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Cross Country Tryouts
Dear MND Fall Sports Athlete:
MND Cross Country (MNDCC) will have TWO separate tryouts this year. The first tryout is for girls that are NOT trying out for another MND Fall sports team. The second tryout will be for girls that are trying out for another MND sports team but did not make that team.
Try Outs for Girls NOT Trying Out for A Different MND Fall Sports Team
We will hold MNDCC tryouts for girls NOT trying out for another Fall sports team on Aug 1 from 7:00am - 9:00am at Koening Park in Reading (520 W. Columbia Avenue).
Try Outs for Girls who are Trying Out for a Different MND Fall Sports Team
First the details: In order for you to be eligible to participate in our 2nd try out, you must have tried out for another MND Fall sports team (or conditioned with them this summer but chose not to try out), must start coming to CC practice by Monday, Aug 7 (at MND HS 7:00am – 9:00am), and must practice with the CC team every day of that week. If you successfully complete these tasks you will be allowed to try out for the CC team during the 2nd Tryout, held from 7:00am – 9:00am on Friday, Aug 11 at Koening Park in Reading (520 W. Columbia Avenue).
How does a 2nd Tryout Affect the 1st Tryout?
The 2nd CC Tryout has NO BEARING on who makes the team during the first CC Tryout. As the CC coach, I have no idea what girls will, or will not make another MND team. In addition, I have no idea if any of the girls that do not make another team will try out for CC. So, the goal of the first try out is to set the team that I believe will be competitive this year.
Why Have a 2nd Tryout if the 1st Tryout Sets the Team?
Most incoming freshmen did not run cross country in grade school so why would they choose to try out for a high school CC team? But just because you have never run cross country does not mean you would not be good at it if you had an opportunity to get the training and coaching you need. The 2nd Tryout exists to give girls with little or no experience in cross country a chance to see if they could be, and would like to be, a very good cross country runner.
No one sits the bench in Cross Country
The reason MNDCC can add girls to the team that have no experience is because Cross Country is the only sport where everyone gets to “play the entire game” that is, every girl on the team gets to run every regular-season meet. In other sports, if you are 3rd on the depth chart, you would get very little playing time. But in CC, you get the same amount of playing time whether you are “first string” or “third string” or “fifth string”.
The “everybody competes” rule allows me, as Coach, to pick my “team” during the first tryout and then select girls during the second tryout that I think can have a huge impact on the team if they were given a chance, the training, and the experience.
What if I am not a Freshman or if I chose not to try out for another team?
Regardless of your grade, if you were conditioning with an MND team this summer, but either did not make the team or chose not to try out for the team, you are eligible to try out for MNDCC during the 2nd Tryout. Every year, the MNDCC Varsity team has 2 – 3 girls on it that played a different sport in their Freshmen or Sophomore (or even Junior!) years.
What if you have not been conditioning with another team?
If you want to run CC but have not been conditioning with any team, there is still time for you to start conditioning with MNDCC. But contact me at [email protected] immediately, please.
Since I Have No Experience, Do I Need Anything Else?
To make the MNDCC team from the 2nd Tryout, you must display a commitment to working hard, a great attitude, an internal drive to be the best, and, finally, the talent that, with some experience, will give you a chance to “Run Varsity” before you graduate. The week you are required to practice before the 2nd Tryout will give me all of the information I need in order to determine if you have these characteristics.
Focus on One Team at a Time.
We have CC conditioning every weekday from 7:00am – 9:00am. If you want the best chance of making our team, you should come to our conditioning. But if you want the best chance of making the soccer/field hockey/volleyball team you should be going to that team’s conditioning. Why not condition with both teams? Because doing so raises the risk of injury or excessive fatigue, and if either of those occurs to you, your chance of making any MND team is greatly decreased.
But Ask Your Coach the Important Question
The MND Athletic Department encourages you to ask your coaches, long before tryouts occur, for an honest assessment of your chances of making their team. Do not worry that your question will make your coaches think you are “not committed” to their team. MND Coaches want you to be successful but realize that your success may come in a different sport. If you do ask though, your coaches cannot give you a guarantee that you will make the team. But they can tell you if you are competitive for a spot and if you should try out. They can also tell you if you are not competitive for a spot on the team. If they tell you that you are not competitive than that is an opportunity for you to switch to a different sport and start conditioning with that team.
“But I am not a Runner!”
Lots of girls say, “I cannot run.” But they have never had anyone train them to run. You might not be able to play the violin but you would expect that if you took lessons for 4 years, you would become pretty good. Running is no different. At MND Cross Country, we realize most girls have not been trained to run. But, if you are willing to work hard, have a great attitude, a desire to be the best, and the talent to be successful, we would like the opportunity to teach you how to run and how to run very well.
Check out our website at: mndcc.weebly.com.
Please email or call me (info below) if you have any questions.
Thank you.
Coach Johnson
Head Coach
Cross Country
Track & Field
Mount Notre Dame HS
513 375 7153