August 1, 2019
Dear Cross Country Athletes and Parents,
Welcome to the 2019 GMS Cross Country season. You are receiving this email because your child showed interest in cross country last spring. If your child is no longer interested in joining XC, then please disregard. We are excited to introduce our new athletes to competitive distance running. We also look forward to working with returning eighth graders and seeing improvements they will make from last season.
All athletes must have an athletic physical on file and up to date to practice. Any athlete without a physical should get a form from the office and immediately schedule an appointment with their doctor or an express clinic (Colona Clinic has walk in hours the next three Wednesdays for sports physicals!).
All athletes need to have an authorization to treat form turned into the school before they can practice also. This was electronically filled out at registration if you are a returning student to GMS. If you are new to the school, you will fill out a paper copy at registration. Also, a $30 participation fee for activities is required. This fee applies to any sport, club, or activity. The $30 is collected once and covers all sports/activities for the entire year. Payment may be made with a credit card online through Skyward Family Access or with cash/check at the middle school office. Also, the IESA requires all students and parents to fill out and sign a concussion information sheet, which is also done at registration.
A practice schedule is attached below for the months of August, September, and October. Practices are typically 1 hour long, and usually start at 3:30 with a few exceptions. All practices are mandatory unless excused by a coach. We ask that athlete’s rides pick them up after each practice promptly each day (usually 4:30 unless we have a different start time). Please let a coach know if you are having problems picking your athlete up. We can try to help you find a ride or come up with an alternate solution.
The GMS Cross Country meet schedule is linked here. All athletes will ride the bus to and from meets. If a parent wishes that their child ride home with them from a meet, they must write a permission note and send it to the school office on the day of the meet. This can be done at the control table in the gym hallway before the school day begins.
The t-shirt order form is linked here as well. This is optional for the athletes to purchase. Money and order forms will need to be turned into XC boosters by August 21st. We do provide uniforms for the athletes to wear at the official meets.
We hope this season will provide an opportunity for all our athletes to compete and improve their running abilities. We will ask everyone to work hard on a daily basis and we expect everyone to fulfill classroom requirements. Athletes must maintain their eligibility on a weekly basis to be eligible to compete. Parents may contact Coach Gillespie, Head Boys Coach, at egillespie@geneseoschools.org or Coach Schmidt, Head Girls Coach, at lschmidt@geneseoschools.org if they have any questions.
Sincerely,
Erin Gillespie, Boys Coach
Lauren Schmidt, Girls Coach
Natalie Puent, Assistant Coach