What is cross country?

Cross country is a team running sport that takes place in the fall on a measured 5000 meter High School course or 2 mile course for the Jr. High over varied surfaces and terrain. Our home course is at beautiful Fort St. Clair Park located on the west side of Eaton off state route 122.

How is cross country scored?

A cross country meet is scored by each team adding up the places of it's top 5 finishers. As in golf, the low score wins. For example, a team that scores 26 points places ahead of a team that scores 29 points, as follows:

Totals:                      26 pts     29pts        Eaton Wins!


A team's 6th and 7th finishers can also figure in the scoring if they place ahead of other teams' top 5 finishers. When that is the case, they become "pushers" by pushing up their opponents' scores, as follows:

Totals:                      26 pts       29pts        Eaton Wins!


Only a team's 6th and 7th finishers can be pushers, regardless of how many of its runners may finish ahead of an opposing team's top 5 finishers.  This is also known as displacing another team's scoring  runner(s).  This is why the 6th and 7th runners are just as important as the top 5.

What happens in case of a scoring tie?

If a tie in scoring occurs, then the team who has their 6th man in first wins.  If neither team has a 6th or 7th runner, then you break a tie based on placement of the 5th runner for each team.  The team who has their 5th man in first wins.  The score does not change, but the tie is broken and a team winner determined.   This is the only way to determine the winning team in the case of a tie score.

Levels of competition / participation

In most of our meets there are separate Varsity and Junior Varsity competitions. All team members can participate in any meets during the season. In invitational meets, we are sometimes limited to 7 runners at each level depending on the meet.  In many races Coach McKinney will run an "A", "B" and sometimes a "C" varsity, or run the different "A", "B" or "C" squads in a couple of different invitationals on the same day.  Sometimes the boys will even run a mixture of "A/B" or "B/C" team runners.  The position on a squad is determined by previous race team ranking based on time and in some cases the discretion of the coach. 

What it takes to be successful

More than anything else, success in Cross Country takes time ... time to learn; time to train; time to sleep, rest and recover; before-school time; after-school time; weekend time; time away from family and friends; and time away from other interests. It is a process that takes time.  With the academic responsibilities of being a high school student, most student-athletes are busy all the time. The willingness to devote the time that success demands is called dedication.

Dedication

Being a member of the Eaton High School Cross Country Program carries other expectations and responsibilities. Doing what is expected of every team member is called COMMITMENT.  Attending team practices every day is one of the commitments we expect. Your son/daughter has received a copy Eaton's athletic code of conduct and academic eligibility requirements. Our goal is to develop team loyalty and individual responsibility and accountability among all our team members. High School sports are a wonderful vehicle for personal growth. We hope that you as parents will appreciate this and support our goals.

Another commitment we expect is COMMUNICATION with our coaching staff.  If a problem or illness is going to force your son/daughter to miss practice or a meet, we expect him/her to tell us about it personally and in advance. (This does not mean relaying a message through a teammate or friend.)  Many such problems can be solved when athletes communicate directly with the coaches.

How you can help your athlete before the season starts?

We strongly encourage our runners to be on a self-training regime during the summer. Pre-season summer training is essential to build a fitness base for intensive workouts and races during the season. We offer summer weight lifting and conditioning during the entire summer. 

As your aspiring young runner begins the first weeks of training, you may wonder what you should expect and how you can assist him or her as a parent in terms of recovery, eating, sleeping, and mental attitude. As a rule, we don't recommend you change any aspect of your normal routine of home responsibilities, family meal planning, bedtime, and social guidelines. A normal consequence of beginning to train is muscle soreness, which will soon go away. If your son/daughter has not participated in sports before, this may persist up to 2 weeks. They should communicate this to us so we can adjust and monitor their training. Any athlete engaged in intensive training and competition can be subject to injury. We can prevent most injuries when our runners tell us about their aches and pains before they become disabling, so we can have them treated by us or the school athletic trainer. A nutritious, well-balanced diet is essential for an athlete. Especially on race days, fatty and fried foods, and carbonated or acidic drinks should be avoided. Small portions of easily digested foods eaten at least 3 hours before competition are best, but water intake should never be limited. Most athletes feel best when they race a little hungry. You should see your runner gradually starting to eat more carbohydrates. We do not recommend adding dietary/vitamin supplements to the daily routine of your son/daughter.  A well balanced diet should take care of the dietary needs of your son/daughter.  If you have any questions please contact the coaching staff.

Cross Country Vocabulary

Dual/Tri/Quad Meet - a meet between two, three or four teams

Invitational Meet - a multi-team meet, usually 6 or more teams

Top 5 - the scoring members of a team

Varsity "A" - the top 7 varsity runners

Varsity "B" - the 8th through 14th runners

Junior Varsity - a runner who races in a non-varsity race

Course - the marked and measured route of a race

False Start - leaving the starting line before the gun sounds

Finish Chute - a gated system,  past the finish line, that runners enter into after a race

Run out - pre-race warm-up routine from the starting line

Pace - running speed over a particular distance, average speed per mile

Surge - a tactical increase in pace during the race

Pack - a group of runners in close proximity

Personal Record - best-ever performance on a given course (PR)

Warm-up  - a running and stretching routine that warms up the body

Cool-down  -  a jogging/walking routine that lowers the body's temperature

Workout - a daily training session

Preparing to watch your first cross country meet

When you arrive at the meet site, ask us to see a map of the course. First, locate the start and finish, then try to scout central points where you can see as much of the race with as little moving around as possible. Some schools, like Elder & Pickerington, share the same color uniforms, so try to observe the differences while teams are warming up before the start. Invitational meets involve many races, both high school, junior high, elementary, open and sometimes college races. Make sure you know what race(s) the Eaton Eagle are participating.  Race itineraries are always given to the athletes a day or two prior to any meet we have on our schedule.

Do not expect the attention of your runner once we get to the meet. The athletes need to warm up on the course, be briefed by their coaches, and prepare for the race with their teammates. Many parents are initially surprised at the seriousness their son / daughter shows prior to and during a race. The intensity of competition may reveal a side of your athlete's personality you haven't seen before.  Don't misinterpret this intensity, each athlete handles it in his or her own way.

During the race, you can move from point to point along the course to cheer the runners as they pass. Be careful, however, to stay off the runners' path and out of their way. Rules also forbid running alongside a competitor to pace or encourage him / her.  Runners may be disqualified if aided in this manner.  Please don't let your enthusiasm allow you to forget the rules.

At the finish of the race, the runners file through a finish chute. It's OK to greet them then, but they may have to turn a place card into their coach ASAP so scores can be tabulated. Our runners have other responsibilities after the race. We expect them to jog and cool-down as a team and actively
support their teammates who have yet to race. Some runners are more spent than others after a race. Typical symptoms of their effort and fatigue are breathlessness, general weakness, rubbery legs, glassy eyes, salivating, and sometimes nausea. A mistake parents sometime make is to take
their runner off by themselves to try to take care of them. Please do not do this! Our coaches are experienced in dealing with these symptoms, trained in first-aid and responsible for their care. To aid recovery, water is the best thing to drink immediately after a race. If we can't find an athlete after a race, we can't help them, or get their place card to turn in to the scores table.

Expect the possibility of some disappointment by your athlete after a race if his or her team did not win, and/or failed to achieve all goals. Athletes may need some emotional space afterward from both you and their coaches. Later on, they will need verbal support rather than criticism.

Once an away meet is over, if your athlete came on our bus, please do not take them home with you without first checking with a coach. Advanced notice must be arranged with a note signed by a school administrator. We are legally bound by state law for athletes' safe transport to and from the meet. You need to know that Eaton High School athletes are not allowed to drive themselves to a meet, and afterward, I can release them only to you, but not a brother or sister.

Parent Involvement

Remember that children imitate the actions of adults. If you as a parent are not involved in the program do not expect your child to be. We have a number of areas that we need parents to give their time and energy in order that we maintain our level of success. There are several committees for which we need volunteers.  Our Eaton Cross Country Parent Organization is responsible and great at coordinating all our needs.  Our wish is that every parent serve on at least one committee.  We welcome chaperones to help on overnight trips and/or to watch the athletes at the hotel. We want our athletes, parents and coaches working together all year long. I do not think any parent believes that a child is a part of the program if they only show up on race/game day. Should they not expect the same of their role models?  We have a great tradition of parent support at Eaton.

This program is a lot of fun to be around. Please make the time to be with our team and make yourself known to the athletes, coaches and other parents. All those who have truly been involved over the years have always walked away raving about the great experience they had. Take it one step at a time, slowly but with enthusiasm and effort. Please feel free to call upon the coaches at anytime. Without parent support the Eaton Cross Country program could not do all the the things  we do each season.  Your support is the reason we have been so successful!