Season Starts in One Month!!!

JMM Cross Country Candidates,

2010 was a successful season but ended one meet short of our goal...the WIAA State Meet. We hope 2011 will see the return of JMM CC to state and an even better overall season performance. As coaches and captains, we look forward to having a successful season in the classroom and on the course. The work you put in over the next month will help build your confidence for the season and allow you to perform at your best. The 2011 season will provide an opportunity for our program to chase a Big Eight Championship and a return to the state meet. The only way we can make this happen, is with your participation, and dedication to the season and your teammates beginning TODAY!

Memorial Cross Country is a 9th – 12th grade program that supports all abilities of runners in Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshmen levels. This season, the Boys CC team is going to be coached by Casey Hopp (9th year) and Mark Eames (6th year). Captains Jordan Black, Hunter Hix, Andy Rodgers, and Jonah Weisse will help lead the team.

As you begin to think about the 2011 season, you should consider a personal goal you want to achieve and make a plan for achieving this goal. All-State runner, State Qualifier, Academic All – Conference, earn a varsity letter, run JV-1, sub-20 minutes, make all-time lest, finish a 5k …no matter what your goal is, the best way to prepare for the season is to be running this summer. Runs can consist of long runs, hills, hard runs and easy runs. If you want someone to workout with, there is a group of runners who meet for runs at 8:00 a.m. at Memorial HS at the fieldhouse parking lot. The more running you do now; the easier the start of the season will be for you and your body. Starting the first day of practice all runners should be prepared to run for thirty minutes continuously.

Official practice begins Monday, August 15th at 8:00 a.m. We will meet in the lower team room in the Memorial athletics area. Please make sure you have all of your paperwork taken care of by the first day of practice AND bring it with you to the meeting. Also, we will run on the first day of practice, so bring appropriate workout clothes (shirts, shorts, watch, and socks) and running shoes with you in the morning. If you do not have running shoes yet, I highly recommend Fleet Feet on Old Sauk Rd to help you get setup with your first pair of shoes.

I’m really looking forward to seeing if we can meet our potential this season. We return an individual state qualifier and six athletes with varsity experience. If we can produce the same enthusiasm in summer running as we did last summer this season can be just as exciting. Every year our program has taken a step forward, this year will be no different. The team’s success this season will be contingent upon getting contributions from all members of the team; each teammate must do their part. Other teams from around the state are training; make some time in your schedule, take a teammate with you, and get out running. We look forward to a great year of practices, meets, socials, and all the wonderful experiences of Spartan Cross Country!! YOU will determine whether this season is a good or GREAT season…hope to see you running soon!!

If you did not get this letter...send your mailing address to jmmcc@rocketmail.com

Upcoming Events:
Pick-up Spartan Cards (8am at running club...starting July 20th)
Capitol Mile - Sunday July 24th
Captain's Cookout - More information to come soon

End of School...Time to Think CC

Things to do:
1. Complete physical and insurance cards (green and orange OR yellow)
2. Complete paperwork: Cautionary Statement and Team Rules
3. Send contact information to jmmcc@rocketmail.com
Include parent/guardian names, phone number, and mailing address
4. Recruit quality people to join us for this fall
5. Begin running – 8:00am at Jefferson Parking Lot (Mon – Fri)
6. Mark your calendar with the following (TENTATIVE) dates

August
15th – First Day of Practice 8:00 am
27th – Intrasquad (Elver Park) 8:00 am NO BUS 6:45am (Boys Only)

September
3rd – Verona Invite (Verona HS) 9:00 am NO BUS 7:30am (Boys Only)
8th – West Invite (Yahara) 4:00 pm Bus 2:30 pm
13th – Big8 Grade Level Challenge @ East (Warner Park) 4:30pm Bus 2:45pm
17th - Smiley Invitational (American Legion GC, Wausau) 8:30am Bus 6:30am
24th – Midwest Invite (Blackhawk GC, Janesville) 9:00am Bus 6:30am
27th – Big 8 Split Meet @ Sun Prairie (Sheehan Park) 5:00pm Bus 3:00pm

October
1st – Stoughton Invite (Stoughton HS) 9:30am Bus – 7:00am
6th – City @ Edgewood (Yahara CC) 4:00pm Bus – 2:00pm (No Return Bus)
15th – Conference @ West (Yahara CC) 9:10 am Bus 7:45am
22nd – Sectional @ West (Yahara CC) TBA am Bus - TBA am
29th – State @ Wisconsin Rapids (Ridges GC) 2:20pm Bus - TBA

Saturday Team Practices
August 20th (Hill Farms Pool) September 10th (Elver Park) October 8th (Zimmer CC Course)

Other Important Dates:
June 13th - Summer Running begins (8:00am at the Jefferson parking lot)
August 24th – Memorial Athletics card fundraiser (BLITZ) 4:00pm
August 27th – Family Meeting (following intersquad race)
August 29th - Athletic Code Meeting (11th graders AND parents) 7:00pm
August 30th – Athletic Code Meeting (9th graders AND parents) 7:00pm
September 11th - Ironman Volunteering 12:00pm - 4:00pm OR 4:00pm - 8:00pm
November 3rd – End of year banquet 5:30pm @ Rocky’s

ALL TIMES AND DATES TENTATIVE and SUBJECT TO CHANGE

THANKS for a GREAT SEASON

2010 JMM Boys CC

Everyone can be thankful and proud of being a part of this years team. The amount of growth that occurred this season is amazing. If we stay on this path we can take another trip back to state next season as a team and be in the discussion for a state trophy. Being a trophy team at state takes a lot of hard work and determination from an entire team. From top to bottom we will need to have every runner on board for achieving greatness on the course, in the classroom, in the community, and throughout their lives. It will take many hard days of work, dedicated hours studying, time spent on the road running, support from friends and families, and the belief that JMM Boys CC can and will be one of the top programs in the state. I hope everyone is ready to continue this tradition next season.

GO SPARTANS!!!

BELIEVE
Every Runner
Every Run
Every Day

State Meet Results (click to see)

Team GPA - 3.570

Amazing...I'm so proud of what we accomplished in the classroom. We reached my team goal of having a GPA above 3.4...lets keep up the great work!!! We have 7 student athletes currently with 4.0 GPAs !!!! Congrats Guys...keep up the great work !!!!
I would love to see our entire team have Accum GPAs above 3.0 - we have improved from 72% to 90% able to claim that honor...work as hard or harder in the classroom as you do at practice and we will see this success. Don't be afraid to ask your teammates for help, there are plenty of useful resources right on our own team.

Best of luck to all athletes competing in winter sports...if your not and looking for something to do, check out the Madison Mileage Club...many guys are already preparing for next year.

See you next season!!!

THANKSGIVING BASKETS

Amazing work by our captains and the team with 2010 Thanksgiving Baskets. The team was able to purchase 5 entire thanksgiving meals for families in need (the best prior to this year was 3 baskets). Our captains did a great job organizing and putting together this donation. Thanks to everyone involved from athletes donating, to parents driving, to family members assisting, and captains organizing. I hope we continue to improve upon this tradition :)