Cross country season

All summer, Jacob and Claire have been working out with the cross country teams in summer conditioning. They've been able to run at the high school, Sharon Woods (until the boys got kicked out because apparently someone complained), and Symmes Park, and they began their high school cross country season in really good shape. 

The Loveland meet was the first activity of any size that any of us had participated in for a long, long time. Even though we had to wear masks, it felt great to be able to do something that resembled normal. It was also striking to see how much Jacob and Claire have grown and physically matured! They aren't little junior high kids any more!

 

  

Attendance at different meets had different rules. Some of the meets were televised via YouTube, with various video quality. It did enable other family members to be able to watch as well. We watched the Loveland meet this way and the Moeller meet (a night time meet in Mason). Some meets, like Princeton, didn't allow any spectators.

The prettiest meet was in Eaton, Ohio, southwest of Dayton, in a state park. It was fun to run around the park cheering the boys on. It was there that we discovered the Anika Busby cheering experience - very loud and enthusiastic!

  

The girl's and boy's cross country teams were able to do the pre-game pasta dinners. They did them a little differently than normal, but it was a good bonding time. Claire made good friends with a group of senior girls, and Jacob played a lot of basketball with the boys after their pasta dinners. They loved it.

Sycamore hosted a meet near the end of the season. Coach Shomo was very excited for the course, mowing it extra short, and deciding it was going to be a great PR course.

Jacob's favorite meets were Eaton, Princeton, and Sycamore (because he ran the fastest there - and because he finished in the top 15 and got a t-shirt). Claire's favorite was Sycamore because it was fun to run on their home track in front of a home crowd.

One of the things we appreciated a lot about the approach the coaches took was that they set the expectation that in order to do the they wanted (have a cross country season), everyone would need to make a few small sacrifices (wearing a mask, running in smaller groups, not doing some of the traditional activities). Instead of feeling like victims, they taught the kids the lesson of teamwork and making worthwhile sacrifices for the team.