Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who Are The Coaches?2. What Is Cross Country?
3. What Do I Need To Sign Up?
4. How Are Captains Chosen?
5. What Equipment Is Necessary?
6. What Is A Good Diet?
7. How Can I Volunteer?
8. Can I Drive My Athlete Home After A Meet?
9. Where Can I Find The Cross Country Packet?
1. Who Are The Coaches?
Head Coach Derek Miller
Coach Miller ran both cross country and track at Lake Park High School from 1995 to 1999 and was captain of his cross country team. The Lake Park track team won state during his sophomore year. He still runs regularly and ran his first marathon in the 2008 Chicago Marathon and has run at least one marathon every year since then. He is also an assistant coach on the high school track team.
Assistant Coach Chad Martin
Coach Martin ran track at Lena-Winslow High School from 1995 to 1999. He also coaches the YMS track team in the spring and basketball in the winter. He enjoys all sports and stays active by lifting weights and participating in softball and basketball.
2. What Is Cross Country?
Cross country is a popular sport that involves running a course that may consist of grass, mud, trees, and water. The IESA has stated that middle school athletes, both boys and girls, run a 2-mile (3200 m) course during their meets, although the meets we run in may vary between 1 and 2 miles. Boys and girls normally do not run in the same race.
Scoring in cross country is different from many sports since the lowest score wins. A team consists of 7 runners with the top 5 scoring points for their team. Points are earned based on the place earned, so if the top 5 runners for a team finished in 1st, 5th, 10th, 14th, and 20th the team would have scored 50 points. The 6th and 7th runners are important in case of a tie and they can also hurt another team's score by beating their top 5 runners.
Although the top 7 runners are important in cross country, most cross country meets feature an open race that allows any number of participants. There are no cuts in cross country so if you show up to practice and follow all team and school rules you will be able to run in the meets.
Cross Country practices will be held from August 1 through October 8. Runners who qualify for State will run for an additional week to prepare for the State meet on October 15. Practices will be held behind the Yorkville High School main campus at 9am through August 19 so we can run some different routes before school starts. Saturday practices will be held at a different forest preserve each week at 9am whenever a meet is not held that day.
Practices are normally scheduled for 1.5 hours. Some practices may involve shorter interval runs that may only take an hour, but the rest of the time will be spent doing endurance drills or playing games. Runners will usually know the practice schedule ahead of time and the calendar on the home page can also be used to view practice schedules.
To get more information about our team you can view the team packet.
3. What Do I Need To Sign Up?
A few forms are required along with a $65 activity fee. You will need a current physical and will have to fill out the insurance waiver along with the cross country registration form. The activity fee can be made out to Yorkville Middle School.
4. How Are Captains Chosen?
Runners who are interested in becoming a team captain need to fill out a captain application and get it to Coach Miller. Captains will be chosen by the coaches after the first week of practice based on their efforts over the summer and at the start of practice.
5. What Equipment Is Necessary?
A good pair of shoes is the most important item a cross country runner needs. Do not simply buy the most expensive pair you can find, however, since you need a type of shoe that best fits your feet and running style. If you don't know what type of shoes to buy you need to go to a running store since they will know the difference and generally have a better selection than the general sporting goods stores. Some good stores to try are Dick Pond Athletics, Naperville Running Company, and New Balance Geneva. Coach Draper from the high school team has secured a 20% discount at Naperville Running Company so mention you run for Yorkville if you shop there.
Important Equipment
- Running Clothes (Shirts, Shorts, Pants, Socks)
- Supportive Undergarments
- Water Bottle (IMPORTANT)
Optional Equipment
- Watch (These can't be worn during meets)
- Sweatband
- Sunscreen
- Warm Clothes (Wear these if you have a long car ride home or on cold days)
6. What Is A Good Diet?
The diet below is the plan Coach Muth developed for the high school cross country team. The closer you follow the diet below the better your season will be. Even if you don't follow the diet exactly it is very important that you follow it for the meal closest to a meet or a hard workout (usually lunch or dinner). You can view our diet brochure to get some more ideas about eating during the cross country season.
The High School Cross Country Diet
- Eat four times a day
- Diet is not meant for losing weight, but for lowering body fat
- Cut down on sugars and fats and eat more healthy foods
- Bring a healthy lunch to school or only eat deli food
- No pop
- No fast food (Subway and Jimmy John's are alright)
- No fried or greasy foods
- No candy
- Lots of water, green tea, and sports drinks
Good Things To Eat:
- Turkey - 99% Fat Free
- Chicken - 99% Fat Free
- Beef - 99% Fat Free
- Vegetables and Fruit
- Potatoes (mashed, baked, or scalloped)
- Rice, noodles, pasta, bagels, bread, muffins (whole grain or wheat)
- Fish and seafood (not fried)
- Soup (not cream soups such as cream of broccoli)
- Less or low fat mayo, salad dressing, milk, egg whites, and yogurt
- Cut down on cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream
- Use margarine instead of butter
- A good breakfast would be oatmeal or a wheat muffin with 1% milk
- A good snack after running would be protein bars, nuts, or other foods high in protein
Race Day Meals
What you eat on race day can have a dramatic impact on your race. It is generally advised that you shouldn't eat anything within the last hour before the race, but if you do eat something make sure it consists of simple sugars that are easily digestible such as fruit snacks or a product such as Sport Beans.
Your last big meal before the race should consist of lots of carbohydrates and less protein. Carbs are incredibly important to supply you with energy for the race. Here is an example race-day meal plan taken from Coach and Athletic Director magazine.
1-2 hours before the race: fruit juice, water, sports drink, half-banana
2-3 hours before the race: fruit juice, fresh fruit, bread, bagel, English muffin (jam okay)
3+ hours before the race: fruit juice, fresh fruit, bread, bagel, English muffin, pasta with tomato sauce, low-fat yogurt, ceral
7. How Can I Volunteer?
We can always use help during our home meets. We will need help at the end of the race, and we may also need people at both places to direct the runners at certain points on the course so they don't get lost. We will do our best to let you watch your athlete run. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Coach Miller.
8. Can I Drive My Athlete Home After A Meet?
Athletes need to ride school-provided transportation to and from every meet. We want to stay together as a team as much as possible and that includes riding together to and from meets. The coaches generally have words of wisdom for the runners on the bus, and it is much easier to build team chemistry and make friends on a packed bus. However, we understand everyone has busy schedules so if an exception needs to be made parents must contact Coach Miller at least 24 hours in advance. Runners cannot ride home with anyone other than members of their immediate family.
9. Where Can I Find The Cross Country Packet?
You can view the cross country packet by clicking on this link. The packet contains a lot of information about cross country that both athletes and parents should know.