2009 Boys Cross-Country Summer Info.

2009 EHS Boys Cross-Country

Introduction
Last year we entered the summer training months with the theme “Return to Greatness.” We accomplished just that, with a strong 7th place showing at the IHSA State Cross-Country Championships. We lost some valuable seniors this past year, but we return a great group of last year and another strong incoming freshman class. This season we are entering summer training with the theme “Top Ten Again.” How high can we finish as a team? Only you hold the answer to that question.

Goals for 2009
--Increase Mileage Club Memberships (over 50% of the team)
--Madison County Champions
--SWIC (Conference) Champions
--Regional Champions
--Top three at Sectional
--Top 10 at the IHSA State Cross-Country Championships.
Can we once again emerge as one of the top teams in Southern Illinois? If the answer is yes, then you must start preparing today! O’Fallon will be great this season, can we be better?

Information
Personal Goals: Cross-country is great, in that it gives an individual a chance to shine, but it also holds 5-7 guys accountable as well. You never know when we are going to need someone to step up and run a big race. You must get yourself in a position to run to the best of your ability. If you cheat yourself, you also cheat the team! Who is going to step it up this year?

Mileage Club: In 2005, the EHS Mileage Club was born. This is a tradition I will keep for the remainder of my coaching! The ingredients to become a Mileage Club member are easy: hard work, determination, dedication, desire, and commitment. Here are the requirements: during the summer, returning athletes are expected to run a minimum of 500 miles. Freshman and first year runners are asked to run a minimum of 350 miles. Athletes are to keep individual logs and diaries and keep track of their mileage. This is a prestigious club and athletes are asked to be honest about their mileage. Your reward for accomplishing the mileage goals will be a specially designed Mileage Club T-shirt, only available to EHS distance runners. The gentleman who earned T-shirts last year showed the most improvement last season! Of our top seven runners who competed at the IHSA State XC Championship, 5 of them earned Mileage Club shirts.

Road Racing: I am not a huge fan of road racing over the summer, but I will allow you to run three road races. The only race I will encourage you to run is Mud Mountain on July 25, 2009. You may choose up to two additional area races if interested.

Camps: Several coaches approached me about summer camps. The coaches are committed to putting Southern Illinois on the cross-country radar. You may attend up to two camps this summer. I would suggest Coach Miller at Granite City and Coach Burnett at O’Fallon.

Summer Schedule:
5-31 through 6-13: Rest and Recovery. NO RUNNING!!!!

6-14 through 6-20: Cross training and some running. You can count this in your summer mileage, but your total for the week should max out at 20 miles!!!

6-21 through the start of school: Run your miles and log them in! Keep good journals!!!

Conditioning Schedule:
Our first organized conditioning session will be on Monday, June 22 at 6:30 at the EHS Track. During the summer, we will plan on lifting 2-3 times a week. We will plan all summer sessions to start at 6:30 p.m. If we need to set up a morning schedule, too, please let me know early on during the summer. Try to get your work schedules to work with the conditioning schedules.

We will try to meet at different locations throughout the week. Here is a tentative breakdown:
--Monday: EHS Track.
--Tuesday: Cross-Country Course (plan on sand volleyball afterwards on occasion).
--Wednesday: EHS Track.
--Thursday: Host Run (see below).
--Friday: Township Park.
@ We will plan on running with O’Fallon once a week. On some weeks O’Fallon will come to Edwardsville, on others we will car pool to O’Fallon or somewhere in between.
@ We will train with Lockport for part of the week during the summer.

Thursday Night Host Runs: Another great tradition is our Thursday Night Host Runs. Each athlete can have the opportunity to host one run over the summer. Each Thursday we go to a different house and run from that location. This gives the athletes a chance for a change in scenery. If you plan to host a run, please include a small meal for the kids after the run. Most parents make hot dogs or pasta. Remember, they are growing teenagers and eat almost anything. Usually parents have games, movies, swimming or events planned for the athletes after dinner. These tend to be a lot of fun and help to build team unity.

Cross-Country Picnic: The Edwardsville Cross-Country Booster Club and Edwardsville Cross-Country Coaches will again hold the Edwardsville Cross-Country Picnic at Glik Park in Edwardsville. The event is expected to be held on Saturday, July 11, 2008 from 11:00 until 2:00 (or later). Athletes and their families are encouraged to attend! More information will be handed out during the summer.

Soda Mile: We will once again have the team soda mile. More info to follow!

Ice Cream or French Fry Run: We will have a running challenge that involves food again this year! More info to come!

Mud Mountain: The 13th Annual Mud Mountain 5k Classic will be held on Saturday, July 25, 2008. Please note, this event is scheduled much earlier than years past! All athletes are encouraged to run. We are also looking for volunteers to help us with the event. Please contact us if interested.

http://www.mudmountain.org: I will try to update summer information on our website during the summer. Please check the site every few days. Thank you to Tom Atwood and Keith Dudding for their hard work on maintaining the site!

Contact Information: Please feel free to contact Coach Patrylak at anytime. My cell is 567-5792, home phone is 344-7040, and email is gpatrylak@ecusd7.org or goosepatry@aol.com. If it helps you keep up your logs, keep them on the computer and email them to me weekly.

Rules: All athletes will be required to attend a Code of Conduct meeting at the start of the school year. This meeting will cover most rules. In addition, I would like to add some of the following:

--Respect your teammates: Cross-country develops more than teams, it develops families. Each person is an important part of our family. Treat everyone respectfully.

--Profanity will not be accepted. Team exercises will be used to curve this habit. Excessive remarks can lead to the removal from the team.

--Check your shoes. The only equipment you are required to buy for cross-country is a good pair of shoes. As a rule of thumb, start the summer with a new pair of shoes and start a new pair at the start of the school year. Broken down or improper shoes lead to most injuries.

--If you feel a pain or have an injury, tell the coaching staff immediately. Trying to be Superman early can lead to missing a chunk of the season later! Your health and safety is a priority.

--Conditioning is not mandatory, but is highly encouraged. Please try to attend!

--Due to IHSA rules, coaches can not be present for all conditioning. Juniors and Seniors should lead the way on these days. If you are a concerned parent (especially if your child is a freshman or sophomore), you are welcome to stay at the conditioning or tag along on foot or bike! Parents, siblings and former athletes are always welcome and are encouraged to go for a run.

Coach P’s Philosophy: “I do not make athletes! I will never take the credit for exceptional performances or the blame for pathetic ones. Everyone is responsible for himself! I can not make you a great runner. I will put the proper workouts and requirements in front of you, but it is up to you to follow standards, goals, and workouts I lay out. If you follow the plan, put in the miles, do the work, and try your hardest, you will be successful. Osmosis is not part of cross-country! YOU have to put the work in! YOU determine what quality of runner you will be!”

Conclusion
Last year we put Edwardsville and Southern Illinois back on the map for IHSA class AAA. Our goal this year is nothing different. I anticipate another successful cross-country season at EHS, but it is up to you do decide just how successful we can be. Make sure you do the things to get ready for the season. Be smart, be safe, and do the right things this summer. I hope everyone has an enjoyable summer and I hope I see you frequently!

Help Request

Parents, we are asking for assistance throughout the season. We are looking for parents willing to organize and/or to bring refreshments (food, water and gatorade) to all away meets this season. Some of the meets further away (Peoria/East Peoria) usually have food delivered to the courses (subs or pizza). If you think you can help, please contact Coach Patrylak or Lisa Thompson.

We are also looking for parent volunteers to assist at all home meets this year. This includes Wednesday, September 10 and Saturday, September 20 this year. Please check the schedule for other home meets for EHS, Liberty and Lincoln. Thank you for your help and dedication.

Coach P.

Granite City Invitational

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008

Location: Wilson Park (behind the high school).

Departure from EHS: 7:00 a.m.

Schedule:
--JV Girls: 8:30 a.m.
--Fresh/Soph Boys: 9:00 a.m.
--Varsity Girls: 9:30 a.m.
--Varsity Boys: 10:00 a.m.
--Open: 10:30 (parents can run, too).

Lunch: A picnic for the athletes will be immediately after awards (approximately 11:15).

Return Time: 12:45 p.m.

Weights: Boys will lift for about 30 minutes upon arrival to EHS.

T-Shirts: Bring money for meet t-shirts if interested.

Good luck and we will see you on Saturday.

Coach P.

Picture and first week of school information and a new meet.

I hope your family had a fun and exciting summer. School is here and we are looking forward to an exciting school year and season. Here is some important information to share with you:

Practice Schedule:

Monday, August 18: 6:30 p.m. EHS Track. Please be here as we will be passing out picture packets. I will try to post package options tomorrow for those not in attendance.

Tuesday, August 19: Code of Conduct meeting immediately following school. Team pictures are scheduled for boys and girls starting at 11:30. Team T-shirts are in. Boys should wear Khaki shorts. Practice immediately follows pictures. Athletes will be dismissed after practice and should be done no later than 2:00 p.m. Activity Busses will not be running.

Wednesday on: Practice will last from 2:30 to 5:15 for the remainder of the school year except for weekends and holidays.

New Meet: Monday, Septemeber 1, 2008: We will leave school at 7:00 a.m. and the race begins at 9:00 a.m. (boys followed by girls). We will be at Belleville West and will race West, Belleville East, O'Fallon, and Mascoutah.

Be sure to have your paper work turned in!Enjoy the final days of break!

Coach P.

Official Practice Begins Monday August 11th

The following information is for members of the Boys Team only.

Here is a break down of practice times and location for the weekdays of 8/11 thru 8/15:

Monday: 6:30 p.m. at EHS Track. Workout.

Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. Cross-Country Course

Wednesday: 6:30 p.m. Host run: Derek and Tanner Burge-Beckley: 7701 Goshen Road, Edwardsville, 659-2299.. Workout

Thursday: 6:30 p.m. Ryan and Michael Cullen: 119 Prarie Manor, Edwardsville, 692-1624.. Over-distance.

Friday: 6:30 p.m. at the EHS track. SODA MILE!!!

Bring all of your paper work.

This is the last week to count towards Mileage Club shirts.

See you Monday.

Coach P.

Host Run and Black Out Information

Just a reminder that the period between July 27 and August 9 is the "Black Out" period for this season. Parents asked me to please post host run information for the remainder of the summer. I will not be in attendance for any of these events and parents asked athletes to RSVP the day before each run so they can buy/prepare the right amount of food. Here is the information for Host Runs the remainder of the summer:

Tuesday, July 29: Michael Stubban: 2232 Wildwood Drive, Glen Carbon, 288-2834.

Thursday, July 31: Chris Taglieri: 310 Redwood Drive, Edwardsville. 656-5244.

Tuesday, August 5: David Parks: 7 Knights Bridge, Edwardsville, 656-8253.

Thursday, August 7: Tony Thompson: 315 Redwood Drive, Edwardsville 307-5304.

Tuesday, August 12: Derek and Tanner Burge-Beckley: 7701 Goshen Road, Edwardsville, 659-2299.

Thursday, August 14: Ryan and Michael Cullen: 119 Prarie Manor, Edwardsville, 692-1624.

Just a reminder, the official day of Practice is Monday, August 11 at EHS at 6:30 p.m.

Make sure you have all of forms to turn in by Monday the 11th of August.

If you have any questions during this period, please talk to Eli Sweatt at 288-5365.

Thank you and have an enjoyable and safe end to your summer.

Coach P.

Host Run Tonight at Warnecke's House

Kyle Warnecke's parents will hold tonight's host run - starting at 6:30 pm. Their address is:

2 South Equestrian Court

Glen Carbon

Phone 288-7457