Lancaster High School
Track Team guide
2017
Coach Carriero
Coach Masters
Coach Rak
Coach Kapturowski
Lancaster High School
Track Team guide
Purpose:
This guide is in place to ensure that there are no discrepancies with the policies and procedures for this team. When an individual decides to join the team he/she decides to follow and live a specific lifestyle. This is what distinguishes a Lancaster Track student-athlete from other students here at LHS.
The track and field coaching staff will do everything that we can to help mold you into a successful athlete by providing: the opportunity to participate, education for athletes about research in the sport; an efficient training program; instituting discipline and a hard work ethic, and fair and impartial treatment to all student-athletes.
Individual and Team Policies and Expectations:
· All students must adhere to the Lancaster School District: Student Code of Conduct.
· Zero Tolerance: No alcohol or tobacco use (including in school, athletic fields, bus trips or away from school)
· Students must earn a 72.0% GPA in order to be eligible to participate in a sports season.
· All athletes will speak respectfully to coaches, officials, teammates, other athletes and parents.
· Trash talking, taunting, bullying and harassment of others will not be tolerated and can result in the suspension of the athlete.
· Athletes are always welcome to express their opinions to coaches, but in a private setting.
· Athletes are expected to be at practice. Unexcused absences will lead to sitting out meets and eventual dismissal from the team.
· An unexcused absence from a meet will result in that athlete not being eligible for the next meet (first offense). A second offense will result in dismissal from the team.
· If a student is in ISS on the day of a meet, they are not eligible to participate in that meet.
· If a student receives ISS or OSS, that student may be suspended from the team, based on the incident.
· A student may not compete in another varsity sport at the same time as track without approval.
· If a student must be late or absent due to academics, then it is that student’s responsibility to inform a coach ahead of time, or arrive with a note from a teacher.
· Track practice will supersede all other activities when in season. (Including clubs, appointments, etc.)
· Practice starts at our weekly scheduled time. Be prompt! Practice daily Monday through Friday. Saturday practices will occur on occasion.
· Meets are on most Fridays or Saturdays during the season, so plan accordingly.
· All distance athletes must have a wrist watch with a stopwatch function.
Team Procedures:
Warm up / Stretching / Warm Down
On regular practice days we will warm up, stretch, and do drills as a team, often lead by the Senior athletes or Captains. Most days we will have a “quick” meeting and then break into our individualized workouts. No athlete will participate in the work out with out first doing a “proper” warm up.
Track is not a one size fits all sport. Meaning no two athletes are identical by any means, your coaches have spent time and energy in developing individualized work out plans based on an individuals’ experience, strength, and ability. As coaches we are doing our best to make you your best, so please be considerate of our expectations.
After every work out we will do a team warm down / core / striders together. No one will leave practice without the dismissal or permission of a coach.
Meet Entries:
Athletes will be entered into Varsity / Junior varsity races based on previous performance. “The watch never lies,” as many coaches say. Keep in mind, as athletes develop throughout the season, the varsity line up can change from week to week. Because of the nature of the sport no one will ever be guaranteed a varsity spot in an invitational or championship meet, it has to be earned. Note, due to restrictions at select meets, all athletes may not be eligible to compete. Selected meets are often reserved for varsity team members or may have limited entries by grade level. These decisions will be announced in advance.
Uniform:
At Lancaster, we issue every student athlete a uniform and warm-ups. These issued uniforms are the only articles that may be worn during competition. Team warm-ups and other Lancaster attire should be represented when arriving and attending a meet. You are a Lancaster student athlete, be proud of that, and support your school and teammates by wearing our colors. Based on temperature, spandex and/or under armor type apparel may be worn underneath uniforms during competition. As coaches, we ask that if you are going to purchase these items, make sure they are plain black in color, without large designs or insignias. At the completion of the track season, each athlete must return their school issued uniform and warm-ups. No exceptions. New York State has a no jewelry rule for all high school athletes. No rings, bracelets, necklaces, or piercing may be worn during competition. The only exception is a wrist watch, or medical device. Failure to comply with these rulings can result in race disqualification.
Sneakers/Spikes:
An athlete’s shoes are one of the most important things for the longevity and health of a runner. Make sure your shoes are in good shape. Remember to try on different sneaker brands, what your friend wears, doesn’t necessarily mean they are right for you! You can always ask a coach for sneaker advice or try some local running shops. Racing flats/spikes/event specific shoes are highly recommended!
Competition / Meet Procedures:
· All team members are expected to be punctual for meets or bus departure, meet arrival and warm-up.
· Check the back bulletin board before departure and for individual equipment assignments
· When we arrive the team will follow the captains to a designated team area.
· Coaches will go over line ups / changes and indicate where check in is located.
· Prior to the first call for you event, team members will begin warm-up procedures.
· Cheer on all teammates in all races. Support really helps!
· Cool Down and Departure: At the conclusion of each meet team members will
congregate, stretch, jog as needed. At the end of the meet all runners are expected to personally thank the host coach and or meet director for putting on a quality meet for us to attend.
* Parents may pick up team members after the conclusion of the awards ceremony with a signed note from parent/guardian. Athletes may not ride home with other teammates parents.
* At all home meets be prepared to stay one hour after the conclusion of the meet for clean up
duties. There are no exceptions to this rule.
* There is no “I” in team. We at Lancaster believe that together through cooperation and hard work that we will become successful both in sport and in life.
Injury / Illness / Nutrition:
At times in the season, it is common for an athlete to have aches and pains. Training is tough on the body and you will feel it. Below are some guidelines and suggestions to help the recovery process from the daily grind or an injury.
Injury:
If something is injured, sore for your pain tolerance, discolored, swollen or something feels “wrong” please inform a coach or trainer immediately. We are not medical doctors but coaches and trainers at Lancaster are well trained to deal with injuries that often result from running. Unless it is a life threatening or serious injury, please consult a trainer or coach before seeing a physician for a sport related injury. If we don’t know about it we can’t help you….
If you are suffering from normal aches and pains please follow these guidelines:
1. Let a coach know what’s going on, if we don’t know about it, we can’t help you
2. Ice the injured area, NEVER HEAT! Heat increases blood flow and can often time make an injury worse. Ice for 15 minutes on, 20 minutes off for about an hour or as needed.
3. Gentle and frequent stretching is always good practice for sore muscles. A sore muscle is usually a weak muscle, so stretching will help.
4. Drink water! Water is the main way to move nutrients throughout the body and will regenerate injured / dehydrated tissue quickly, so water is good.
5. If you are suffering an ongoing injury ask a coach or seek a trainer’s advice to help you work through your injury. We may be able to give you some additional exercises to help rehab you back to 100%
Illness:
When we design workouts, we assume you are at 100% If you are sick or under the weather please let a coach know before the work out, as accommodations or adjustments to your training may need to made that day. Unless you are sent home from school or are too physically ill to come to practice, you should be there. Again, if we don’t know about it, we can’t help you. If you are sick please let a coach know.
Nutrition/Rest:
The easiest way to prevent injury and illness are through rest and proper nutrition. We are what we eat. Since you are highly trained athletes “race car,” I wouldn’t expect you to be eating garbage to fuel your highly functioning energy systems. Things to consider:
Rest:
The body needs rest and recovery time to rebuild and regroup from the workouts that we do for the week. If you are not taking time to get the proper amount of sleep and take it easy on easy days, your body will burn out. Be careful of not overdoing sports on the side after practice or on the weekends when you should be resting. Not to mention, your body is already tired from the week of training/competition, so now you are now already more prone to injury. Research shows a typical high school students’ brain requires at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night to develop and function properly. So plan your homework, dinner, etc… accordingly.
Nutrition/ Diet:
You are what you eat, so here are some nutritional guidelines
ü Green is good, fresh /frozen fruits and veggies “spinach and broccoli” have rich amounts of vitamins and minerals. So eat some green stuff everyday.
ü Lean meats are good, red meat, poultry and fish low in fat will give you the protein your body needs to rebuild muscle without depositing fat. Try to eat red meat once a week, Red means “iron,” Iron is extremely important to distance runners.
ü Eggs, yogurts, and other dairy products low in sugars are also great forms of protein!
ü Try to eat good carbs. Avoid bleached flour “white bread” and high fructose sugars. These carbs will fill you up give you energy, but then you will crash and leave your body craving more. Whole grains and natural sugars are much more efficient for the body.
ü Drink water
ü Avoid soda and other caffeinated beverages, as caffeine will dehydrate your body. “makes you pee”
ü Follow the “pee rule.” Mellow yellow is good, Dark yellow or orange is bad! So drink more water.
ü Under no circumstance give blood during the season. As an athlete, It takes weeks for your body to fully recover 100% from giving blood. We appreciate you want to donate but please wait until after the season, or during the summer.
ü A generic multi-vitamin would be another great addition to your diet. Runners are burning and sweating out important vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. A multivitamin will help your body replenish those low levels quicker.
ü Avoid additional supplements, unless under the advisement of a physician. The latest craze isn’t always good for you. If you have questions about additional supplements in your diet, please consult a doctor, coach, or trainer first.
Race / Event Rules:
On your mark…. Bang! Or On your mark…. Set… Bang!
Start:
Start of a typical race as an official fires a gun to signal start.
All runners in a heat start at the same time, from a starting arc (or line) marked with lanes or boxes for each group or individual. An official, 20 meters or more in front of the starting line, Will tell athletes to step back from the line. When the official calls “on your mark” Runners can step up to the line and fires a pistol to indicate the start. If runners collide and fall within the first 50 meters, officials can call the runners back and restart the race by firing 2 more shots. Any athlete crossing the line or starting before the starting pistol is fired most often results in disqualification of that runner.
Races / Events:
Be sure to check in to your event area after hearing 1st call. The event or race will be seeded after the 3rd call is made for that event, so “pay attention.” Failure to report in a timely manner may result in you missing or not participating in that event.
Rules during the Race:
Trash talking, Intentionally breaking rules, or interfering with another athlete, during race can result in disqualification of an athlete. So remember, you represent Lancaster when you are wearing that Uniform on and off the track / field. Do you best during warm ups while warming up to orientate yourself, so during your event you do your best. During running races if you are making a move in front of another athlete make sure you are not cutting anyone off. Use the “2 stride length” rule before cutting in. If you witness another athlete breaking these rules tell and official or a coach before the end of the meet.