I’m currently working on our cross country schedule for the 2023 season. It seems like I have been falling behind other coaches on getting this done! As I put together our schedule I usually think about the following things before committing to a meet.
2019 Flower Mound Invitational at Lake Park in Lewisville
- Meet Management: When our team goes to a meet I hope it is well run. The meet starts on time, results are posted, course is accurate in distance, and there are enough bathrooms for the runners. Extra bonus if a meet has starting boxes!
- Course Quality: Course is well maintained, wide starting line, well marked, wide enough course to allow passing and avoid bottlenecks. This is high school cross country and I don’t expect, nor do I want my team to run on a golf course. I do try and avoid courses that have too many rocks or holes. We are trying to build towards district not find a way to sprain an ankle.
Watch out for gopher holes at the Region 1-6A Championships in Lubbock
- Meet Competition: Each year is different. With experienced teams I may look for a more challenging schedule. If we have a younger team we may try and find meets that will build our confidence. We are fortunate in North Texas to have both options available without having to travel out of town. For individual athletes who are looking to place high at state I think it’s important they face strong competition. We want them to be pushed and mentally prepared for what they will see in the postseason.
- Number of Meets: I usually schedule 6-7 meets in a season. Our varsity athletes who have more experience may only run 4 meets before the start of district. I know the UIL allows us to have eight meets in a season, but that seems excessive and requires us to race every weekend starting in the middle of August. I think it’s great for JV and Varsity athletes to have a time during the season to focus only on training.
- Timing of the Meet: We like to test ourselves at the beginning and end of the regular season. First meet I like to see how we are doing after our summer training. Towards the end of the season I want to see how we have progressed and make sure we are sharp and ready to go for district. This year our first 5km cross country meet is at the Telaneus Invitational. This meet is one of the biggest most competitive meets in the DFW area. Our last regular season meet is the Nike South Invitational. Each year we look forward to racing the best teams in Houston and who knows what teams will also make the trip to run at the Nike Regional Course in The Woodlands.
- Proximity: Sometimes it’s just nice to hop on a bus and get there within 15-20 minutes. Families will usually travel and cheer on their child if the meet is closer.
- Tradition: Many times I like to go to the same meet each year. For example the Telaneus Invitational is the same course and it gives us a great gauge/idea on our level of fitness. We can look at our finish times and examine our splits and finish times from previous years.
- Coaches Hospitality: This isn’t the most important, but it’s nice! Some meets are long and it’s hot in Texas! Water, Gatorade can go a long way for coaches that are running around the course coaching their team.
- Meet Start Time: I usually try and avoid meets that start at a later time in the morning. If we are going to a meet in August or September I don’t want my athletes running at race past 11 AM. It’s just too dang hot and it does not build confidence or give any indication of an athletes fitness. Meets typically have the JV runners compete last and for some of these kids it’s hard enough to run a 5k in good weather let alone with the temps climb into the 90s.
- Try Something New: When creating our schedule I look at adding a new meet to our schedule. We can get in the habit of running the same meets against the same individuals and teams. Running a new course is fun and provides new challenges.
- Different Distances: In the beginning of the year we like to run shorter distances or run a relay race. I think this is especially great for our freshmen athletes as we try and build their confidence up to race 5km. This year our first meet is the Southlake 3200 on the track. I know it’s weird to start at cross country season on the track, but it’s something all of our athletes can handle. For our returning athletes they can try and set a 3200 meter PR which is a good motivator.
The second meet on our schedule is the Greenhill Relays. The meet format is a 4×1.5 mile relay. Each athlete runs with a glove, which in this meet serves as a baton. I like running the relay because it gets the kids to focus more on the team aspect of cross country.
Nothing like watching distance runners hurdle hay bales @ Greenhill Relays
Texas Running Coach 