2013 Winter Track Season

Welcome to 2013 West Potomac Winter Track

This is our first news update for the 2013 Winter Track season; please check this blog regularly since it will be updated each week (at minimum).  We will use this blog to provide you with Team News, training updates, meet lineups, race recaps and much more.

Meet Schedule

·         Found on the left-hand corner of the blog

·         Our First Meet is this SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1^st!!!

o   There will be buses to this meet that depart West Potomac HS Parking lot at 6:10 AM.

o   Uniforms will be distributed this Wednesday after practice.

o   Lineups and racing/competition assignments will be announced no later than Thursday.

o   We will need parent volunteers to assist with timing.  Stopwatches will be provided.

o   Athletes will need to of turned in a signed & completed Policies & Procedures form in order to be eligible to compete.

·         Our Second Meet is Saturday, December 8.  It is a Polar Bear Meet (so we will be running it outdoors at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA).  More details for this meet in next week’s blog.

Practice

·         As the temperatures drop athletes/parents please remember we need all athletes to dress properly and pack layers (long sleeves, jackets, pants, gloves, hats).  This allows the athletes to be warmed up properly, and is also a health/safety issue.  Athletes who do not dress warmly enough will be sent home.

·         All training groups will be accessing the weight room throughout the week, it is very important for athletes to turn in their weight room authorization forms in.

·         There is a study hall in Coach Beeby’s room (214) everyday afterschool.  No athletes should be caught in the hall.  After school athletes are expected to stay after with a teacher for assistance, or be productively spending time in study hall.

·         There is no distance runners practice on Tuesdays, distance runners are expected to complete their runs OYO.

Parent Volunteers

Parents, we will need your help with a number of items throughout the season.  Here is a brief breakdown of some of what our amazing parent group does:

·         Meet volunteers (to assist with timing & scoring the meet).

o   Timing & Scoring volunteers earn themselves free admission to the meet.

o   Parent timers and meet scorers are the only parents allowed down on the track, all other parents must remain in the stands!!!

·         Christmas Tree Sales @ Carl Sandburg Middle School

o   Both parents & athletes will assist in the WP Boosters Major fundraiser.

o   Our dates to assist are: Wednesdays December 15 & December 19 (5-8pm).

o   An email with more information will be sent out about the Christmas Tree Sales.

·         Team Dinners

o   More information to come on these as dates are TBD.

o   Parents can volunteer to host, co-host, or supply a dish.

Cross Country Regional Recap

The Wolverines competed in the last ever Northern Region Championships for Cross-Country on the historic 2.98 mile course at Burke Lake Park.  Both West Potomac teams placed 7th overall, finishing in the top half of the competitive field.

The boys team continued to run as a pack, keeping all five scoring runners within a tight 30 second spread.  Senior Corey Rosenberg led the way as he dipped under 16 minutes for the first time, running 15:59 and asserting himself as #20 All-Time as West Potomac.  Next in for the Wolverines was Luca Halladay (16:11), followed the trio of sophomores: Eric Turner (16:18), Nick Cucinotta (16:19), Cullen O’Boyle (16:30).  Senior Crispin Bernier (16:39) and sophomore James McNulla (17:11) rounded out the top 7 for the boys team.

The girls were led by a gutsy finish from junior Katie Genuario (14th, 18:15).  Despite falling in the last stretch and fighting off fatigue the junior held on for his first All-Region honors in cross-country to qualify individually for the state meet.  Also breaking the 19 minute barrier was senior captain Sophia Passacatando (18:56), setting a season best in her last trip out to Burke Lake.  Katie Murray (19:02), Lauren Price (19:12) and Allison McNulla (19:27) all ran very well to fill out the score for the Lady Wolverines.  Sophomores Melanie Bomberg (19:29) and Maura Finn (19:58) set new personal bests in their first regional championships.

Genuario will compete in the VHSL AAA State Championships on Saturday, November 10 at 1pm.  The race will be held at Great Meadows (The Plains, VA) and will be the last AAA championship before VHSL switches over to its 6 system classification next year.

College-Bound Athlete Seminar (November 20)

MVHS Hosting Seminar for College-Bound Athletes

For immediate release

Guiding the College-Bound Athlete will be held on Tuesday, November 20 at 6:30pm at Mount Vernon High School. This seminar is to prepare parents and athletes for the recruiting road ahead — “Guiding the College-Bound Athlete” will provide information and topics for every student-athlete in middle and high school and their parents to educate and prepare them for opportunities and careers after graduation.  Many student-athletes who aspire to play at the college level are not familiar with the ins and outs of academic requirements and eligibility as they need to be in order to pursue their goals.

“Guiding the College-Bound Athlete,” a program designed by Rick Wire, President of Dynamite Sports, a Pennsylvania-based corporation, is the father of 9 year NFL veteran Coy Wire.  This seminar will provide families with information about the availability of athletic scholarships and the realities of the college recruiting process.

The road to college for athletes is no longer lined with traditional mile markers. It used to be that batting averages, points per game or yards per carry paved the way for sports stars.  Nowadays, one more percentage is carrying more and more weight. It’s called the grade point average.

The days of athletes dreaming to “Be Like Mike” and parents’ dreams of having it pay for an education and a lucrative future for their child-student-athlete have vastly changed over the last generation or so. In fact, there is a lot more work to hitting a home run than just hitting home runs.

According to his press release, Rick Wire found himself looking for answers when his then 8-year-old son, Coy, started talking about being a college football star. Wire hadn’t attended college himself and decided he had better start preparing for the future.  He questioned other parents who had been through the process, looking for pros and cons and ways to prepare financially.  In the end, his son Coy earned his scholarship to play football at Stanford University.  Then in 2002, Coy was drafted in the 3^rd round of the NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills where he played for 6 seasons and then finished his career for the past 3 seasons as a captain and player rep with the Atlanta Falcons.

Rick used his study to become a speaker and expert in college athletics and its recruiting process.  Then he created the Dynamite Sports Educational Recruiting System, which combines academic preparation and athletic training with marketing and recruiting strategies to navigate through the process.  The plan provides direction to high school athletes and parents, and staff development training and resources to high school coaches and counselors to help all parties make knowledgeable choices and decisions in college athletics and recruiting.

Rick Wire will present an hour-long seminar at Mount Vernon High School at 6:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre. Interested participants are asked to come early, if possible, to receive a number of handouts and watch a POWERFUL pre-program video.

For information about Dynamite Sports, go to www.dynamitesports.com.

November Dates!!!

November 8: Winter Track Interest Meeting Room 214 @ 3pm
November 10: VHSL State Championships
November 12: First Day of Winter Track
November 17: Ft Hunt Turkey Trot (8am) & Border Wars
November 26: Fall Sports Awards Banquet

November 17: Turkey Trot & Border Wars

Ft Hunt Turkey Trot
All West Potomac XC runners are expected to volunteer at the Fort Hunt Turkey Trot on November 17 at Fort Hunt Park.  This can count towards your community service hours.  We will be assisting in set up, as well as reaching out to younger runners and helping with warm-up/stretching.  This is always a fun event that allows WPXC to work with future generations.
West Potomac XC athletes can also participate in the event, but you will need to email Coach Dietz (jdietz3@vt.edu) and let her know your plans to participate.
All WPXC runners should arrive by 8am!

Border Wars
The following athletes will be signed up for the Battle of the Potomac through team registration.  Thank you to those of you who have already turned in your registration fee.  I have heard back from only one person on singlet size.  If you do not indicate your singlet size then you will be receiving a medium singlet.  If you are not on this list you will NOT be registered for Border Wars.
Girls: Lauren Airey, Meredith Barber, Abigail Copley, Maura Finn, Juliette Lash, Andrea Martinez, Camille McMullen, Allison McNulla, Katie Murray, Lauren Price, Laura Powell, Zoe Smith
Boys: Luca Halladay, Bernard Kluskens, Joseph Leonard, James McNulla, Cullen O’Boyle, Carter Sibley, Eric Turner, Austin Whitney, John Whitney

Winter Track!

We will be having an interest meeting for Winter Track on November 8 at 3pm in Room 214.  After this the group still training for XC will go to practice (come to the meeting dressed to run).

The first day of Winter Track is November 12.  Obviously with everyone in different training phases some of you will be doing  different things.  The Border Wars group will take their break November 17-November 25.  If you plan on running distance for winter track please touch base with Coach Dietz (jdietz3@vt.edu) to see when your training break/winter track start date will be.

Sunday OYO run

For all those still training (Border Wars, Footlocker or States)...30 minute run followed by a lot of stretching.    We will practice at 3:15pm tomorrow (Monday) at the West Po Track....your run for Tuesday will be OYO