FIRST IMAGE

 There may be some opportunity for folks to compete at Wheaton College over the Winter. I shall supply details, but please know it is going to be like AAU Basketball. You would have to enter meets on your own. 

The school would have no say whether you compete or not, but your parents/guardians would sign you up.

WHEATON COLLEGE INDOOR TRACK

VACATION INFORMATION

Most of you shall or have received a letter from the school administration regarding Winter Sports.

Indoor Track and Field shall not be one of them that starts on January 4. We might get underway on February 22nd.

This could work out well for us as we are trying to rebuild our programs. We could attract some folks from Ski and Basketball to participate Indoors.

In the meantime, we have not been given any permission to train at the school (directly or indirectly). This does not mean you cannot join a health club and do some training with weights and get some cardio in.

I would hope all of you would take some initiative and do so. 

After Thanksgiving, I shall be posting ideas for training and I would like Coach Morrissey to do the same, since he is our strength and conditioning coach. We shall coordinate.

I am also going to inventory everything we have and see if there are any items I can distribute to help you out. The important things are that you exercise social distancing, wash your hands, wear masks and continue to eat, sleep and balance your days with school.

I am thinking that the best gym deal out there is Planet Fitness. Keep in mind that gyms also have some restrictions and could continue to change depending upon the virus rules.

Now, here is what I am doing Tuesday. I am going to Wheaton College to view their new track.

Just like Cross Country, they are willing to host a meet or a few during December and January. I shall be inspecting the facility. 

If anyone here is interested in racing there (if it is possible), you would do so independently and not as part of East Longmeadow High School. Your parents would have to sign you up and authorize your participation. 

If coaches continue to put workouts on one of our sites and you follow them, you might race. A coach could be at the event in the capacity of an official. Needed equipment can be made available for you as done during the Summer (indoor shots, batons etc).

Let me know what you think. If I knew how to do a zoom call, I would host one, but I don't.

You all shall hear from me again soon either on Track Central or one of our communication outlets.

Happy Thanksgiving

OLD SCHOOL

OUR FUTURE

I just wanted to check back in on those of you that concluded your Fall seasons and are figuring out what might be in store for the Winter.

The answer to this is - I don't know. NOBODY really knows.

Covid seems to be expanding. This is due to people not socially distancing, nor wearing masks etc.

You all have to exercise good judgement, even if you join a health club or interact with other athletes.

Weather is also a factor. Keep in mind that with the sudden reduction in temperature, you can be susceptible to an illness. Drink plenty of fluids. Dress appropriately. Get lots of rest.

If you do any running on your own, be conservative. After your workouts, make certain that you eat and replenish yourself. Continue to wash your hands.

MY best guess is that we won't start (anything) until after the first of the year. If and when we do, there shall be restrictions all of us shall have to follow. The MIAA is meeting soon to discuss Winter sports.

My group has several representatives that will share information afterwards. Keep in mind that our school and conference shall offer further restrictions as they see fit. The Health Department shall include their positions as well as the Superintendent's Dept. 

I assure you Mr. Paige and Mr. Magee really WANT to push sports, but are committed to safety first.

For Indoors, we do not have a facility as of now. It is likely we shall be moved to Fall II, which will have some conflict with Football. Indoor could lead right into Outdoor.

I suggest the Health Club approach unless it is determined we can utilize the school's facility, Throwers can consult with Coach Morrissey. For the rest of you, I would go through our regular drill routines often so you do not get stale.

I can post workouts like I did last Spring. Let me know if you want me to.

With holidays coming up, do your best to stay away from large groups.

STAY SAFE and HEALTHY! 

Coach Budd

MESSAGE FROM COACH BUDD

Greetings.

I do not usually send out messages to everyone in this manner and you all KNOW I don't ever post pictures of myself. I thought I would change the pace a bit and add a personal touch.

Much like ultimate frisbee, it won't likely happen again.

I wanted to thank all the members of this season's Cross Country team. You all made it one of the most enjoyable seasons I ever had. Also, one of the easiest ones to direct.

Unfortunately, the season was way too short and the rules of engagement were slightly uncomfortable.

BUT, we had a season. This makes up a bit for our lost Spring season.

We are not having a banquet, so therefore I cannot say the things I would have in a gathering, so I suppose I will "bore" you all here. Try real hard to stay awake. Snoring, however, IS permitted.

The thing I appreciated most about this season was that it seemed as if everyone said "thank you, Budd" after every practice and meet. I do not think that has ever happened before. Or at least I never noticed.

While I never had the time to secure awards for anyone, I would like to say a few things about each person. The problem is that I had hoped to go on until 11/20, but the health and school departments felt it wiser to end earlier. I will not argue their points, as they are concerned about all of our safety.

We had a rookie join us this year in Emily "Gov'na" Baker. She was outstanding in practices as well as in meets. Also,she also is a product of my summer camps. I foresee her being a multi-event athlete. Clearly, she was our outstanding newcomer.

Abby" Hot Table" Devoie decided to stop playing soccer and was invited to join us. Mr. Gerry made that suggestion and she proved the change was a great choice. turns out two years ago, we called her "Bambi" because of her stride. Now I have the difficulty of which nickname to use. I still think she would also be a tremendous hurdler - doing cross country would improve her skills in the lows as well as the 100 highs. Now if we can just get her away from basketball...

I used to think that Brooke "Mismatch" Vaccaro simply bought her shoes in "twos" and would wear one of each of them every day...who thought she actually BUYS them that way? Brooke shall become a great leader. She is hard working and has improved tremendously during the course of the season. She is still a better athlete than her brother.

Elyse "Alpine Shoosh" Donaghue left us after two meets to go North...not to find Superman's fortress, but to ski. We missed her, but understand her passion to climb up hills only to slide down. This is going to be HER team next season. I believe she shall return in time for Outdoor Track and Field. She might become one of those "Pole Vaulting Distance Runners".

Mackenzie "Jo Jo Dancer" Richards is the most unpredictable person on the team. We never really know which Jo Jo will show up each day. Will it be the one that complains about a Mercedes, or the one that unconsciously runs like the world class dancer that she is? Every day with her is a fun adventure.

We all know that Erin" Dilly Dilly" Lavelle is by far the fastest girl in the school. Doing XC gave her a perspective on how distance is run, but also gave her the opportunity to improve her stamina. I believe she is now going to be an awesome 400 runner to go with her record setting 300's. This experience has kept her in condition regardless of whatever happens indoors.

Angelina "Rajon Rondo" Carando was our best performer in contests during the season. She has only scratched the surface of her talent. Everything she accomplishes seems to be so effortless. Good speed, good endurance, good form, She was likely one of our more valuable players during the entire season. Every week she got better and better.

Margaret "Ryan Express" Ryan ran more miles than anyone this year and always seemed to excel during practice. It seems as though, the longer the race and the longer the run, the more effective she is. The steadiest performer of all on the team from start to finish. I believe "The Express" can take this further and have a stellar career. She is durable and extremely coachable.

One person fully organized the team and lead it from start to finish: Elizabeth "Impact" Laughlin. Despite injuries, she always showed up and produced quite well on meet day. The team voted her the Pat Manley award for Team Spirit.she had her hand on the pulse of the team and was always the perfect spokesperson...despite her lousy jokes. Seriously, she understood the workouts to the point in which I could briefly say what we were doing and she would lead the team as if she were coaching it.

Coach Besser was available for us every weekend to run with. He spent time with everyone when he could and would be a part of composing workouts. I could not ask for a better distance coach to help the cause. He is so well respected by the runners themselves and still willing to run some courses with folks at almost any time. It really helps that he is still competing and helping to train others. 

I recommend that while the weather is still pretty good, you get in touch with him for weekend morning long runs. Upon request, I can continue to post workouts for each week on the Ladyspartan web site.

A few others that helped push us in the right direction included: The trainer Diane Savacool,, Coach Gorman, Mr. Cassidy,and Athletic Director Mr. Magee. Each added significant value to the program.

I would like to thank you all for your support this season, as well as your enthusiasm. I think we did really good. The task at hand is now to rebuild the team as we have only 4 returners. This year, being smaller was good, so I would not want to get much bigger than 12 (we had 9 this season). This makes practices more manageable and if we split into groups, there are not so many.

Let's get on it! It really seems as if you all had a great deal of fun. We need to expand upon that. It's the fun that we need to emphasize, because the program is designed to give positive feedback often so you can gauge your improvement and I can calculate the range of your future training.

A lot of you were on point with training time predictions. We also got our work done on each day well within 2 hours.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE HORSE BEING BLIND - JUST LOAD UP THE WAGON!"

REAL SUPERHEROES WEAR MASKS!

WEEK 8 EXPRESSION

This week's quote was presented by Coach Dr. Gary Gorman

"The ultimate measure of a man (or woman) is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he or she stands at times of challenge and controversy."

- Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr.

TUESDAY MEET

Our last meet is TOMORROW!

The Health Department in conjunction with the Superintendent has determined that our last day is tomorrow.

While I am not pleased, there really is no room for argument.

Therefore, we shall hold our last meet (full course) starting around 2:00 PM tomorrow. Since there is no school due to voting, I would like everyone to come in uniform as well as dress for any elements.

We usually wear black long spandex under our shorts and white long sleeves under our top. Hats are optional as well as gloves.

We shall be running the entire course, which means we shall take a lap around the track to the finish line.

I wish we had a little more time, but it also appears as if the Governor is adding more restrictions due to the covid. Hopefully things shall get better, so that we might have an indoor winter season of sorts.

Will need our managers to help. I had thought about running the boys first, but I won't start the boys race until 30 minutes after the girls have started. Will only need to put out two flags to insure correctness. Everyone should know the course.

Let's do our best tomorrow. I cannot guarantee the weather, but bring a positive attitude!