La Mirada High School

Summer is finally here and so are summer practices. This year has started off so awesome. I am amazed at the dedication and drive of the new runners. Everyone is coming out and putting out a 100%. I do see some struggling, both old and new runners. All I have to say is to keep your head up high. The season never starts off good. Getting into shape is really hard, but if you wait it out the results will come. New runners, I feel your pain!! My first race was 28 minutes, now look at my times. Make sure to take care of your bodies. Create a meal schedule; find times and amounts of food to eat, so that you won't be sick at practice. Get good shoes!!! I can't stress this enough, bad shoes were the initial cause of my serious knee problems. Also, learn your body; know the difference between being in pain and being sore. Learn what you have to do, like ice, stretch and whatever else the coach and captains tell you. Summer is the worst part of the season, if you can get through it you can get through anything. Have faith in yourself and don't be afraid to step up. We need varsity runners to step up if we are going to go to CIF Finals. We need to be united and go into camp strong. The worst has only begun and the more we help each other the better it is. If you have questions or comments, call or email me -- I need help just as much as everyone else.

Have fun and run smart,
Amanda Stephens
purplemandy50@hotmail.com
(562) 762-1875

“Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself, and be humble.”
- John Treacy

“The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”
- Juma Ikangaa

“Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win.”
- Tom Fleming

Note from the coach.  The following message was written by a very dedicated, hard-working captain to the members of the boy’s team.  It may seem harsh, but after much debate, I decided to post the message as it was written.  I think it offers the boys a good place to start thinking about what their goals really are for the season.

I don’t know how many of you have read Amanda’s message but I want to reiterate a fact she stated. “Summer is here along with summer workouts.”  These workouts are going to be hard.  Last year, after we finished second in league after losing to Norwalk, we said “Next year they are losing their top three runners.”  Well, next year is here and we need to start training to take on the top guns of the Suburban League.  When I look at the team we have, I see a group of talented runners capable of winning league.  But after Monday’s workout, I realize we need to get our act together.

I don’t want to point people out—you know who you are. We are now in phase 2. We used the first phase to get back into shape. It’s been 4-5 weeks. You should be back in shape by now. It’s time to step it up in the workouts. You should be able to go 4 miles and be able to push the pace and not have to stop and walk. You need to push yourself and run through the pain. The varsity runners are getting up at 7:00 in the morning to do our workout so we can help you out and push you. I’ll be forward and say I would have liked to have been able to sleep in and get a couple more hours of sleep. All we’re asking in return is for you to push yourselves as well—to run through the pain. You can be really good runners if you are willing to go the extra miles. I would really like to win league this year. That would mean the world to me. But a cross country team needs 5 runners to win, so we need you guys to run through the pain. We are getting up early to help you guys out so if you don’t push yourselves in return, you’re pretty much wasting our time. So, basically, to sum this all up, work hard and push yourselves and the whole team will benefit from it. And also, we need everyone to be there and we can’t afford people to be out for a couple weeks. That doesn’t do you any good.

If I insulted anyone in anyway, I am sorry. If you want to talk to me about it or anything I said in this message, don’t be afraid to pull me aside and talk to me about it at practice. If you have any questions/comments about what I said, please talk to me. Thank you for your time.

P.S. My email address is Jrbird86@aol.com so if you ever need to contact me outside of practice you can reach me there. My screen name is the same as my email so you can IM me. Thanks again.