Welcome incoming high school students and other new students and families!
The USC HS Cross Country Booster Board would like to welcome your child to high school and help make your child’s high school experience a fantastic one. One great way to do this is by joining the cross country team! Everyone runs, everyone is coached, everyone is cheered for!
Cross country, as a combination of individual and team achievement, is a unique sport with a place for everyone. The USC XC coaches and athletes foster a positive, inclusive, and high-achieving environment for all runners. As one of the USC XC recent alumni runners explains, “Positive culture on a team has a tremendous effect on improvement. When in a positive environment your mindset is much stronger. You are more confident and less stressed or anxious. Having a positive environment within a team pushes you to reach your goals. Encouraging your teammates and seeing them reach their goals is uplifting and inspirational. When other people believe in you, you believe in yourself.”
Here’s what some parents have said about their student-athletes experience:
• “The support that each and every team member gives to each other. I was truly amazed…It must come top down from the coaches!!”
• “Watching how much the kids were enjoying themselves. They all seemed to thrive and improve over the course of the season. My son had no negative things to say about the program. That is an incredible testament to what the coaches and boosters are doing.”
• “The way the kids are all about the team it’s awesome to see, and how they embrace the younger athletes to make them feel a part of the team as well.”
• “Welcoming, supportive, and friendly team spirit”
Everyone on a cross country team is important! https://www.tracksmith.com/journal/article/the-displacers
Many times parents wonder if their child will be able to compete in a sport. The USCHSXC team welcomes athletes of all skill levels. The program is always well-represented in local competition, and has had numerous athletes qualify for states as a team and as individuals. Multiple athletes have gone on to run at Division I, II, and III levels in college. The team also welcomes plenty of JV athletes who run for fun, camaraderie, training for another sport, or desire to try something new. No matter what their pace, all athletes are included in the team and supported by coaches and teammates alike.
New runners are encouraged to attend any of the optional training runs held over the summer on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday evenings in July. These are a no-commitment way to check out the team and meet friendly upperclassmen.
New runners should also learn the warm-up/injury prevention exercise routines described in the summer running packet and in a the video link under the warm-up/cooldown routine tab. Proper conditioning and muscle activation is essential for injury prevention.
Required practices begin Monday-Saturday in August shortly before school starts. Once school starts, practices are held after school Monday-Friday and Saturday mornings. The first two weeks of September the team attends are big invitationals with 25-30+ teams, and it’s quite a fun atmosphere. For the first meet, the entire team runs together with no Varsity/JV distinction, as athletes are just establishing themselves. The second week, which is even bigger, has a freshman-only race as well as other races and that is a fun chance for freshmen to shine. Then we go into section action. We finish up October with a couple more invitationals (including varsity and JV races) and then WPIALS. For WPIALS, at which point only the varsity (top 8 girls and top 8 boys) attend. We always have state qualifiers and will be looking to do that again this year! There’s definitely the opportunity for freshmen to compete with the varsity squad and earn varsity letters.
Other highlights of the season coordinated by the boosters are our pre-race pasta dinners, FUNdraising activities, senior rec, and end-of-season banquet where all the runners are celebrated.
Parents, please be sure to subscribe to this website from the home page so we can keep you informed of everything you need to know. Please also feel free to reach out via the Contact Us page or by emailing uschsxc@gmail.com with any general questions from a parent point of view! Coaches can be contacted with specific questions about the season, expectations, and training at dpetrick@uscsd.k12.pa.usor mchermak@uscsd.k12.pa.us.
There is a learning curve both for athletes and parents! Here’s a few general tips:
- First, if you are new to the sport, you will want to know how a meet is scored:
Essentially, the place you get is the number of points that your team is awarded, and lowest score wins. The first 5 runners are counted. However there are a couple more intricacies- this video explains how two dual meets are scored separately at the same meet, which is how our section meets will be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MW1UrPL0PY
Invitationals (big meets) are scored all together, with your place=your points for the team, again for the first 5 runners. Runners 6 and 7 displace just like in dual meets, but runners 8 and beyond, if they are running in the race, are “removed”, so if a 5th runner for Mt. Lebanon who finishes behind an 8th runner for USC will move up one place/point (in this example, the 5th MTL runner who was 80th to cross the line will now earn 79 points for MTL). Sometimes only 7 runners are permitted to race, so then this issue doesn’t come up. Runners are also removed from the team scores if their team doesn’t have 5+ finishers, and in that case everyone behind them also moves up. - Spikes are not absolutely necessary, but very helpful especially for the runners at a faster pace. Their utility can depend on the surface and conditions of the particular course. Tie the spikes tightly, running a race with one shoe is tough! The course at Cal U (site of our first meet), is a great place to wear spikes (that big hill that always seems to be muddy). On the other hand, spikes are less appropriate on a course with a lot of pavement. Locally, Fleet Feet is a great place to purchase well-fitting spikes- be sure to make your purchase plans well in advance as demand can be high especially at the start of a season.
- Tips for parents attending a meet:
You won’t be able to see much of most races. There are usually a few key spots where spectators can stand. If you look at a race map or ask someone, you can pick your race watching strategy. Many people watch essentially the start and the finish and maybe one other point, depending on the course.
Wear comfortable shoes, layers, dress for the weather, bring snacks and water, etc. , especially for big (long) race days.
For invitationals, results are usually posted near the official tent 30-40 minutes or so after race is over. PA Milesplit (PennTrackXC) is a great resource to get information on all the race details, results, coverage. and more. With a pro plan you can see results for all races for your runner or any runner in the state. Our section meets are not on here, but everything else is. Here’s the USC page: https://pa.milesplit.com/teams/2886-upper-saint-clair and you can navigate to our meets from here
Here is a great post with more on what to expect!
Upper St. Clair High School Cross Country Boosters 