that parents please give athletes space while they are at camp and especially at the starting line.  These are places that our runners use to prepare themselves mentally for their race.   It is also a place for us as coaches to make sure we have given them all the information they need to race well.  At the end of your athlete's race, it is okay to give them congrats, but again, please make sure you give them time to cool down and process their race.  

If you are a new parent to cross country, the first meet might be a bit overwhelming.  The great thing about cross country is, most you talk to are very friendly and will answer questions!  I will try and have copies of the course, but sometimes that is not always possible because we do not get them until we get to the race site.  When in doubt of what you might need to do....just ask!

If you have any further questions about our first meet, please let me know!

2017 Meet Schedule - Mark your Calendars!

Mon  8/28    Apollo Early Bird Invitational   - VA Hospital
Thur  9/7     Sauk Rapids Invitational (Home meet!)  - Mayhew Creek Park
Thur 9/14    Lucky Lindy Invitational - Little Falls Golf Course
Thur 9/21    Rocori Invitational - River Oaks Golf Course in Cold Spring
Tues 9/26    Paynesville Invitational - Koronis Golf Course in Paynesville
Thur 10/5    Litchfield Invitational - Litchfield Golf Course
Mon 10/9  Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball Invitational - Kimball Golf Course
Tues 10/17  Central Lakes Conference Championships - Boulder Ridge Golf Course St Cloud 
Thur 10/26  8AA Sectionals - Fergus Falls 

Important Message from Coach Zeilenga

Greetings!

If you are unable to make the sports meeting tonight at the high school, there are a couple pieces of information that you may need prior to practice next week.  

The clothing order is open as of today and will close Thursday, August 17.  Go to rambow.com and enter the code STORMXC.  Please check sizes on clothing items.  Items cannot be returned unless there is an error on something. 

Endurunce shop offers a 20% discount on shoes and apparel for one day, just for our team. This day is on Friday, August 11, from 10-6pm.  If you have not purchased new shoes in a while, this is a great way to get a great pair of shoes at a discounted price.  They have knowledgeable staff that can help you find the right pair of shoes. 

On Monday, August 14, practice begins.  We will practice 8-10AM and meet in the wrestling room upstairs.  If you would like to put your stuff in a locker, please bring a lock.  Otherwise, you can keep your stuff in the wrestling room for those first weeks. 

One more thing...if you have a watch that has a stop watch on it, bring it!  We do a lot of timed runs or may also have you keep track of recovery times and such. If you do not have one, you can purchase one for a decent price at any Walmart, Shopko or Target.  If you want a watch that is on the higher priced end, Garmin is a brand that is very reliable.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Thanks! Coach Z :)