1. Cross Country LBMS Coach Allison Lawrence- 7/8 th grade girls Coach Joe Heiland- 7/8 th grade boys

2. A little bit about us Coach Lawrence: I have been teaching for one year in Westlake City Schools and am very excited to be coaching this year! I ran cross-country and track during my middle school and high school years. In college, I continued to run with the run club at Ohio State and completed several 5k races, two half marathons, and one full marathon. I love to travel and the coolest place that I have ever run was in Olympia, Greece at the original Olympic stadium.

3. A little bit about us Coach Heiland- This will be my 10th year as a physical education teacher and my first year coaching cross country. I taught summer school at Westlake and was the Westlake head youth wrestling coach 2 years ago. This year, I’m also the high school head wrestling coach. Although I have coached wrestling for over 13 years, I have spent countless miles running all over the world. I’m extremely excited to coach a new sport and bring my knowledge of training to my student athletes.

4. Sports Physicals All runners will need a sports physical. Ideally, these would be turned in today, the first day of practice. Your child is not supposed to run until they are turned in, so please, try to get them done ASAP. Link: http://www.westlake.k12.oh.us/athletics/physicals/Pa ges/default.aspx http://www.westlake.k12.oh.us/athletics/physicals/Pa ges/default.aspx

5. Pay to Participate Pay to participate will be in effect for this season. Please refer to the link below (even though it says spring, it is up to date) and pay through the online system. Once you have done so, please let your coach know so we can double check and pass that information onto the office. You will not be able to run in the meets until this is in. http://www.wlake.org/Forms/Pay%20to%20Participa te%20Guidelines%20and%20Payment%20Form%20S pring%202014%20-%20FINAL.pdf

6. Injury Prevention Please make sure that you purchase a good pair of running shoes and a watch if possible. We recommend going to a store that will fit you and see what type of shoe you need (for example Coach Lawrence needs a neutral shoe not one for pronation). Some good stores around here include Second Sole (tell them you run for Westlake and they usually give a discount) and New Balance. Spikes are optional. Refer to the link below to see common ways to prevent injury when running. The biggest thing new runners will face is not knowing their limits and doing too much to quickly Talk to your coach right away if you are injured. http://www.runnersworld.com/health/the-10-laws-of-injury- prevention?page=single

7. Summer Practices Girls: In the summer, practices will be Monday- Thursday from 330-5 PM. On Friday, practice will go from 330-430 PM. Meet and pick up at the back set of doors at LBMS. If there is lightning, meet in room B132. Boys: In the summer, practices will be Monday- Friday from 9:30-10:45AM. Meet and pick up at the back set of doors at LBMS. If there is lightning, meet in room B132.

8. School year Practices- Girls Starting on August 21, practices will move to school year times. Girls: Meet at the same doors in the back at LBMS from 3:45-5:15 Monday – Thursday and from 3:45-4:30 on Fridays. Some Fridays will be fun run days and a different pick up location will be written on the schedule if needed. If there is lightning meet in room B132. Please refer to the schedule to see any changes. Since I am a teacher, there is a chance I will have to cancel practice for mandatory meetings. I will give as much notice as possible.

9. School year Practices- Boys Starting on August 21, practices will move to school year times. Boys: Meet at the same doors in the back at LBMS from 3:45-5:15 Monday – Thursday and from 3:45-4:30 on Fridays. Some Fridays will be fun run days and a different pick up location will be written on the schedule if needed. If there is lightning meet in room B132. Please refer to the schedule to see any changes. Since I am a teacher, there is a chance I will have to cancel practice for mandatory meetings. I will give as much notice as possible.

10. Meets Boys and girls will ride on the bus together to meets. Runners must take bus there and have a written note given to the coaches if they are riding home with a parent. Meets are on Saturdays unless otherwise noted. We will let you know when the bus leaves Burneson when we get that info and if the times change at all. Meets are 2-mile races.

11. Meet Schedule 8/23 8 AM @Lorain Community College (LCC)- SWC Preview 8/30 8:30 AM @LCC- Avon Lake Early Bird 9/6 9 AM @ Brecksville High School- Bruce Lerch Invitational 9/11 (Thursday) 5:00 PM @ Veterans Memorial Park- Avon Middle School Meet 9/20 9 AM @ Cloverleaf High School- Colt Invitational 9/27 9 AM @ Vermillion High School- Jim Obenour Invitational 10/4 10 AM @ LCC- Jack Wilhelm Invitational 10/11 8 PM @ LCC- SWC Championship

12. Policies Please try your hardest to come to practice everyday. We understand that sometimes there are conflicts but the only way to improve your running is to run often! Let us know in advance if you know you cannot come one day. We also ask that you try your hardest to not walk during practices or meets.

13. Questions? Coach Allison Lawrence lawrencea@wlake.org Mllelawrence.wikispaces.com (go to the right and click on cross country) Coach Joe Heiland heiland@wlake.org Please sign the sheet going around with your information!