Mark!.... Get Set!....

1st meet tomorrow with these Middle Schoolers. And, it's gonna be a roast of a meet! High of 90 when the gun goes off for them... Sucks. It won't be the best meet to use as a determiner of whether or not my coaching style so far is the way to go, but it's a start. Coaching Middle School is just a different kind of beast. I'm not dealing with veteran runners, focused and alert athletes, and don't even get me started with the maturity level. They're kids and I'm an intense veteran runner who constantly has to pull on the reins to ensure their survival with this workout. They test my patiences constantly and Friday, after I left practice, I had no fun. I pondered over everything this weekend that I dealt with this past week of practice. 26 kids and counting. They talk over me all the time, they freak out if they can't have a drink, they get distracted easily, pulling grass is their greatest pastime, and walking is the next best thing. Today, all of that is about to change. I want to coach to have fun, to make sure they're having fun. But fun doesn't have to come in the form of playing Capture the Flag or throwing in an easy practice, fun is about looking back on what you just did and smiling about it. Cross-Country is a tough sport, but it's not impossible. Sure, I'm a tough coach. I made them do a fitness test Wednesday, Hills Thursday, and an Indian Run Friday. No soccer, no Frisbees, and for goodness sake no Capture the Flag. Work, hard work. XC isn't easy and it's not for everyone. They survived all the workouts and came back the next day, because of what is pounding in their chest. They have the potential heart for runners, but if they constantly tell me what we should do today or even whisper over my words, Air Force Annie is gonna come out to play, and just because it's a pre-meet day today, doesn't mean I won't make them work. My patiences is constantly tested and I am grateful for that. Patience is key to a jedi, but the same goes for anger to the darkside, which is tempted to leap out too. Ya know, before I thought I'd give anything to coach High School or College running, because they'll actually hear what I have to say and run with it, but they wouldn't challenge me like I am here with these kids. So give me your best shot Middle School, because that gun is about to go off and their inner annie-mal is about to be unleashed. Champions are coming, and we're gonna all finish as runners.