This is a reminder that cross country practice will start tomorrow- Monday, August 14.  We will have August practices Monday through Friday, starting at 6:30 each night at the Yorktown track.  If athletes are out of town, or cannot join us for other reasons, they should try to get in some running on their own.  This will make it easier to jump right in when they are able to attend practice. 

*Please note that students may not practice with the team until they have turned in a completed athletic physical form.

Listed below are some key upcoming dates for cross country:

1.  This Thursday, August 17 is picture day.  This picture is for the football program. (The photo for the yearbook will be taken some time in September) Athletes should come to practice at 6:10 for the photo.  We will wear street clothes for the photo, as we have not handed out uniforms yet.

2.  On August 30 there will be a "Spike Night" at Pacers Running Store in Clarendon which was specifically set up for Yorktown cross country runners.  At the Spike Night there will be discounts on running shoes, spikes, and other items.  There will also be free give-aways for the athletes who attend.  Athletes will receive a flier at practice this week with more info.

3.  On Labor Day (September 4)  we will have our annual Labor Day practice/Parents meeting.  The practice/meeting will take place at the park across from CVS at Williamsburg Circle.

Dear potential Cross Country athlete,

You are receiving this email because you have run cross county or track at Yorktown previously, or have expressed an interest in running cross country this season at Yorktown (Please disregard this email if you are no longer at Yorktown).

I hope you are having an enjoyable summer, and I (Coach Prantner) would like to encourage you to join Yorktown’s cross country team this year.  This year will be a little different than the past 30 years in that Coach Stripe will not be the head coach of the cross country team.  While there will be some changes, many things will remain the same.

As always our goal is for you to see personal improvement as the season progresses.  As you improve, so will the team.  Our teams have done very well over the years and we would like to continue this successful program with your help. 

The time to prepare for cross-country is now.  I can’t emphasize enough how important summer preparation is for success in the fall.  Practices will start out with shorter, slower runs, but the workload will increase with the start of school.  Summer conditioning will make this task seem fairly easy!!! Many of you are staying in shape with various summer activities, but we recommend running as well to build a foundation.  Be practical, do not overdo it!

August practice will begin on Monday, August 14.  All August practices this year will begin at 6:30 p.m., and will begin and end at the Yorktown track.  During the first week of practice we will hand out a copy of the pre-school practice schedule and a tentative meet schedule (All info will be posted on yorktownsports.org also).  For those unable to attend August practices due to camp, vacation, work, etc., you may run on your own and we will see you when you can be here or when school starts; but please contact us so we know of your intent to run. 

At your first practice we will collect your parental consent and physical examination forms- if we haven’t already. THESE MUST BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO PRACTICE!!!  NO FORMS, NO PARTICIPATION!!!  The physical examination must be completed after 5/1/17 and will cover all activities during the 2017-2018 school year.  If you did not get the forms at the end of the school year, they may be downloaded from yorktownsports.org.  Just click on the “Files & Links” link on the top of the main page to access these forms. Yorktownsports.org will be our primary form of communication throughout the season. 

There are two dates, Wednesday, 8/2 and Wednesday, 8/9 when we will be in front of the school on Yorktown Blvd. collecting the aforementioned paperwork from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. if you care to bring it in before the first practice on Monday, 8/14.  This is also a good time to chat and ask questions. This minimizes the likelihood that you may have to sit out practices and helps to avoid the crowd on 8/14. 

If you have any questions about cross-country at Yorktown, you may e-mail me at andrew.prantner@apsva.us

Sincerely,

Andrew Prantner, Cross Country Coach

This is just a reminder to follow up last week's memo about the Yorktown spring sports ceremony to be held this evening, 6/12 at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria.  All are asked to bring a dessert to share. Also - please remember to turn in uniforms to Mr. Stripe before Friday, 6/16.  Thank you!

Information for the Liberty Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship at South Lakes High School on 5/16-17/17 may be found on "team files".