Team Rules

Practice Requirements

Practices during the school year will be from 3:45pm – 6:00pm on weekdays and
8:00am – 10:00am on select Saturdays
Practice schedule prior to the school year will be sent home to athletes during the summer and on their first day of practice
Athletes are required to attend every practice and every meet on time from start to finish
If an athlete has a job, it is the athlete’s responsibility to see that their work schedule does not conflict with meets or practices
Athletes are required to inform coach of any planned absence at least 24 hours prior to absence to have absence excused (not all planned absences will be considered excused)
If an athlete becomes sick during the school day, they should leave a message for coach in the office or on voice mail
Athletes are required to cross train at practices OR work meets at which they cannot run at due to injury, sickness, or suspension
Athletes must attend practice the day before a meet to compete at that meet
No athlete may join the team after the second complete week of practice
unless recommended by another fall coach
Athletes who are wishing to work off a suspension must join the boys cross country team during the first complete week of practice to work off suspension
Unexcused absences, incomplete practices, and broken team rules will be handled in the following matter
1st incident – warning
2nd incident – 1 meet suspension
3rd incident – athlete may be removed from team roster


Athlete Conduct

Follow athletic code of conduct at all times during the year
Uphold outstanding classroom attendance and performance, you are a student first and athlete second. All athletes will be required to complete weekly Tuesday Progress Reports
Make decisions during the year that allow you to best represent yourself,
Boys Cross Country, and James Madison Memorial High School
No athlete who has had or is serving an Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse (AODA) suspension can serve as captain for the Boys Cross Country team
Any athlete who is serving a suspension and receives a second AODA violation during the season will be immediately dismissed from the team
Discipline of athletes not following appropriate conduct at practice, meets, or school events will be dealt with by coach as situations arise


Uniform Requirements

All school uniforms checked out to athletes are the responsibility of that athlete. Theft, loss, or damage of uniform will result in athlete needing to pay for replacement of uniform
Uniform top - $35.00
Uniform bottom - $35.00
Uniforms must be returned to the coach on the final day of competition each season
Any clothes worn under the uniform must be a solid black color (with only one manufacturer logo) and are expected to be provided by the athlete’s own family
3/8“ spikes will be provided by the coach to be worn by runners in their racing spikes


Equipment Requirements

Runners should keep clothes at school to run in any and ALL outdoor weather conditions. Practices will take place outside regardless of cold, snow, rain, or whatever else Wisconsin weather might throw at us!!! (Clothing should include shorts, shirts, socks, shoes, stocking cap, gloves, pants, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts/windbreakers, extra dry clothes, and a watch)
Some practices will have a portion of the workout take place in the pool. Athletes will be warned ahead of time, but may want to keep their swimwear at school
Runners should have proper RUNNING shoes. If a runner is using the same shoes they ran in during the summer or last season, they need to buy a new pair of shoes for this year. Also, running shoes should be used only for practice and meets (not school or gym shoes)


Fleet Feet (Old Sauk Rd) Movin’ Shoes (Park St)

Endurance House (Greenway) Eastbay (eastbay.com)


Health Concerns

As part of practice, athletes will be demanding a lot from their body through stretching, drills, strength training, and running. Early season soreness is expected and should not raise alarm. Runners are encouraged to stick with their training; soreness means that the runners’ muscles are working on getting stronger.
At home, athletes should take general precautions to allow their body to rest and recover from day to day. This includes stretching, icing (when needed), getting 8-9 hours of sleep/night, and eating a healthy balanced diet.
Athletes who feel they may have an injury should report this to their coach, who will then decide whether or not to send the runner to the trainer’s room and/or plan cross training workouts for each day.


Lettering Policy

An athlete will earn a varsity letter by attaining 50% of the available varsity points during the season. An athlete earns a varsity point by running a time that would place the athlete on a given team’s varsity at that meet’s competition
Athletes who must serve an academic or AODA suspension during a given season will not be eligible for varsity letter
Athletes must display appropriate conduct throughout the season
Attend and participate in all practices
Be a team member and not an individual performer
Have respect for competitors and coaches from other teams as well as ones own
Maintain a positive attitude, work ethic, and team spirit
Athletes who complete at least three years of cross country in good standing may be eligible for a varsity letter their senior year of competition
The final decision on varsity letters is decided by the head coach