News of the Week: Aug. 29 - Sept. 3, 2011

Practice Week of Aug. 20- Sept. 2
Daily Practice time is 2:30-5:25 mon-thurs and 2:30 -4:50 on *fridays(unless otherwise noted)- Meet in your coaches classroom (Boys - Coach Simmons) (Girls - Coach Zoll)
* The activity bus only runs at 5:00pm on friday

Mon. 29th- Fleet Feet Kickoff Meet - meet in Coaches classrooms at 2:30 for Bus (meet details below)
Tues. 30th - PHS campus - finished in time to catch 4:15 Activity bus
Wed. 31st - Too Hot- forced inside practice
Thurs. 1st - Too Hot -cancelled
Fri. 2nd - Too Hot- inside again

Labor day weekend workouts: (Girls plan below, Boys should follow Coach Simmons directions from friday)
Saturday: Enjoy a 4-6 miler and mix in a mile at tempo pace
Sunday: Enjoy a long run
Monday (Labor Day) Enjoy a 4-5 miler

Fleet Feet XC Kickoff Information:
Check out the website at: http://www.fleetfeetstl.com/xckickoff.htm
See a short video of last years meet here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf6cKNrv0Vc
Location: Quail Ridge Park in St. Charles County
Date: Monday, August 29th
2:35 Bus leaves PHS
4:15 JV Boys
4:45 JV Girls
5:15 Varsity Boys
5:45 Varsity Girls
6:15 Pizza Party/Awards
7:00ish Bus leaves for PHS
7:30-7:45ish - arrive back at PHS (commons area)

Directions to Quail RidgePark (used for Fleet Feet XC Kickoff) Please ignore directions to Quail Ridge Park in the meet directions packet previously sent home. Street names have changed since they were written

-Take I-70 west
-From Interstate 70, exit onto Interstate 64 (Highway 40/61 South).

-Turn Right at Prospect Road and continue to Duello Road.

-Turn Right on Duello (becomes Quail Ridge Parkway) and continue to
the park entrance on the left (approx 1 mile).

- Stay straight after the entrance and drive to the back of the park.
Drive time approximately 30 minutes from 70&270

Other important stuff:

A call for Photography from Parents and PHS XC fans : If you happen to have some photos from meets or other team activities during the season you are willing to share, we could really use the help in obtaining images for our season end slide show. They don't need to be just racing, but all the times in between are also appreciated, from group stretching, cheering or those crashed out in the tent after a hard race. If you would like to share we can send home a thumb drive on which you can quickly drop a copy of images. Thanks as always for your support and let us know if you can help.

Team T-shirts: We have a limited supply of team shirts left and available to family and freinds. The price is $10.oo a shirt (after previous purchase of the first team member shirt) and will be sold on a first come - first serve basis. Team members should see Coach Zoll to purchase these shirts.

Upcoming Meets:
-Forest Park XC Festival -Sept. 10

Quote of the week: "Being an athlete is a state of mind which is not bound by age, performance or place in the running pack.” – Jeff Galloway

News of the Week: August 21- 27

Practice Week of Aug. 21-27
Daily Practice time is 2:30-5:25 mon-thurs and 2:30 -4:50 on *fridays(unless otherwise noted)- Meet in your coaches classroom (Boys - Coach Simmons) (Girls - Coach Zoll)
* The activity bus only runs at 5:00pm on friday

Mon. 22th - Car Pool to Vago Park, (Freshman will be required to ride with coaches)
Do you still need to buy a team shirt? You will need it for team pictures on tuesday. Picture forms will be sent home at practice and should be returned with your payment tomorrow for anyone wanting to purchase individual or team pictures.

Tues. 23th - Team pictures and practice on Campus. (Finished by the 4:15 bus)
Wear - your team T-shirt and black shorts (you may borrow a shirt for the picture if you didn't buy one)
Bring - photo order form with $ if buying photos
Also, if you do not yet have a uniform, make sure to ask coach for one today.

Wed. 24th - Green and White Meet. Meet in the commons at 4:30. Details below.
Invite your friends and family!

Thurs. 25th - Bus to Quail Ridge park to tour the course for our first meet.

Fri. 26th - PHS campus - Practice finished by 4:50 to catch 5:00 Activity Bus

Sat. 27th - (Optional) Practice- 8:00 AM, Creve Coeur Park (Upper level gravel lot by the tennis courts)
Remember- You need to have completed 14 practices before you can run in a meet. Our first official meet is August 29th.

Green and White Meet Details
Place: PHS Campus 2 mile course- starts on upper band practice field (behind the tennis courts)
Meet in the commons. Food items can be left in the cafeteria when we race.

Wear: uniform, extra t-shirt, etc. -bring sweats to get in the habit and just in case.

Time: athletes need to arrive by 4:30pm. Family and friends my wish to wait until closer to race time. Spectators may also wish to bring a folding chair, since we no longer have a stadium.
Race Time: 5:30pm on the upper band practice field (behind the tennis courts)

Picnic: We will have an assortment of food for the whole team and family members immediately after post race stretching and recovery. We will move inside to the commons/cafeteria for the picnic.

Food to bring for picnic:
Freshman: Fruit, Vegetables, or chips
Sophomores: lunch meat/ cheese etc. for sandwiches
Juniors/ Seniors: Bread for sandwiches/ Desserts
Coaches: We will provide plates, forks, spoon, napkins etc. as well as drink and cups

Important Upcoming Dates:
- Our first official meet will be the Fleet Feet XC Kickoff at Quail Ridge park next Monday,Aug.29th. Directions to the meet can be found in your 1st day packet and will also be posted on the blog along with other meet information next weekend.( Remember you must have at least 14 practices to compete in this race)

- No School on Sept. 5th (Labor Day) - No Practice

Other News:

- MEET SCHEDULE CHANGE - (this was also posted last week)We will NOT be participating in the First Capital Invitational scheduled for Sept. 2. Due to it's previously established popularity the meet is not accepting new teams this year. Please remove it from your meet calendar.

- Attention: Parents, siblings, alumni and all others (who are not participating in MSHSAA school sanctioned sports this season) You have the chance to get a taste or refresh those old memories of Cross Country at our second meet on September 10th. The Forest Park XC festival is offering a 4K Open Race at 7:30 am using the same course we will be running later that morning. Wouldn't it be cool to have a group of Pattonville family members and alumni together in the race..Hmmm. maybe something to discuss at the Green and White this week. For more information or an entry form to the Open Race check out Big River Running's website about the meet here.

Quote of the week:
I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs. ~Jesse Owens

News of the Week: Aug. 15 - 20, 2011

Practice for the Week
Daily Practice time is 2:30-5:25 (unless noted otherwise)- Meet in the Commons -(dress out in the school locker rooms)
Mon. 15th - 1st day of School - Meet in the Commons- We will stay on campus for practice today.
Tues. 16th - PHS campus
Wed. 17th - Katy Trail Mile (bus) - 1st time trial of the season
Thurs. 18th- PHS campus
Fri. 19th - No School, but we will have practice. We will meet at Creve Coeur Park (parking lot by the "Falls") from 3:30 - 5:30 pm.
Saturday 20th - (Optional) Practice- 9:00 AM, Creve Coeur Park (Upper level gravel lot by the tennis courts)

Reminders:
- Don't forget to buy your team T-shirt before team pictures next week.
- You need to have completed 14 practices before you can run in a meet. Our first official meet is August 29th.

Important Upcoming Announcements and Dates:

- Team pictures will be on Tuesday Aug. 23rd before practice -photo order forms will be given out late this week.

- Mark your calendars for the Green and White Meet on August 24th. This is a 2 mile race with our team members only. The race itself will start at 5:30, but team members will need to be at school by 4:30. We will also have a small picnic afterward. Details to come.

- MEET SCHEDULE CHANGE - We will NOT be participating in the First Capital Invitational scheduled for Sept. 2. Due to it's previously established popularity the meet is not accepting new teams this year. Please remove it from your meet calendar. This is not a big loss to our schedule since it would have been our second meet in less than 1 weeks time and was originally planned as an "extra" anyway. Still, it's a great meet and we may try again next year.

Quote of the week: “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Jim Rohn

Saturday Practices (Optional)

Over the next three weeks, both boys and girls teams will be having optional Saturday practices. This Saturday (8/13) we will be meet at Creve Coeur park at the gravel lot by the tennis courts. Practice time will be from 8:30-9:30 am.
Practice locations and times may change for future saturday practices. Watch the blog for further information or email your coach.

Remember you need to have completed 14 practices before you can run in a meet and our first official meet is August 29th.
Hope to see you there.
Coach Fader

News of the Week - Aug. 8th - 12 - Our Season Begins!

Wooo Hooo! Time to get the season officially underway...although savvy XC runners know that the season really began in June, kicking off a full summer of base building.
If you haven't been running... well you will be soon and that is reason enough to be excited.
So here we go..from now on, usually on Sunday evenings, I will post a schedule of practices, meets and any other pertinent info for the following week.

Monday, August 8, 2011: First day of Cross Country Practice - Be there!
Time: 8-9:30 A.M. Meet under the bridge in front of the High School.

**Practice is required beginning August 8th. You must have 14 practices in before you are allowed to run in a meet. All absences must be verified with a call or email to your Coach to be excused. Unexcused absences from practice will result in sitting out the next meet.

You need to have the following: (see the July 24th post for a more detailed description)
- Physical (We will have your name on a list if already turned in to the athletic office)
- Emergency Card
- training log book (if you have one) **you must have a log book to qualify for summer mileage awards. Other accurate and well kept records of summer mileage will be considered for new runners and incoming freshman)
- Water bottle and watch
- dressed to run

**While you will not be able to participate until you have turned in a Physical and Emergency Card, you need to attend the first practice to obtain a packet full of forms and important information concerning the cross country season.

ATTENTION PARENTS: please make sure your athlete shares the first day packet with you after practice Monday.

Aug. 9: Practice 7:30-9 am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (Upper level gravel lot by the tennis court)

Aug. 10 : Practice 7:30-9 am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (lower level parking lot by "the falls")
Freshman will be excused from Wednesday's practice due to Freshman Transition Day.

Aug. 11: Practice 3:30 - 5:30 pm Meet at Creve Coeur Park, (Upper level gravel lot by the tennis court)

Aug. 12: Practice 3:30-5:30 pm Meet at Creve Coeur Park , West side (near soccer fields off Maryland Heights Expressway) Bike-n-Run practice..Bring a bike (and helmet) if you have one. Only half the team actually needs to bring a bike and any bike will do.

Beginning Monday, August 15th we will have daily practice from 2:30- 5:00pm everyday. Some days we may be finished by 4:00 pm. Activity Buses will be available at 4:15 and 5:30.

2011 Cross Country Meet Schedule (Girl's and Boy's Teams)

The 2011 Cross Country season is almost underway. Mark your calendars now for an exciting season of racing. All meets are tentative at this time and changes may occur. We will post directions, and race times for each meet on this blog about 1 week prior to each event. Unless otherwise indicated, each meet below includes Boy's and Girl's Teams.

Wed. Aug 24 - Green and White Meet 5:30pm (Location TBA)
Mon. Aug. 29 - Fleet Feet XC Kickoff (Quail Ridge Park)
Fri. Sept. 2 - First Capital Invitational (McNair Park)
Sat. Sept. 10 - Big River Forest Park XC Festival (Forest Park)
Sat. Sept. 17 Paul Enke Inv. (Sioux Passage Park)
Fri. Sept. 23 Hazelwood West Inv. (Koch Park)
Tues. Sept. 27 PHS/FZE dual meet (McNair Park) *very tentative
Fri. Sept. 30 Ron Jorgenson Inv. (Queeny Park)
Sat. Oct. 15 Conference Meet TBD
Wed. Oct. 19 Finn Dawg Inv. Girls Team only (Kirkwood park) *very tentative
Sat. Oct. 22 District TBD
Wed. Oct 27 Findley Inv. Boys Team only (Forest Park) *very tentative
Sat. Oct.29 Sectional TBD
Sat. Nov. 5 State Meet (Jefferson City)