Cross Country
Lukas Zackar
Cross Country is the first thing I
look forward to at the beginning of each school year. I really look forward to this sport because
it is one of my favorites, and it is the first sport of the year. It is good because we don’t have to wait for
sports to start. Cross-country is
extraordinary because it teaches consistency, keeps you out of trouble, and
helps you stay in shape.
Participating in practice every day
is the most important thing to do in any sport; mainly because you have to show
up to practice a certain number of times in order to travel and take part in
the races. Also, as the saying goes, “practice
makes perfect.” In cross-country it is important to run everyday to try and
improve upon your personal best. If you do
not keep up on running, it is really easy to get left behind in a three-mile
race. It is hard to keep a consistent
pace for three miles. Practice can help you keep a good pace for three miles. It helps because we usually start off with a
short distance, and then keep advancing the distance as the season goes
on. Once the soreness is gone from the
first couple days of practice, you will notice a big improvement in your
running.
Joining cross-country,
or pretty much any sport, can help you keep and stay out of trouble. One good example is that about an hour or two
of your time after school will be used for practice. That will decrease your chances of getting
into trouble because it would give you less time to hang out with “trouble
makers.” In my opinion, people who join
sports will try their hardest to stay out of trouble because if you do get into
trouble you will not be able to travel and you may be kicked off the team. No one wants to get kicked off of any team because
it would give you a bad reputation.
This
amazing sport is a great way to get and stay in shape, if you need it. Everything that is involved in cross-country
is basically just running, ab workouts, and other slight techniques that can
help. Some people join this sport just
to get in shape, but if you like to run, then getting in shape is just a bonus. Also, being in shape gives you an excellent
feeling. Exercising and staying in shape
is healthy; so cross-country is a perfect fit.
Our coach’s
name is Tanya Salmon. This is her second
year coaching us here in Igiugig. Tanya
already knew what to do in practice from the previous year, so we weren’t
looking for things to do. I like the way
Tanya coaches because she has us start off running short distances before we
begin running 3 miles a day. She doesn’t
want us runners to compare our times with each other, instead, we just have our
own personal bests. We have an easygoing
coach that runs practices just right. I think we have an awesome coach.
Cross-country running isn’t easy. It can be
painful. You can sprain your ankle, pull a muscle, or pop out a knee. The
weather can also affect your running. If it is windy, it’s hard to run against
the wind. When it’s too hot, you’re sweating practically the whole way and you get
dehydrated quicker. When you first start, it’s tough to show up to practice
every day. But at the end of the season, you may feel proud because not everyone
finishes. You can feel proud that you accomplished something difficult.