Snow job?

My generation would have said, "look it up!"  Yours, "Google it."  But loosely defined a "snow job" is persuasion attempted through deception.  For example, this coach yelled to one of our runners yesterday, as the runner was battling an opponent toward the finish, "You win THIS race, the TEAM wins."  Deceptive in that the team would have won whether the runner beat the opponent or not.  But what the runner heard was "We lose if I don't win."  Snow job!

No snow job here . . .

1.  We have decided to change our 5K course slightly in order to have the finishing stretch come along the RIGHT field side of the baseball field.  This will eliminate sprinting down the "uneven" side of of the diamond.  We have also decided that each day in practice ALL runners when finishing his/her run and AFTER crossing the Franklin Street crosswalk will SPRINT to the curb at the entrance to the Track/Football field.  I did this for years at another school to simulate the Franklin Park finish.  We are doing it here now to simulate our finish on our course.  No deception, it works.

2.  Today's workout will be of your choosing.  Sorta. (Google it!). YOU will have the choice of 30, 40 or 50+ minutes of EASY running.  Everybody will head in the same direction.  Down Franklin, left on South Ave, Right on Park to the Town Park and around the Park.  You can turn back after 15 or 20 minutes if you choose the 30 or 40 minute run.  Some of the more experienced runners will want to go the 50 or 50+ (up to 70 minutes.). Those runners can venture out beyond the Park if they wish to accommodate their run.  No snow job.  Some have quietly suggested they should be in a different group.  YOU get to choose today and "test the waters!"  (Look it up.). EVERYBODY however will sprint back up the driveway when finishing.  Only a handful of you could take it up a gear at yesterday's finish.  We want you to practice finishing strong.  What better place than parallel to your home course finish.

3.  Take a moment to look at the FEATURED POST slightly up and just to your right.  It is, as noted, an inspirational entry.  Written by a member of the West Point XC team it addresses the true definition of "teamwork."  I'm stating the obvious when I say West Point athletes necessarily have a keen sense of the need for teamwork, but the concept applies to everything you do involving family, work, friends, and yes, even high school Cross Country.  No deception here.  Read and heed, there is a valuable learning moment to be gained.

See you at 2:30 . . .