Congratulations to both the Boys and Girls Spring Track teams have qualified as New York State Scholar Athlete Teams! Girl's team avg. - 95.69% Boy's team avg. - 94.07% The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) honors varsity teams that maintain a 90% grade point average or above.
0 Comments
As I am very proud of my speech, I have decided to post it here for eternal preservation. :) We as coaches and athletes often define success by numbers and achievements - whether it’s our win loss record, our titles, our honors, etc. Using these standards then one would consider this cross country season to be moderate at best. However, I would consider this season to be a successful one, not because of our stats but because of our athletes. As coaches, one of our major focuses this season was to create a strong team bond and a positive, familial atmosphere; and these athletes really hopped on board and carried out our vision. Because of the individual nature of our sport it can be difficult to foster a team environment, but our athletes showed that when individuals work together and support each other they can truly be a team. It was not rare to find athletes, who weren’t running or who had already ran, standing on the sidelines and cheering on their teammates as loud as they could. For example, when the girls ran at State Qualifiers on Saturday the boys came with handmade signs and cheered them on. The girls reciprocated by showing up to the boys meet on Monday with their own signs and loud voices. On top of that, this was a team that showed strength and perseverance, fighting for every second dropped and PR attained, resulting in 5 boys going sub-20 for the 5K, which is the most we’ve had in years. So by these standards, I would say, yes, we did have a very successful season and I am proud to be their coach. Our coaches award goes to an athlete who consistently dropped his time nearly every race, with an overall improvement of 6 minutes from his 1st race of the season to his last, Jacob Krukas. This athlete has consistently been our top runner, running one of the fastest 5K times for our boys team in the last few years. Though he is quiet he shows true leadership by example. He is a hard worker and a talented athlete, this year’s MVP award goes to senior Nick Iannelli.
Here is the practice schedule for the 1st week of practice.
We will meet each day at the bleachers. Come to practice ready to run, and bring lots of water. If you can't make practice, for any reason, please contact Coach Mammone, for girls, or Coach Hirsch, for boys, before the start of practice. We are aware that there is Freshman orientation on the 1st day, please still come to practice for the beginning meet, then you can leave for orientation . Four (4) forms must be completed on Rank One (opens on August 8th) prior to participating in Cross Country. These are:
ALSO REQUIRED
Physicals have been scheduled for August 18th @ Calhoun (a schedule for each sport will be posted on the district website).
All fall sports forms are due no later than August 22, 2022. If you are not cleared by the first day of practice, it may be several days before a nurse will be available to clear you. The nurses are only in the building a handful of days during the summer and they are permitted 72 hours to process paperwork, so it is essential that you are aware of this when submitting the necessary paperwork for processing. While this may sound counterintuitive... RELAXATION is the key to a championship performance, whether it is on the track, the pit, the circle, in the classroom or just in life. "There was never a world record set in which the contestant wasn't relaxed and in which [their] performance looked and seemed easy, smooth, and effortless" {1}. I have noticed that many athletes tend to tense up and rely on negative thinking when it comes time for major competitions. This mentality will get you nowhere in track and in life. Watching how many young athletes respond and react to highly competitive environments has led me to reading the book Relax and Win: Championship Performance in Whatever You Do by Bud Winter and Jimson Lee. The following list of "don'ts" is from the book. While I know we usually try to push the positive and not dwell on the don'ts of the rules, I find this list of don'ts to be very useful. DON'T TRY TOO HARD. Trying too hard can make you physically tense. Often, the harder you try, the more tense you get. In the extreme, you could "freeze up" mentally and/or physically. Be keyed up but stay loose. 80% effort will often produce better results than 100% effort. Remember to keep your hands loose and jaw loose, this tends to keep your entire body relaxed. DON'T THINK NEGATIVELY. The thought of not doing well will get you nowhere. First, it will cause worry and that would only compound the tension. The possibility of failure should never enter your mind. DON'T LET YOUR EMOTIONS TAKE OVER. Showing anger, raising your voice, criticizing yourself, throwing things, do not aid relaxation. DON'T SCOWL OR LOOK FRIGHTENED. The look on your face will betray your feelings. A scowl or frightened look will instill confidence in your opponent and you could lose before you begin because you are advertising that you are tense. You want to present a confident, formidable and relaxed appearance. Don't forget that being relaxed mentally and physically is the best state you can be in when a tense situation presents itself. The best attitude is one of cool confidence, where you are determined to WIN, but you are loose and relaxed. {1} Winter, B., Lee, J., & Schnacky, C. (2012). Relax & win: Championship performance in whatever you do. Bud Winter Enterprises.
Friday, June 3 @ North Shore High School Overall day 1 went well for our athletes competing at the State Qualifier meet. Both Kai Rodger and Justin Lehrfeld will be moving onto Saturday's finals in the 110HH and 100m respectively. Kai is 4th going into the finals and Justin is 8th. Also on Saturday, the pentathletes will be competing in their final 2 events, the LJ and the 1500/800. After a bit of a rocky start, Joe Vaccaro is sitting in 1st after the 3 events (HH, HJ & SP) and freshman, Morgan Beers is in 6th. Finally, in a disappointing outcome, Kai placed 2nd in the 400IH; however, with his 2nd place finish Kai still has a shot at the State Meet if he can run the State Standard on Monday's Last Chance Meet at Massapequa.
County AA Championships, May 25 @ Roosevelt High School The team was well represent at the County Championship meet on Wednesday. Freshman, Morgan Beers, had a 6th place finish in the long jump with a PR of 16 feet 2 inches, and was the only freshman to make it to the Long Jump finals. Morgan is now the 1st girl to break 16' at JFK in the last 7 years. Morgan also tied her season PR in the triple jump at 31 feet 2 inches. Senior, Justin Lehrfeld, placed 6th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.68 seconds. Junior, Joseph Vaccaro, had a 4th place finish in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 16.40.
Senior Kai Rodger, is the 2022 County Champion in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles with a PR of 56.76, the 2022 County Champion in the 110 High Hurdles with a PR of 15.98 and was All County with a 3rd place finish, in the Pole Vault. |