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.

Scholarships Available to Our Knights

Boys, there are two more scholarships that you might be able to submit applications for to help defray some costs to higher learning. Below are links to a pair of scholarships geared toward Kaneland student athletes.

The Steven Wayne Chidester Scholarship is awarded to one cross country runner from our team each year. This scholarship is funded through an event in Maple Park, each September, on the same weekend that we host the Eddington Invitational. Steve was a teammate of Coach Clarey's, and a runner on the '87 and '88 teams that placed at State. Steve's passing came suddenly in May of 2016, while working on the roads for Kane County. Chidester was struck by a distracted driver. The link above takes you, seniors, to a page where there are questions for reflection. Steve's wife, Lorraine, reviews the responses and makes a choice parallel with what she feels mirrors the many wonderful qualities of her late husband. Please complete this scholarship questionnaire by May 15.

Additionally, there is also a scholarship available from our Kaneland Knights Sports Booster Club.  At this time, they are still taking applications.  Use this link to access the application to earn a $1,000 Scholarship.  They have extended the deadline to May 8th, 2020 and you can email the application directly to Kira Harper @ kira.rushing@gmail.com.  Applicants must have a parent who is currently a Sports Booster Member (as of Jan 1st, 2020).

Hoping this post finds all of you doing well, staying active, and getting ready for summer. Please be timely on these scholarship opportunities. Don't let them go to waste. Schooling at the junior college, 4-year schools, and trade schools is expensive. Explain how your past 4 years will impact the next four years of your life.

Belated Thanks from Coach Clarey

So this past Friday my wife and I, along with a few of our coaches, went to Lombard to pick up this plaque. It's been two months since we won State, and I'm still overwhelmed with gratitude and joy in what we were able to accomplish. It's been a month since our Awards Night, and getting the chance to celebrate the achievements of ALL our boys who share in this dream season and championship. My sentiments have come full circle, and I wanted to share a few quick things with you all as this 2019 season finally comes to a full close.

With regard to the incredible support that our coaches and immediate families have received this season, we are speechless. Thank you for the care, love, and support (physical, emotional, financial, and verbal) you've provided this year, and many others. It's easy for many to be flying high after such a memorable and successful season. However, we realize that not every year is like this one, and we still receive equal help from our KXC Families. We are so grateful for all that you've helped provide your boys, their teammates, and the staff. We are incredibly blessed.

On a personal note, I would like to thank you all for the tremendous surprise that was put together over the course of the year with the shirts for Awards Night, the patience in its rescheduling, and the way that you were able to implement it on December 11th. I'm a big "no thank you" for anything that includes the spotlight shining my way. I was good with all that you did on that night, and am most appreciative of the efforts put forth to BUILD such an experience. Special shout out to Sal Occhipinti, Michelle Brazee, Ralph Drendel, Nicole Larsen, and anyone else who had a hand in the process of collecting 265 names and supplying the masses with the shirts. It was such a meaningful gesture, and knowing that those 265 names were with us at the last meets of the season made it even more so.

On Friday night, when I went to the ITCCCA Awards, I wore the shirt you all gave me because it has been completely obvious for more than a few years that all our recent success was forged on the miles, experiences, hot summer days, and cold snowy winters of all 265 runners. The many coaches, parents, administrators, and athletes have shares in such awards received. 

Your coaches are real people. They are imperfect individuals that strive for the best for each and every boy on the team. While we strive to pull excellence out of our boys, we have equally high standards for ourselves. Not everything was perfect this season. We ALL were met with different adversities. On behalf of my coaching brothers, we sincerely thank you for your patience, your understanding, your flexibility, your efforts to help your sons, and ultimately to do so many different things to make this season epic.

I believe that God puts special people in special places, to do special things. Thank you all for being a huge part of such a tremendous year. If you're still up for celebrating, we are meeting up as one big (current and former) KXC Family on January 31st at 5:30pm, at Schmidt's in Elburn. Please come join us if it fits your schedule. This would be more of a grown up function, but I'll surely see your sons for some conditioning that afternoon.

Thank you for everything. We are truly blessed, at Kaneland.

Yours in running,

Coach Clarey

Kaneland State Championship Recognition Update

There's been many who have reached out to ask questions about the recognition of our team, following the tremendous weekend we just experienced. Please read the following document for an explanation of some of the traditions, omissions, and forthcoming celebration opportunities that will highlight our program's recent achievement.

LINK TO LETTER'

As always, thank you all for your loving support of your team, coaches, and Kaneland.

Your Letter - Our Book

Your Letter – Our Book

We’ve had a tradition for about 12 years… and the coaches are proud to organize a book for the State qualifying runners to read and enjoy on their trip down to Peoria.  It contains information about the meet, a puzzle or two, and most importantly, letters from their families, friends, Kaneland alumni, community members and others who felt inclined to share. 

We solicit these letter attachments to email, offering a chance to share advice, thoughts, quotes and inspiration to ALL of the runners on the team, as well as to Rachel Richtman, our individual qualifier on the girls side.  If you know of anyone who may enjoy the chance to send something along to the team and/or to Rachel, please have them do so.

·      There will be ONE BOOK with letters to both Rachel and the boys team.

Parents:  ALL parents of runners on the State Team should make a two-fold letter.  First, please address your letter to your athlete.  Let them know how proud you are of them.  Write what is in your heart.  They will likely save this book for years to come.  Second, please add another section dedicated to the team/Rachel.  Advice, thoughts, inspiration or otherwise would be appropriate.

Guidelines:  We will be assembling this book on Thursday.  ALL LETTERS TO THE TEAM MUST BE RECEIVED VIA EMAIL ON WEDNESDAY at NOON.  If you do not make the deadline, there will be no guarantee that your letter will be included in the bound edition.  ALL EMAILED LETTERS SHOULD BE SENT TO:  kanelandxc@gmail.com

Letters should be kept to one page in length, if possible (small font). 

As always, we appreciate the support that our extended Kaneland Community provides us.  If you know of someone who would like to offer something to make this book even more special, please pass along the guidelines and details here.

Thank you for your help in making this special KXC tradition a reality.

Address for emailing letters:   kanelandxc@gmail.com