Summer Conditioning Prepares Runners
Germantown, OH (August 3, 2004) Most sports have scrimmages, tournaments and leagues of some kind during the summer. Cross Country may be the exception.
It's difficult to set up summer events for this sport because the best way to improve is by conditioning. There are different avenues the Spartans can take if they want to compete, but they are more of a rarity in this area. Marathons are about the only route an athlete can take.
So, why is coach Denny Shepherd so excited about this upcoming season? It's all about the dedication and numbers.
"We have got good numbers this year. We have been running and conditioning for the season and we have had great attendance. There are a lot more kids coming out than in the past and that alone is a reason for me to get excited," Shepherd said.
"I have freshman that come regularly. There are two boys and four or five girls. There are also a couple soccer kids that decided to run this year; Jimmy Rowland and Anthony Zani," Shepherd noted.
Brian Dalton has also been participating in conditioning, but he will be taking the task of playing soccer and running cross country, while Zani and Rowland chose only to compete in cross country.
Cross Country is a sport that can only be competitive if the runners' condition all year and Shepherd is excited to see his athletes have been doing just that.
"Cross country is about commitment. I gave them Wednesday and Sunday's off, but have them conditioning every other day. I have them five days a week and three out of the five days I'm there. The other two days I'm not there and they're out there on their own," Shepherd said.
"I think that knowing I'm going to be there makes a difference," added Shepherd.
Unlike other sports, the most important thing for Cross Country runners' is that they just get out there and run.
"We don't have camps, we just have open runs and that's what is crucial to our season. You can't just start running when school starts and expect to do well," commented Shepherd.
So, although you have been seeing coverage on some of the other fall sports and how they have been preparing for the upcoming season, don't leave out the cross country runners because they have been pushing as hard as all the other athletes.
"I'm excited every year. We didn't lose a lot of runners to graduation and we have gained a lot this year. That makes me excited and that's even without taking their conditioning into mind. These kids have been working hard all summer. A lot of them improved during the track season as well," said Shepherd.
