News of the Week: Sept. 24 - 29

Practice Week of Sept.24- 29
Daily Practice time is 2:30-5:15 mon-thurs and 2:30 -4:50 on *fridays
 * The activity bus only runs at 5:00pm on friday
Meet in your coaches classroom 
(Boys - Coach Simmons) (Girls - Coach Zoll)

Mon. 24th - Carpool to O'connor
Tues. 25th - bus to Living Word United Methodist Church - tour the PKWY West course
Wed. 26th - Carpool to Creve Coeur
Thurs. 27th - PHS campus
Fri. 28th -PHS campus
Sat. 29th - Parkway West Invitational

Parkway West Invitational
Location: Living Word United Methodist Church
Date: Saturday Sept. 29
  Meet at the commons at 7:15am.  The bus leaves at 7:30.
Race Schedule: (All races are 5K)
9:00 JV Boys
9:30 JV Girls
10:10 Varsity Boys
10:40 Varsity Girls
11:10 Sophomore Boys
11:40 Freshman/Sophomore Girls
12:20 Freshman Boys

Directions to Living Word United Methodist Church from PHS:
-take Creve Coeur Mill Rd. south
-turn Left on the Maryland Heights Expressway
- turn right on Olive Blvd. Go 9.3 miles (stay on Olive as it becomes Clarkson after Hwy 40) 
- turn Right on Manchester Rd./ Hwy 100, go 3.9 miles 
- turn Left on Pond Rd.
The church is located on the southeast corner of Hwy 100 and Pond Rd. As  you are heading west on 100, Pond road is the next intersection after HWY 109. 
Church address: 17315 Manchester Rd, 63038

Upcoming Events:

Friday Oct. 5th - Border War XC meet - McNair Park 4:00pm (No school)

News of the Week Sept. 17-22

Practice Week of Sept. 17- 22Daily 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. 17th - carpool to Creve Coeur
Tues. 18th - Bus to Koch Park for course tour
Wed. 19th - PHS campus
Thurs. 20th-PHS campus
Fri. 21st - Hazelwood West Inv. at Koch Park (details below) Bus leaves commons at 2:35
Saturday -

Hazelwood West Invitational - Friday Sept. 21Location: Koch Park
Bus Leaves Stadium immediately after school at 2:35. We will not make it back for the activity bus, please make arrangements for a ride home from school after the meet.

Race times:4:00 Varsity Boys
4:30 Varsity Girls
5:00 Junior Varisty Boys
5:30 Junior Varsity Girls

Directions to Koch Park:
- take 270 east/north
- exit at McDonnell and turn left off exit ramp
- McDonnell becomes Howdershell - stay straight
Koch Park is located at the corner of Charbonier and Howdershell - Turn left onto Charbonier and then another left into the park.

Upcoming Events:September 29- Parkway West Inv. at Living Word United Methodist Church in Wildwood (a brand new course)

News of the Week -September 10 - 15

Practice Week of Sept.10- 15Daily 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. 10th - Carpool to O'Connor
Tues. 11th - Bus to Sioux Passage for a tour of the course
Wed. 12th - Carpool to Creve Coeur Upper level
Thurs. 13th - PHS campus
Friday 14th - PHS campus

Saturday, Sept. 15 - Paul Enke/Hazelwood Central Invitational at Sioux Passage County Park

Be at the High School Commons by 7:15 am
Bus leaves at 7:30am

Race Times and Awards:
9:00 Varsity Boys (40 medals/ 3 team awards)
9:30 Varsity Girls (40 medals/ 3 team awards)
10:10 JV Boys (30 medals, 1 team award)
10:50 JV Girls (30 medals, 1 team award)
11:30 Boy's & Girl's Freshman Combined (20 medals, 1 team award)
12:15 Awards (1-10 in each race and team awards)

Course Distance : all races will be 5k

Directions to Sioux Passage County Park

- I -270 North/East

- Take Exit 25B (go North) Lindberg

- Left on Old Halls Ferry Rd.

- Right on Vaile Ave

- Left on Old Jamestown Rd

- Follow Old Jamestown for just under 1/2 mile and look for the park entrance on your right.

- Once inside the park, follow the park road straight until you reach the gravel lot at the base of a huge hill.

UPCOMING MEETS: 
Friday Sept. 21 - Terry Meatheany/Hazelwood West Inv.- Koch Park

Other News:

Friendly reminder: 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.

-SWEATS - Starting this past weekend, it appears the cooler temps (great for running!) of Fall may actually occur on a regular basis . Be prepared and bring extra socks/shirt and sweats from here on out. As it gets cooler hats and gloves will also be necessary. Please remember meet sweats are only for meets. Don't spend a fortune on sweats, any nylon sweats from Target, Kohls or Walmart will work great. You can get cotton garden gloves for $1.00 at most stores and I found a great hat myself for two bucks at walmart.

- Meet Attendance- If for some reason you can not attend a meet (and it needs to be a really good reason), please let your Coach know as soon as possible. An email or simply a hand written note is fine. This information is very helpful to the coaches when entering meets.

News of the Week: Sept. 3rd-8th

Practice Week of Sept.3- 7 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. 3rd- Labor Day - You should know what to do, but if not.. Run. (Girl's see last weeks post) 
Tues. 4th - car pool to O'Connor Park -finish at 5:15pm 
Wed. 5th - Car Pool to Creve Coeur Park- finish at 5:15pm 
Thurs. 6th - PHS Campus -finish at 5:15 
Fri. 7th -PHS campus - finished by 5:00 bus, although we will likely be finished earlier.

Saturday Sept. 8th - Forest Park XC Festival Information: website: http://www.bigriverrunning.com/fpxc.php 
Location: Forest Park Central Ball Fields - Directions below 
Times: Meet at the stadium no later than 6:45am (tardiness may mean missing the bus) 
Bus leaves for the meet at 7:00am sharp. 

Pattonville is in the "White Division" for all races, only our race times are listed below. 
8:10 JV Girls (5k) 
9:30 JV Boys (5k) 
10:35 National Anthem
10:40 Varsity Girls (5k) 
11:45 Varsity Boys (5k) 
12:40 Freshman Girls (3k) 
1:05 Freshman Boys (3k) 
2:00 Awards 

Directions: Forest Park Cross Country Course

The XC course is located on the Central Ball Fields in Forest Park.

- Hwy I- 70 east

- South on Hwy I- 170

- East on Forest Park Parkway (left turn off the exit ramp)

- Follow the Lindell Exit off Forest Park Parkway

- Left on Lindell (once on Lindell look immediately to your right for Government Dr. into Forest Park)

-Right on Government Drive into the park

- quick Left on Grand Dr. cross over a small bridge and you will be facing the Central Fields. Veer left on Grand on to Jefferson… OR right on to Union and find a parking spot.

UPCOMING MEETS: 
Saturday Sept. 15 - Paul Enke Invitational at Sioux Passage Park 9:00am 

News of the Week August 27- Sept.3

Practice Week of Aug. 27- 31 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. 27th- Fleet Feet Kickoff Meet - meet in Coaches classrooms at 2:30 for Bus (meet details below)
Tues. 28th - stay on PHS campus
Wed. 29th - carpool to O'connor Park
Thurs. 30th -stay on PHS campus
Fri. 31st -  No school/practice - but you need to run (specifics given at thursdays practice)

Labor day weekend workouts: (Girls plan below, Boys should follow Coach Simmons directions)
Saturday: Enjoy a 4-6 miler (mixing in 20 minutes at tempo pace for those specified)
Sunday: Enjoy a long run
Monday (Labor Day) Rest - (unless you took off friday, saturday or sunday, if so run today)

Fleet Feet XC Kickoff Information:
See a short video of the 2009 meet here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf6cKNrv0Vc
Location: Quail Ridge Park in St. Charles County
Date: Monday, August 27th
2:35 Bus leaves PHS
4:15 JV Girls
4:45 JV Boys
5:15 Varsity Girls
5:45 Varsity Boys
6:15 Pizza Party/Awards
6:45ish Bus leaves for PHS
7:15-7:30ish - arrive back at PHS (commons area)

Directions to Quail RidgePark (used for Fleet Feet XC Kickoff)

-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 flash 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 friends. 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. 8

News of the Week Aug. 20 - 25th

Practice Week of Aug. 20-24  
Daily Practice time is 2:30-5:15 mon-thurs and 2:30 -4:50 on *fridays(unless otherwise noted)- Meet in your coaches classroom (Boys - Coach Simmons) (Girls - Coach Fader)
* The activity bus only runs at 5:00pm on friday 
 
Mon. 20th - Car Pool to O'Connor, (Freshman will be required to ride with coaches on carpool days)
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. 21st - Team pictures and practice on Campus.
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
Pictures may also be purchased online at www.WagnerPortraitGroup.com Use the password PIRATES.
Wed. 22nd - Green and White Meet. Meet at O'connor park at 5:30pm. Details below.
Invite your friends and family!

Thurs. 23rd - Practice at PHS. We will hand out uniforms today.

Fri. 24th - Carpool to Creve Coeur Park (upper level) - Practice finished by 4:50 to catch 5:00 Activity Bus

Green and White Meet Details 
 Place: O'Connor Park 2 mile course- starts on lower field.  We will meet at the pavillion, and then follow a regular pre-race routine before beginning the race.

Wear: You will not have a uniform yet.  Wear your regular running wear. -bring sweats to get in the habit and just in case it cools of afterward.

Time: Athletes need to arrive by 5:30pm. 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: 6:15pm on the lower soccer field.

Refreshments: If possible, we are asking all team members to bring a treat to share after the race, preferably things that do not need to be kept cold and are some what healthy. Possible suggestions include: fruit, granola bars, cookies, or whatever you dream up.Water and Gatorade will be provided to drink.

Important Upcoming Dates: - Our first official meet will be the Fleet Feet XC Kickoff at Quail Ridge park next Monday,Aug.27th. 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. 3rd (Labor Day) - No Practice

The 2012 Cross Country Season Begins - Essential Info.

Monday, Aug. 6, 2012: First day of Cross Country Practice - Be there!
 
Time: 8-9:30 A.M. Meet on the Track at the High School. Meet under the bridge (auditorium side)

**Practice is required beginning August 6th. 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 for the first practice:
- Physical (We will have your name on a list if already turned in to the athletic office)- Emergency Card
- Activities Code (may be completed after the first practice)
- Voluntary Drug testing card (may be completed after the first practice)
  (All forms above can be obtained prior to practice by visiting the PHS Activities page, click the FORMS tab)
- 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
- a water bottle

**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. 


Practice times before school begins 

Tues. Aug. 7: Practice 8:00-10:00 am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (upper level gravel lot, near tennis courts)

Wed. Aug. 8: Practice 8:00-10:00 am, Meet at O'Connor Park (directions here)

Thurs Aug 9 : Practice 8:00-10:00 am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (upper level gravel lot, near tennis courts)

Fri. Aug. 10: Practice 8:00- 10:00am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (upper level gravel lot, near tennis courts) (Freshman are excused from practice friday for Transition day at PHS)

Saturday Aug. 11: Optional Practice : 8:00-10:00 am, Meet at Creve Coeur Park (upper level gravel lot, near tennis courts)

Mon. Aug 13 : Practice 3:30-5:30 pm, 

Meet at O'Connor Park (directions here)

Tues. Aug 14 : Practice 3:30-5:30 pm, 

 Meet at Creve Coeur Park (upper level gravel lot, near tennis courts)

August 15 - 1st day of school. Daily practice time begins from 2:30 -5:15 
XC Teams meet dressed out in the commons by 2:25 (dress out in school locker rooms) Will we return from practice by 5:15 for students to catch 5:30 Activity bus

*  Heat Indexes at 105 or above may result in changes of practice time or location.  Please watch the blog at http://pattonvillexc.blogspot.com/ for updates the day prior to practice or call your Coach if unsure

See You Soon!

2012 Cross Country Meet Schedule

2012 Pattonville Cross Country Meet Schedule

Date                Meet                                                   Time               Location

Wed. Aug 22   Green and White Meet                       5:30pm            (O’Connor Park)

Mon. Aug. 27  Fleet Feet XC Kickoff                       4:00pm            (Quail Ridge Park)

Sat. Sept. 8      Big River Forest Park XC Festival     8:00am            (Forest Park)

Sat. Sept 15     Paul Enke/Haz. Central Inv.               9:00am            (Sioux Passage Park)

Fri. Sept. 21    Hazelwood West Inv.                         4:00pm            (Koch Park)

Sat. Sept. 29    Parkway West Inv.                             9:00am            (Parkway Central)

Fri. Oct. 5       Border War                                         4:00pm            (McNair Park)

Sat. Oct. 13.    Suburban North Conference meet      TBD                     TBD

**Sat. Oct. 20 District 4 Meet                                    TBD                     TBD

**Sat. Oct.27  Sectional                                             TBD                     TBD

**Sat. Nov. 3  State Championship Meet                  TBD                (Jefferson City)

Additional required events:

Wed. Oct. 17   Pattonville Middle School XC Meet     4:00pm            (O’Connor Park)

                        (The PHS team will host the meet, but not compete- required event)

Monday Nov. 19  Cross Country Awards Night         6:00pm            (PHS cafeteria)

? = not confirmed at time of posting

** = Varsity meets only (Sectional and State Meets only upon qualification)

- All meets include both Boys and Girls teams unless specified otherwise.

- Specifics for each meet will be posted on the blog at least 1 week prior to the meet.

http://pattonvillexc.blogspot.com/

Too Hot again....Wed July 25 run cancelled

Yep, you guessed it.  We have to cancel this wednesday nights (July 25) run due to extreme temperatures.  We will not have any more scheduled runs until official practice begins on August 6th.  Make sure to check out the post below with pre-season info and keep an eye on the blog for more to come.
   Don't let the heat and practice cancellations scare you away from your daily runs.  Mornings offer very tolerable temps and shady trails are even better.  Besides, running in some heat now will help you to acclimate to the afternoon practices of the early season.  Just expect to move a bit slower and replenish your fluids when finished.  Enjoy the last couple weeks of summer and we will see you soon!

Wednesday Night Run Cancelled

The Wednesday night run for July 18th is cancelled due to the extreme heat.  We look forward to seeing you for the final Wednesday night run, July 25, at Creve Coeur Upper Park.  Be sure to run early tomorrow morning!

It won't be long now - Pre-Season Reminders

An older video, but still great to get psyched up for XC.  Wacth for the Pirates!


Only 20 more days till we kick off the 2012 Cross Country Season with the beginning of official practices on August 6th.  Hopefully, you have already been running, but if not you still have time to get a good start and better late than never. Experienced racers know running is a year round sport consisting of seasons for a variety of types and intensities of runs. Develop a solid base of aerobic running fitness over the summer and you will be ready to start building speed once the season starts. Otherwise, you'll spend the first half the season doing something you could have already done, rather than getting faster.   Make a commitment to yourself and your team and be the best runner you can be by running now.  Contact your coach for advice on training.  If your planning to shoot for a Varsity spot, running now is essential to success.....I guarantee your competition is.   On a side note, new runners and incoming freshman would also benefit from starting to run now, but should not hesitate to join us even if they have not been running yet.  Returning runners should know better....but I'll stop there and get off my soap box.  Remember running is fun and racing is even more fun..especially if your prepared.  


 Here are a few reminders of events and things to take care of before we start daily practice.

Wednesday Night Runs –just one remains on July 25 (Check this blog for updates as a heat index above 105 will result in cancellation)
- Location: meet at 6:00pm at Creve Coeur Park (upper level- gravel lot by the tennis courts)

Athletic Physical Exams

A physical exam form is required by MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association)BEFORE a student can tryout or practice for any activity listed below.  The form used for this exam is available in the Activities Office or download a copy from the high school website at http://phs.psdr3.org/.  Click the green ATHLETICS and ACTIVITIES…then FORMS…then click the form you want to print.  Only one physical exam is required per year and must be administered on or after February 1, 2012.

Physical exam will be held at Advanced Training and Rehab (12232 St. Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton) on July 24 from 4-7 pm.  You must call the PHS Activities Office at 314-213-8058to RSVP.  Cost is $25…make checks payable to Advanced Training and Rehab.

1st day of official practice is August 6th, 2012 
(8-9:30 a.m. High School) We will have practice every weekday after the 6th. Times and locations for practice the first week will be posted on the Blog at a later date and sent home in an introductory packet on the first day of practice.
**Practice is required beginning August 6th. 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.

For the first day of practice you need to bring the following:
-Sports Physical (PHS offers one on July 24th -see above)
-Emergency Card 
You will be unable to participate in practice until your coach has received both the Emergency Card and Physical
- There are several other forms required for participation in a PHS sports,but they may be completed within the first few days of practice. 
 These include:
 -Activities Code
-Voluntary Drug testing card
You can find all of these forms on-line here (click the FORMS tab at the top of the page) 

- Bring your Training Log - A record of your summer running is very important to the coaches in terms of creating workouts to best fit your needs. For those new to the team, any kind of record of running mileage over the summer would be helpful, but is not mandatory.
Finally, an honestly completed log is required to ear Pirate Mileage Club award for running 300 miles or more this summer.

Wednesday runs return this week

I've posted this one before...but it's still good this time of year.

See you at this week's wednesday run (July 11th) at Creve Coeur Park- upper level gravel lot.  6-7:30pm as usual.

Happy Independence Day!

What better way to celebrate our countries birthday than going for a  run.  Leave the watch or GPS at home and just enjoy moving swiftly across the land while giving thanks for those who have fought for our independence.
Enjoy the 4th and we will NOT have a wednesday run this week.

Forrest runs on wednesday..and every other day.

Forrest believes in base miles..you should too.

See you this wednesday evening (6/27) for our weekly run..
Creve Coeur- Upper level 6:00-7:30pm  or so.

monday motivation

..A bit more video inspiration for your daily runs.

Don't forget.. our wednesday run this week (June 20th) is at O'Connor Park..6-7:30pm or so.  See you then..

Wednesday Night Run 6/13

Daily Quiz - What is missing from the picture below that was also missing from last Wednesday nights run?

Answer- All the girls from the team except two.

  The boy's team however, had a pretty good turnout last Wednesday. Hope to see many more of you this Wednesday at Creve Coeur.  (Upper level- Gravel lot 6-8 pm)

Remember: Your success in running is a direct reflection of  your commitment...and it's a whole lot more fun to run with your teammates... at least once a week.

Why Do You Run?

A question many non-runners ask frequently and maybe even one you have asked yourself. The answer often varies and is sometimes hard to explain.  Maybe you don't need an answer and simply knowing you enjoy it is enough. Either way,  you will find support for your daily run in the following links:

First is an article by a local writer/runner who provides an excellent description of "What Makes a Runner" on her website called the Lola Papers. 

Next up is a short film titled "MOVE"  which provides both visual and verbalized answers as to why we run.

Enjoy!

O'Connor Park- some PHS cross country history

Coach Kern (PHS CC Head Coach from the early 1980's- 2008) has written a must-read post about  O'Connor Park on his blog. Check it out here.  He also posted more pics from the old course and park here.