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FCS CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM
June 2, 2007
Dear FCS Cross Country Parents & Athletes:
Hello! I am the head coach of the Fayetteville Christian
School
cross-country program. I am a former Division 1 track & field
and cross country athlete, who competed on the national level in college
and after college. My full time job is the field leader for the
North & South Carolina Navigator military ministry. I have been on
staff with them for 29 years. My wife Paula teaches several Bible
classes at FCS and is the coordinator for
the Bible department. We have 3 children, all of which attended
FCS. Our son Josh was on the XC team
for 5 years and graduated this in 2005. Zach will be in the 10th and
will also be on the team for the 5th year. Our oldest
daughter Meghan is a staff person with our ministry at Penn State.
This is the 8th year that FCS has had a cross-country
program. I have been the head coach all those years. Our
primary goal in all of the school’s sports programs is to glorify the
Lord. We desire to very competitive in our conference but I have a
greater desire that our kids be a great witness for Christ in all they
do. Our team verse for the year will be Colossians 3:23, which
says, “WHATEVER YOU DO, WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AS WORKING
(running) FOR THE LORD, NOT FOR MEN...” 7
Over the last 5 years the Lord has greatly blessed our team.
The boys have won 2 – 2A NCISAA state championships, 2 EPIC conference
championships and had got the runner-up trophy twice in our
conference. Our girls have won 2 conference championships and have
placed as high as 4th on 4 occasions at the state championship
(as many as 28 teams compete in their division so that was quite an
achievement). Several of our guys have made the all-state
team (9 different times) and both our boys
and girls team have won many individual all-conference awards.
I send out regular e-mail updates to the team. If a parent
would also like to have their e-mail on that list let me know.
Several parents are on that list if there e-mail is different from their
child.
Helpful things to know:
- Water-
the schools allows in season athletes to bring water bottles to
class with only water in them. It is important for them to
hydrate throughout the day, as it is very hot during cross-country
season. Encourage them to drink water throughout the day.
- Physical
Exam- Each athlete must have had an up to date physical exam
(good for 1 year). You can get the form at the office. Please
return the form after doctor has done exam. No athlete can
practice or compete with team if they don’t have an up to date exam.
- Practice
Times- We will work out at least 5 days/week (Monday-Friday).
Practice will be at 2:45-4:30 P.M. each day. Don’t
schedule appointments for your child during this time unless you
first check with me. Thanks for abiding by this rule!!
Possibly we will have 2-3 Saturday practices during the
season. If your child is in town they will be encouraged to
come. Be sure and have your child not workout on Sunday
unless they have first checked with me. Monday will
normally be a hard workout so they need to be rested.
- Roster
Cuts- At this time we don’t plan on cutting anyone from the
team. We will try and give sufficient notice if that changes.
- Game/Meet
Day Classroom Attire:
Guys: Can choose to wear white or
blue oxford button down from “Land’s End” with a tie (tie does not have
to be from Land’s End). Land End
Pants. Dress Belt. Dress socks. Dress shoes.
Gals: They must wear skirts (skorts are permissible) with “Land’s
End” shirts.
6. Traveling
to meet attire: All teams will travel in uniform and warm-ups to and
from meet site.
- Uniforms:
Each athlete will be issued a uniform before the first meet as part
of the
Sports fee cost.
A. T-shirts: We will again will have a team t-shirt for travel to
meets and to wear at practice this year. There will be a charge of
approximately $12 for this t-shirt. We will be selling these
t-shirts at the first practice on July 30. Parents can also purchase a
t-shirt and also other children in their family. I think you will
like the t-shirt. Check with my wife (Paula Hess or me) if
want to purchase one of these t-shirts. We will make a little of
profit to purchase the weekly “runner of
the week” t-shirts we give out. Each week 1 or 2 runners
receive this special t-shirt to recognize their accomplishment over the
previous week of practice and competition.
- Nutrition
& Rest: Cross-country is a strenuous sports. Encourage your
children to eat well (a lot of vegetables and fruit) to get to bed
at a reasonable time and to drink plenty of water and fruit juices
and less soft drinks. You may want to consider having them take a multi-vitamin
at least during XC season. Purchasing a box of power bars from
a place like Sam’s might be a good idea for a snack for your child
on the way to a meet (to be eaten about 90 minutes before a race).
- Injuries:
Be sure that your child informs me if they think they are injured
and are having unusual soreness and pain in their legs.
- Running
& racing shoes: Your child needs a good running shoe.
They say a shoe loses it cushioning after 400 miles of
running/walking on it. Check with me if you need advice on
what shoe to buy. Good shoes are essential to avoiding
injuries. Your child will compete at a higher level if they have
a racing shoe, which is much lighter, then a regular practice
shoe. I have some racing shoes I will lend to your kids
during the season if they have a need and I have their size.
Check with me before your purchase a racing shoe. A racing shoe can
make from 45-75 second difference during a 3.1-mile race (could be
the difference between placing 10th or 25th in a normal sized race).
You can buy a racing shoe for about $35-50.
- Help-Help-Help:
If you like to help your Childs team during the season it would be
greatly appreciated. The following are some ways you could help to
make this a successful season:
- Meet
help: At meets I normally ask parents to help with the
recording of the results, taking video (my wife is in charge of
that), helping insure the athlete are ok
after a race, etc. I think you will enjoy the cross-country
meets. We have a lot of fun. Let me know if want a small job
to help the
This year.
- Post-Meet
Refreshments: If you want to organize parents to bring
some refreshments (oranges, bananas, etc.) for right after they run
let me know.
Note: The school does not allow us
to stop to eat a complete meal on the way home from meets during school
nights. We normally make a gas stop and the kids have 10-15 minutes
to get a snack or something very quickly at a convenience store or fast
food restaurant. If you want your child to buy something insure that
they have money with them. Also, they can bring some snacks or
packed meal with them.
c. Transportation: We will provide
transportation to the meets.
I will be asking some of you parents to help drive to some of the meets.
Let me know if you are authorized by the school to drive school
children.
There are some forms you need to fill out for that. Check with me on
that.
You can contact me at 487-4690 (home phone) or my cell phone
(850-9482). My e-mail address is: Thess10083@aol.com If you want to
give me your cell phone # when we travel to meets I can contact you on
the road if there is a change in the meet or you get lost.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you and hope you can come
and cheer your kids on at the meets. They love having you at the
meets. Have them explain to you how scoring works for cross-country
meets.
Sincerely in Christ,
TOM R. HESS
FCS Cross Country Coach
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