2018 NORTH FAYETTE VALLEY GIRLS AND BOYS TRACK AND FIELD WELCOME: I am ready to get another track and field season going. At

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1 2018 NORTH FAYETTE VALLEY GIRLS AND BOYS TRACK AND FIELD WELCOME: I am ready to get another track and field season going. At this time I am seeing approximately 50 names on the sign-up sheet so am very excited about that. We have some great returning letterwinners and upperclassmen to provide leadership along with many newcomers that will be ready to contribute as well. Along with the great athletes, we have one of the finest coaching staffs around. Our award-winning coaching staff is here to help you achieve your goals and have a successful season! I am not looking at making any major changes this season. We have been successful for many years and I believe what we do will continue to bring success to both girls and boys programs. A few tweaks here and there may be possible, but overall we will continue to do what we do best. Because we live in Iowa, make sure to have warm clothes for going outside and comfortable clothes if we need to stay inside. With the number of athletes we have again this year, we will look to enter as many meets as we can to allow everyone to participate. Being part of this team means you need to be here for every practice and have a positive attitude to help you and your teammates become better. Attaining your goals depends so much on the attitude you bring to practice. I hope you fully understand the reputation that North Fayette Valley has as one of the best track and field programs in Iowa. With your hard work and dedication, NFV will maintain that status. Our job as coaches is to make you the best athlete and citizen that you can be! This NFV coaching staff will do its best to make this a very successful year for each one of you. We will work hard for you and ask that you work hard to achieve your individual and team goals! Commitment, academics, and good conduct are all issues you need to remain focused on throughout the season. If you are having academic issues, visit with Coach Feldman during the school day if possible. Even though Coach Gruman is not actually under contract with us, I bet she would still help out as much as possible!

2 PHILOSOPHY: Our philosophy is to get as many student athletes involved in our program as possible and united as a team. We will work with our athletes to set goals and take the measure necessary to achieve their goals. Of these participants, we hope to get all entered into as many meets as possible and develop teams of depth and championship quality at various levels from conference to state. To do this, several expectations must be kept in mind. ELIGIBILITY: 1) Must adhere to the North Fayette Valley Good Conduct Policy. If you are part of a team, why jeopardize that team by doing something that could possibly hurt that team? Be smart about what you do and who you do things with. TEAM should be first! 2) Academics come with high priority!! You are here to get an education and if you are on the failing list you become ineligible to participate in meets until your grades improve and you are removed from the list. Recognize that the school and state rules are different. 3) Part of being a good student is being at school. During the season we will talk about rest and nutrition to help keep you strong as well as healthy. You need to be at school to be able to practice or to compete that day. This includes being to school on time (in your first class by 8:15 a.m.). I am not in the HS building, but two of your coaches are. If you are leaving for any reason, it is important to let one of these coaches know and/or communicate with me via . If you know you will be absent ahead of time, let us know at practice. The more you miss practice the less likely it will be that you will participate on a relay team, and you need to be at practice to improve both individually and as a team.

3 PRACTICES: Practices will be held at the end of the school day. On Wednesdays we will plan on starting warm-ups at 2:30 p.m. with our non-teacher coaches getting practices started unless we announce differently. If a student athlete is in school, it is expected they will be at practice. If for some reason they need to leave early, they need to talk to one of the coaches in the HS. Asking a teammate to communicate for you should not happen and is unexcused. If you are leaving early, YOU talk directly to Coach Feldman or me. I still have my school . Make sure to have warm clothes for practice outdoors-even if we get out for only 30 minutes. We will try to get out more early in the season if possible to avoid running on the hard, tile floors. WARM CLOTHES should include hat and gloves, warm top such as hoodie or fleece and bottoms could include sweats, tights, or leggings. Track spikes should be kept at school. Especially with the new surface and most other tracks-only 1/8th inch spikes!! If we are practicing starts or relay exchanges we want you in spikes(outdoors). Really not much good can happen with your spikes at home. Weight training will be done after the scheduled practice time and is expected by all participants. This is not heavy, bulk producing lifting. We are using sport specific lifting programs at NFV for all of our athletes. Practices will be done in time for athletes to catch the activity bus. Following practice, athletes need to clean-up and leave the building unless directly supervised by a coach or activity supervisor. UNEXCUSED ABSENCES: 1) First violation: You will be addressed by one of our coaches as to how you can make up that practice and explain what was more important than you team to miss practice. 2) Second violation: You will not participate in the next meet. If at home it may include working at a field event or helping on the track

4 3) Third violation: You are done for the remainder of the season. You will turn in your uniform and sweats. No track and field letterwinner is possible. CELL PHONE/SOCIAL MEDIA: This is one of my biggest fears. We all know the positives and negatives of using these devices. As long as used positively, I will not put any restrictions on these at home or away meets. If problems start to occur, these devices will be collected and kept on the bus or locked in the school. When texting or posting -remember- it isn t what you mean but how it is perceived by the recipient. ONE BAD TWEET CAN BE COSTLY TO A STUDENT. TRACK AND FIELD MEETS: As stated we want to get as many people participating as possible at the meets. Sometimes things happen at meets that we need to make changes or substitutions. For that reason, as well as supporting your teammates, it is strongly recommended that you stay until the end of each meet. If you will be riding home with a parent from a meet, your parent must sign-out with a coach. Wishing to ride home with someone else after the meet is only allowable if a call or note is presented to Mr. Wolverton prior to the meet, and he will pass such information onto one of our coaches. Typically we try to get home as quickly as possible, but we may stop for food on long trips! It does get late, but you are still expected to be at school on time the following day. UNIFORMS/DRESS: The competition uniform and warm-up you are issued is your responsibility and needs to be properly cared for.(follow washing and drying instructions) This is also the uniform/warm-up you will wear at the meets. Nothing inappropriate will be allowed for warm-ups at meets or practice. While at meets, do not leave your personal belongings

5 unattended while you are getting ready for your next event. Leave it with a teammate or at team camp. If it is damaged or lost you will pay for a replacement. You may wear your warm-ups to school on meet days; otherwise, they should not be worn around town for daily wear!! For practices you need to have an unaltered shirt that is closed under the arm not allowing exposure to the upper torso. Guys need to keep shirts on during practices. At meets, nobody will be changing out of uniforms into other clothing in public. Be respectful & modest and use available restrooms or locker rooms. INTRODUCTORY GUIDELINES: Good conduct rules in student handbook will be adhered to. SET A POSITIVE EXAMPLE. Represent yourself, your family, your school, and your community well. To practice or compete you must be in school. Certain exceptions do apply, such as funerals or scheduled appointments. Nutrition and hydration-it is extremely important that you eat good, well-balanced meals. Carbs are the basis of an athlete s diet. Protein is next, and fat is last but still necessary. School lunch is ok. When/if you start carrying too much weight; it becomes like running with while carrying extra weights on your body. Imagine carrying a bowling ball while running. Water is the most important liquid to put into your body. During the day, it is essential that you take in water or other sports drinks. If you don t have a water bottle, get one and carry it with you. A good recovery drink is chocolate milk! Rest helps your body get stronger. Workouts, meets, plyometrics, and weight training tear down the body. You must rest and recover so that the muscle tissue is stronger and more enduring for the next session. In-training athletes should be getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night.(see Rest and Recovery article attached.) Injuries need to be reported to coaches immediately. With a trainer available daily we can help reduce down time from injuries. We still use the

6 REST policy for most injuries. (rest-ice-compression-elevation) Ease back into practice and competition, and you will hopefully recover to be just as good or better than before the injury. Letterwinners: To earn a letter, you must complete the season and have scored 12 points during the season. You can accomplish this individually or on a relay. Points toward a letter equal the team points scored in that meet per event. A second individual or relay can earn points toward a letter by beating scoring opponents. THINGS TO CONSIDER AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO THIS TRACK AND FIELD SEASON- In which running and field events could you contribute toward team scoring? This might not necessarily be your favorite event, but you know you can compete when you put your heart into it. Think about goals both individually and team. Give your best effort to attain these goals. Attitude-Positive attitude for practice will contribute toward positive team results! Success is measured sometimes in seconds or inches, not necessarily by places or points. COMMUNITY SERVICE: We ask for a lot of help for our track meets and a goal of mine has been to get more than two track and field meets on our track each year. We ask parents, family, and friends for financial support and to help with some of our other needs. For these reasons we will have April 21 as our community service day. I only ask for 1½ hours that morning to give back to our communities. More information will be forthcoming as the date nears.

7 VOLUNTEERS: We will be hosting two varsity/jv meets as well as the regional meet this season. Is impossible to get meets run without help. We need many community and parent helpers to step-up and help at these meets. No job is difficult and some jobs are inside where it is dry and warm! Please let us know where you are willing to help out in one or both of these meets. Visit with Mr. Imoehl about this. Closing: It has been an honor to be involved with the track and field programs that these two schools represent. Strong programs with rich traditions have been created by many hard working coaches & athletes, including hall-of-fame coaches. I/we wish you all the best for this upcoming season and hope you can attain your goals as part of the NFV track and field program! WE ARE NFV TRACK AND FIELD!!