Week 0: Fall XC 2025 – Reservoir High School Cross Country and Track and Field

Welcome to Reservoir Cross Country!

DAY 1 & DAY 2 were such a success! We accomplished a lot and started to put in work right-a-way!

I wanted to go over Quite a Few things. Please take a few moments to read through everything to make sure you know what is going on. This email is packed full of very important items.

Shoes: All athletes should wear reasonably new running shoes. These shoes should only be worn during practice/meets. Should not be worn in school, mowing the grass, going to the mall, etc. As a team, we will provide two scenarios where athletes can get a discount on shoes. Here are the two options.
- FEET FIRST: Athletes can attend Feet First anytime between 11:00am – 5:00pm this Sunday. During this time you can get discounts on just about anything in the store including your name brand shoes (Nike, Adidas, New Balance, On Cloud, HOKA, etc).
- SWIFT RUNNING: Swift Running is a shoe company/brand that is right in our own backyard-They are located in Maple Lawn! The goal Swift Running is to offer a high performance running shoes at a fraction of the cost of the name brand shoes. I can personally vouch for the shoe and so can a few of the girls on the team. We plan to have them visit practice the week we return to school. Swift running will set up a table at our PRACTICE and parents can come by to purchase shoes (4:30pm – 6:30pm) one of the days after practice, the week we return to school.

Having the proper footwear is extremely important and one of the few safety precautions we have in our sport.

Recovery at Home. Things all athletes should be doing at home.
- Rehydrate and Refuel
  - Drink water or electrolyte-rich fluids.
  - Eat a carb-protein combo meal/snack within 30–60 minutes (e.g., banana with peanut butter, Greek yogurt with granola).
- Muscle Recovery Tools
  - Foam Rolling
    - Target quads, hamstrings, calves, and IT bands.
    - 1–2 minutes per area to release tight spots.
  - Massage Guns
    - Great for breaking up muscle tension.
    - Use for 30–60 seconds per muscle group.
  - Inflammation Control (If your muscles are sore)
    - Cold Therapy
      - Ice bath (10–15 mins) or ice packs on sore spots.
        
        Reduces inflammation and speeds healing.
      - Contrast Showers
        
        Alternate hot and cold water (30 sec each) for 5–10 minutes.
        
        Stimulates blood flow and recovery.
      - Stretching & Mobility
        
        Static Stretching
        
        After runs or in the evening. Focus on hip flexors, calves, hamstrings.
        
        Passive Recovery
        
        Sleep
        
        Most important recovery tool.
        
        Aim for 7–9 hours per night.
        
        Rest Days
        
        Don’t skip them. Recovery happens when you're not running.
        
        Saturday’s: We do have practice on Saturday’s and most of our most important Cross Country Meets are on Saturday’s. Athletes are expected to be in attendance.

All paperwork must be submitted online. A parent must submit this online through HCPSS Connect. This should be done ASAP. Your name should be on the Eligibility Paperwork list and listed as ELIGIBILE in GREEN. Once I get paperwork for athletes, I will start this Roster Sheet. (CLICK HERE)
- PAPERWORK HELP: Do you need help submitting paperwork, here is the link: https://www.hcpss.org/f/connect/hcpss-connect-guide-hs-athletic-registration.pdf
- Preseason handout. This will walk you through almost everything you need to do to get great ready for the Fall Season. This is very important that you read through this handout. Preseason Handout CLICK HERE

August Practice Schedule:
- August 13 - 15 (Reservoir): 7:00am – 9:00am
- August 16 (Patuxent Valley Middle School): 8:00am - 10:00am
- August 18 - 21 (Reservoir): 5:45am - 7:45am
- August 20: Beaver Dam Trip (See below for more details)
- August 22 (Reservoir): 3:45pm - 7:15pm REQUIRED Team Time Trial
- August 23 (Patuxent Valley Middle School): 8:00am - 10:00am
- August 25 (Reservoir): Normal team Practice from 3:00pm - 5:00pm. We will try to end closer to 4:30/4:45pm when possible. Weekly summaries will come out each week to help you with scheduling pickups.
Team Schedule (Printable): CLICK HERE (Note: We would love another few volunteers to host a pasta party)

First Team Social Event: Beaver Dam Swim Club, Wednesday, August 20^th.

On Wednesday, August 20^th: There will not be official practice at the school on Wednesday morning. All athletes will be given a run/workout to complete either on their own, or they can get together with teammates. They must simply post that run to STRAVA prior to 10:00am. We ask that all athletes attending the Beaver Dam Team trip, arrive to the team area at RHS by 10:00am. We will need all athletes to RSVP and if student-athletes can drive and/or parent volunteers, please use the GOOGLE Link Below. Beaver Dam is a unique team bonding experience. We BBQ, Play Volleyball, Corn Hole, Basketball, and of course swim in the quarry. Please check out the Swim Club Website.

Please use this link to RSVP and Transportation Link. We hope that all athletes can attend.

Items for Each practice, be sure to show up with water and/or Gatorade, running shoes, etc. Also recommended, a change in T-Shirt for after your run, towel to use/sit on, change of socks, and/or slides for after your run, and a snack. Also recommended a running watch.
Early Season Attendance Policy: Per HCPSS Policy, every athlete is required to have at least 20 supervised days of practice prior to their first play date.
- Our First official meet is September 6^th at River Hill HS. Meaning if you miss more than 2 practices between August 13^th and September 6^th you will not be able to run in the first meet.
- Our Second meet is September 13th. Meaning if you miss more than 9 practices between August 13^th and September 13^th, you will not be able run in the first or the second meet.
The Team Time Trial on August 22nd is a REQUIREMENT. This will be a scrimmage against Guilford Park, Hammond, Marriotts Ridge, Ft. Meade, Oakland Mills and St. Vincent Pallotti. All girls will race at 5:00pm and all boys will race at 5:30pm.
- SPECIAL NOTE: We will have 15 minute meeting around 6:50pm/7:00pm after the time trial up near the school prior to dismissing the kids!

Summer/Fall Training Calendar (Last Week): CLICK HERE
Summer Mileage Tracker (Updated): CLICK HERE