Bonita Vista High School
Cross Country
Team Philosophy
The goal of the Bonita Vista High School cross country coaches is to help team members develop into outstanding young adults, excellent students, and exceptional runners who compete to the best of their abilities. It is our hope that Bonita Vista High School Cross Country will be an important part of all team members' overall high school experience. It is our belief that cross country training and competition will better prepare team members to handle the successes and failures of life.
What is Cross Country?
What should you expect from cross country?
Running primarily, but that's not all. Strength training, flexibility, friendship, fun, and teamwork are all important components of the cross country program. There are no tryouts. Everyone who is fit and in good standing will get the chance to race in most meets.
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There's no "I" in team
Cross country is a team sport. You should set high expectations for yourself and your teammates and encourage them to fully participate in practice and improve their performances throughout the season.
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Your attitude is essential to your success. Be coachable, that is trust the knowledge and experience of your coaches and be adaptable to training and guidance.
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Cross country is an honest sport. Your work ethic is critical to your success. You will get out of it what you put in.
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Training
Training for cross country is a year long process. Runners follow a training plan in the Summer while they train on their own or with teammates. The competitive season starts in early August and runs through late November. All cross country runners are strongly encouraged to participate in track in the Spring.
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What will practices be like?
There are five components to every practice:
1. Warm up
2. Dynamic stretching to prepare your body to train
3. Training - Long runs, Progression runs, Fartlek runs, Threshold runs, Intervals, Hill Training, etc.
4. Strength training - upper body, core, and lower body strength exercises
5. Flexibility - to increase your muscle flexibility and decrease the risk of injury
What types of running will you be doing?
Easy Runs - long, slow run at a pace where you can carry on a conversation with your teammates while you run.
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Long Runs - the longest run of the week at a steady pace. This is one of the most important runs of the week and will usually be done on Saturdays.
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Progression Runs - the pace gets faster during a run of 20 - 40 minutes.
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Threshold Runs - comfortably hard at a pace that can be maintained for 20 - 30 minutes.
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Fartlek Runs - "Speed Play" in Swedish. A training method that blends continuous (endurance) running with bursts of interval (speed ) training.
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Hill Work - Repeat segments of uphill running. These runs build strength and power.
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Intervals - Speed training that consists of fast repeats (400, 600, 800 meters) with a recovery walk or jog in between runs.
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Recovery Run - a shorter run performed at an easy pace. Recovery runs usually follow harder workouts like repetitions, hills, or tempo runs.
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Required Information and Signatures for
the 2022 BVHS Cross Country Season
Please click the link below, read the document, and sign at the bottom. By signing the document, you are acknowledging that you understand the rules and expectations for the 2022 BVHS Cross Country Season.
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Both Students and Parent/Guardians are required to sign.
Coaching Staff
Practices/Attendance
Practices will begin at precisely 4:00 p.m. Monday - Thursday and end at approximately 6:00 p.m. On Fridays when there is early dismissal, practice will begin at 2:30 p.m. and end at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday practices will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at approximately 10:00 a.m. There are no practices on Sundays. Practice is never optional. This is the cross country team, not the cross country club. Team members are expected to be at practice every day. If you have an unexcused absence, you may not be allowed to run in the next meet. After four unexcused absences, you will be asked to leave the team. Unexcused absences include: another sporting event you choose to attend instead of practice (like club soccer), too much homework, a big school project (time management is key), an AP class, you have family in town, you're really tired and don't feel good (join the crowd), you have to go to Grandma's house for dinner, etc. Excused absences would include things like a family emergency, religious observances, meeting with a teacher/tutor for help in a class, etc. If you know you are going to miss an event, contact the head coach 24 hours in advance. If you know you are going to miss an event, DO NOT have a friend/teammate communicate with the coach, DO NOT tell the coach the day after you've missed an event that you missed the event, and DO NOT tell the head coach you're missing practice right before practice unless it's an emergency. The key to being a great cross country runner is consistency in your training.