Back when former Maranacook cross country coach Stan Cowan was leading his girls’ and boys’ teams to a combined 12 state titles in the 1980s and 90s, he often included a trip to the York area in the preseason.
For training purposes, he’d have his runners charge up Mt. Agamenticus. Once they reached the top, they’d relax by kicking off their shoes and having a picnic.
The picnic and long bus trip served as time for team building, while the athletes met the rigorous climbing challenge.
While some cross country coaches utilize the more conventional methods to improve speed and endurance, Monmouth coach Rick Amero teaches skills beyond the technical aspects of running. He, too, stresses team chemistry with a balance of hard work and recreational fun.
Every preseason, Amero takes his boys and girls to Old Orchard Beach.
“We run on the beach barefoot,” says senior Nick Duquette. “We do sit ups, crunches and push ups with the waves crashing in.”
Following their workout, the runners spend time together enjoying the atmosphere and each other’s company. Last year, the girls decided to tape their legs in order to tan in stripes. Sort of like a boys’ basketball team shaving their heads for unity.
“We saw it in a magazine,” said senior Amy Hobson. “We got some medical tape and tanner and then laid out in the sun. We (made our legs) look like candy canes.”
While many teams in the state struggle to field enough girls to compete as a unit, the Mustang girls have 16 runners this year.
“Even on hard practice days, we have fun,” she says. “This year a couple of soccer players shifted over. I think it’s because they see how much fun we have. Most sports do the same thing every day while we do something different.”
Amero has set days where the concentration may be on improving speed or getting in hill work, but he also likes to keep things fresh and “interesting.”
Those days may include themes such as mis-match or geek day where the runners dress in odd attire for their trips through Monmouth Center. The coaching staff also puts together a scavenger hunt by leaving clues that lead the team on a chase around town.
One such theme day is called “Mystery Drop Off” which entails loading up a van of either the boys or girls team, blindfolding them for a drive outside of town before dropping them off as a group to find their way back to school. The Drop Off is designed to work on the distance part of running.
“Sometimes they’ll take a wrong turn,” says Amero who keeps close tabs on their location in case he needs to go back and point them in the right direction.
Other area teams practice similar methods. Current Maranacook coach Rosalea Kimball likes to improve her runners’ physical condition as well as team chemistry, but she prefers not to directly combine the two. For team chemistry, the Black Bears spent three days together at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop.
“There was a lot of hanging out at the camp,” says Kimball. “We had the whole place to ourselves.”
The technical skills stay separate.
“I’m a definite believer in running,” she says. “When we need to work on speed, we have a speed workout.
Leavitt coach Tina Meserve used her summer offseason program to help prepare her kids for the rigors of the fall.
“With younger kids, they can’t run for more than an hour,” says Meserve. “So we keep them moving, building their agility. After our workout we might play Ultimate Frisbee or Extreme Capture The Flag. The kids love it. They work hard knowing they’re going to have fun afterward.”
Amero’s approach has kept the sport fun for athletes in a sport often thought of as an individual competition and not that of a team.
“There’s a natural bonding in cross country,” says Amero. “It’s hard to explain. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fastest runner or the slowest. The faster runners respect the fact the slower kids are giving it their all. By the end of the season, all of the kids improve and it improves their self-esteem. The kids can say they’ve done it together as a group.”
And the long season is certainly no picnic.
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