BREAKING NEWS

Last week, all of the freshmen on the volleyball team quit, and three members approached the Athletic Director about a problem that happened with the coach.

I asked my coach if he knew of any information and his reply was, " The coach was mad because the girls did not train over christmas."

Is that the truth? I went to an actual volleyball player, and she told me that the coach apparently was saying stuff that was not appropriate at all for a coach to say.

This reminds me of the blog earlier, about coach or friend. Coaches need to know there role. Period.

MEETS

Track meets. I bet most of the people reading this have never even been to one.

Well a track meet is a day long of field and running events of all distances. I run the 5k which is usually the last race of the day. But that does not mean I can go an hour before my race. We have to attend the whole meet to show support for the team.

This might sound boring. But believe me, sit through a Junior Varsity meet of the hurdles. Just watch and it can be interesting to see how many people might just end up eating it. Ouch. That could sound mean but I have never seen any really bad injuries.

Numbers of teams compete at once and the better the competition the more intense a meet can get.

Just remember sunscreen and a blanket if you ever plan on attending because you are there when the sun goes up and the sun goes down.

Injuries- can you prevent them?

Every year, since I was a freshman I have been diagnosed with some type of injury. From a broken hip, to stress fractures, I feel like I have been through alot. I never had one injury in high school. So why now?

After visiting www.active.com there is a section that is titled injury prevention. When you click on that, there are all kinds of examples that can help you out in your running career.

Here are just a few:
1) When able to, run on soft surfaces such as clay or grass.
2) Change shoes about every 500 miles.
3) Stretch before and after activity
4) Make sure you are eating right and plenty of calcium( This is why I got stress fractures)

Happy trails!

FAVORITISM

There is no I in team. So coaches should not pick a favorite.

Today at practice, ten of us were running 400 repeats. One runner was running the hurdles. She just so happens to be are fastest runner. Well he put her hurdles in lane one, and made the rest of us run in the outside lanes. This was not fair for us at all. Only one person was running the hurdles. Coach also gave this girl a week off after conference and nobody else.

If you want to coach one person become a personal trainer. Not a head track coach. It is not fair to us.

RECRUITS

Now that track season has taken off, recruits are coming to visit.

I remember my visit, I was scared to death. College was a big deal. And athletes definitely did not want you to take over there starting spot.

Now it is my turn to host a recruit. What in the world am I going to do. I have to take a total strnager out to dinner, and have her sleep at my house. What if she is faster than me? Or she could end up turning out to be cool. But if she doesn't pick the school then coach might be mad at me. What if I am not a good host?

Geez. Recruits are important. They take over your spot when you leave. So I guess it will not be that bad. Somebody had to host me and I came. And we already have one thing in common. We like to run.

Parents are not Coaches

The other day at practice, I turned my head to not only see a parent, but a parent sitting in a chair on the field getting ready to time her daughter. What do you think we have a coach for? He knows how to use a timer. Kids are already under enough pressure to make there parent's happy. But it is just way to much for one to be at there kid's practice. Wait until the meet. Practice is where the athletes are there to train and get better. The coach turns into their parent at practice. They do not need two.

Can you weather the weather?

One day it is hot, one day it is cold, one day it's rainy, the other day the trees smell like mold.

The weather in Florida changes constantly. Storms happen an in instant. This can affect training for all of the sports. Last semester on the football field, one of the players suffered from dehydration. He ran around for five minutes like a maniac and stripping down to nothing before the EMS caught him.

Last week, the teams were running in 38 degree weather. This can not be healthy if you were not dressed correctly. So I decided to add a few dressing guides for the cold weather.

1) Watch the weather channel the night before, or step outside once you wake up
2)If it is hot outsie, wear comfortable clothing that is not heavy. Coolmax material is great because it will soak up the sweat. Also grab two bottles of water on the go. One to frink on the way and one to drink after.
3) If it is cold outside. Weat socks and a hat. a long sleeve shirt and tights under your pants. But do not go to crazy on layering your clothes as you will sweat up a storm.
4)If you love running in the summer, try to hit the early hours of the day as the sun is not so strong
5) Have fun. Be safe.