Camp is Coming... But It's Your Decision

Going Back to Camp! Starts 7/8

Beginning July 8, we start a new era of both summer conditioning camp, as well as another season of cross country. Participating in this camp experience will have many new steps to complete, but the first one is choosing if camp is right for you and your family at this time.

The risk of corona-virus transmission will still be present to some degree at any camps during the summer at Kaneland.  Students and their families, along with school personnel must recognize these risks and implement best practices to reasonably mitigate them.  Participation in our conditioning camp is voluntary and every individual will need to evaluate the risk versus the benefits of said participation.  Those immuno-compromised students, or those who live with family members with elevated health concerns, should evaluate associated risks of participation and may choose not to participate. This is absolutely understandable, and we will work to share the same virtual training opportunities that we've used in June, via the calendar connected to this blog.

With that being said, here are a few things to help you prepare for camp days, should you choose to register and participate:

*In the morning when you rise, you should take your temperature. Write it down. Watch for a pattern of consistency. IF any day said temperature is above 100.4, DO NOT COME TO CAMP.

*Because some of our camp locations include forest preserves, there's a chance that bathrooms may be locked. Make sure you're "empty" before you show up for camp. Know how your body "works" in the morning, prior to coming to camp.

*There is NO WATER PROVIDED FOR CAMPERS at this time so please bring your own jugs and water bottles. Can't even do a refill from the cooler. The cooler won't be there. Your own bug spray would also be a need each day as we won't be sharing a bottle among team members.

*If you carpool to camp with other runners, please plan on WEARING A MASK IN THE CAR. If one member of a carpool tests positive, the carload will need to self-quarantine, and not come to camp. This is a proactive suggestion, not part of the school expectations for safety protocol.

*When you arrive at camp (without a fever or symptoms related to the five questions that we are going to ask) the coaches will physically distance you in order to take your temperature and ask the five questions related to COVID symptoms. If your temperature is below 100.4 on the thermometer the coaches use, and if you are not having any of the symptoms related to the questions - asked in private - then you'll be able to participate.

*If your temperature is above 100.4 (you shouldn't even be there, because you checked it at home...) or if you answer YES to any of the five questions (you shouldn't even be there, because you will know the questions by heart...) then your parent will be contacted and you will need to go home. Per district guidelines, you are not allowed back in camp, or practices when school starts, without a doctor's written permission.

*IF A TEAMMATE TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, then there is the very real potential for many team members, including all in a training group who have had more than 15 minutes of exposure, to have to self=quarantine for 14 days at home. WASH YOUR HANDS AND BE SMART ABOUT THIS. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

*We will be spreading out far more than in the past for our pre-run active stretching routines, post run static stretching, core strength work and team chats. You'll need to be on your toes, ready to listen, and ready to go. While there may be more "hanging around" at the start, initially, to get the health protocols complete, you need to be making safe choices reflective of the responsibility that it is in coming to camp amid the pandemic Phase 4 conditions.

More details will be forthcoming from the Kaneland Athletic Department, including the safety protocols as well as how to register for the camp. We will run the camp on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until July 31.

Mondays - Meet at Elburn Lion's Park - 6:00 to 7:30 (MS camp at 8:00)

Wednesdays - Meet at Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove - Same times as above

Fridays - Meet at Nelson Lake ***DIFFERENT PARKING LOT, the one on Nelson Lake Road, not Main Street - Same times as above

If there's an impromptu run (Tuesday/Thursday) at another location, that is entirely optional, it will come via Remind text.

There will NOT be camp running through "Dead Week" even though the IHSA removed that restricted week this summer. Mrs. Clarey and the other coaches' wives have different plans for the coaches at that time.

Finally, if you determine that the Cross Country Conditioning Camp is something you'd like to do this year, you absolutely MUST get registered ahead of time. In the past, kids have shown up for three days or so and then the parent gets the registration complete online. This year, you'll have to go home if you're not on the list, the first day. Because of the waivers and contact information that is required of us, we cannot bend like in the past. NO ONE will be turned away because of financial hardship, related to the cost of the program, which always goes back to the student athletes in the form of cloth goods anyway. We will have a camp shirt again this year, and possibly incentives for consistent participation in the camp.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to your coaches. We are so excited to get to start back with our team, and we are taking every bit of the health and safety protocols seriously. As a matter of life or death, our collective resolve to be responsible with symptoms and being forthright is crucial. We are all relying on one another. 

Changes to the Training Log, Keeping Your PII Safe

Getting to Work: Small Groups are the New Norm

(photo credit: Jaime Neal)

We are off and running, starting the conditioning phase of getting back into cross country shape. At Sunday's meeting, we shared a document that you are to be using to log your summer work. Some of you have started, others have yet to document your work. ALL need to use this component of our summer training. 

We spoke to the power of keeping track of your miles, as well as other Personal Identifiable Information (PII) related to your morning temperature, diet habits, how you're feeling physically, and more. The journal is very complete, but it is also rich in detail that should be kept more personal. The coaches have made an adjustment to the journal to protect your PII. Moving forward, we would like you to do the following:

1. Continue to log your mileage on the SUMMER MILEAGE LOG. You won't be able to add the other details related to your Personal Identifiable Information. Beginning today, you can use the Personal Training Log (what the original looks like, but with sleep component added to it). This Personal Training Log is found in the upper right corner of the blog, with the other summer training links.

2. Open the Personal Training Log and go to FILE >> MAKE A COPY. You should then have access to a similar document, and have the power to log your other personal identifiable information, but keep it just for you. Put your name on it, and it will be your decision if you'd like to share it with the coaches. (Coach Clarey's email is 10965@kaneland.org, Coach Baron's email is 10021@kaneland.org)

3. The PII will no longer be included on the Summer Mileage Log. Coach Clarey deleted the data fields for it. You SHOULD continue to log your miles on it, so that coaches can keep track of that data to make sure you're on target for the next steps in our training. To those who logged Monday already, please add it in again on the new version of the Summer Mileage Log. Same place, one more time.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to Coach Clarey or Coach Baron. Thank you for your patience with these new steps. The goal is to keep you healthy, allow you the chance to reflect on what you're doing in your training and seeing positive patterns for how you feel -- relative to your training and all other important components. Most of all, your privacy in some of those key details needs to be maintained, and giving you power to keep it exclusive is absolutely necessary. 

Summer Conditioning Begins on Monday, June 15 - NO Camp Yet

Time to see this team get back on the course!

We've patiently waited to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are now at the point where we can get outside and get back to work. The start of our conditioning work that we will put in this summer begins on Monday, June 15. Because we have yet to hear about the parameters for safety which will become the expectations for Kaneland student athletes, we are encouraging you to do this work on your own, or in very small groups. Remember to keep your physical distance, and do NOT show up for a run with a peer if you are feeling under the weather.

Every boy will need to fill out his own page on the summer training log, found in the upper right portion of our blog. There are tabs at the bottom which reflect the names of the coaches and athletes. Please find your tab, and then complete the sheet EVERY DAY! Those runners who are keeping up with this work will be able to advance to our speed changing workouts, which we hope to do in person, starting in July. We want to see every runner documenting the data for both miles logged running (hard miles) and those logged swimming or biking for 15 minutes straight (soft miles). Each week, we are looking for both hard and soft miles to be completed by our team members.

If you have any questions about your training log, or about your running work, please contact your coach. Parents should do the same. Putting in the work during the summer allows for many of the smiles we see in the photo above, during the fall season. Be positive and put your heart into your efforts. Your brothers are getting after it, focused on the mission ahead. Be a difference maker, and remain hungry for a spot higher up on our depth chart.

Every man will make a difference.