This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Chantilly High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Chantilly High School.

After being cancelled from its original date of last Saturday, September 6th, the Monroe Parker Invitational has been rescheduled for Tuesday, September 16th. The roster will be named after Saturday's Lee-Davis Invitaitonal. There will be only varsity races, with 10 runners per team.  The teams will consist of the top 7 runners from Lee-Davis, plus the next 3 fastest runners from the original Monroe Parker Lineup, who are not otherwise on the Lee Davis top 7. Those runners who do not run Monroe Parker will still be able to compete, at Burke Lake, on Wednesday, September 17th, in the regularly scheduled tri meet.

The schedule for Tuesday will include:

• 2:30 pm- Depart from CHS (all competitors, plus anyone else who wishes to watch the meet/do their workout at Burke Lake)
• 4:30 pm- Boys Varsity
• 5:10 pm- Girls Varsity
• 6:00 pm- Awards
• 6:30 pm- Must be out of Burke Lake Park (Back to School night starts)

We look forward to competing against the region's best and hope to see continued strong parental and community support.

Pre-Season Sign-up Information

Welcome to the 2008 Chantilly Charger Cross Country Team. I am happy to have you, and applaud your decision to join, complete with the enthusiasm and commitment towards individual improvement, and towards team contributions. This is a sport which tests the body and mind, and which combines such individual efforts into a solid team and communal goal.

There is a lot to absorb at the beginning of the season, and a lot of information that you need to digest. I must stress that this applies equally to the returning veterans as it does to the rising freshman or CHS newcomer. It is my expectation that you read everything carefully, and that you ask questions promptly, when something is unclear. It is important that everyone is on the same page from the get go…this is how strong teams are built.

Administratively, there are a few steps you need to undertake ASAP.

1) Provide me with your personal data for my database. In an effort to conserve paper this year, this will be done electronically, below. Fill this out completely. It will provide me with all of the personal info I will need to enter you in our database, register in eTraXc.com, and put you on our roster.

Cross Country Athlete Info (go to link on http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccannouncements.html)

2) Below,please have your parent fill out the link labeled: Cross Country Parent Info. This will give me emergency contact info, and an email address which will allow us to keep you informed regularly.

Cross Country Parent Info (http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccannouncements.html)

3) Within a day or so of receiving your profile info, I will register you in our new Team Management website, www.eTraXC.com. You will receive a user name and PIN number.( For those who ran in past years, this will be taking the place of Blackboard. Take a few minutes when you receive your info to sign on, and poke around on the site. You will be expected to use it regularly (daily, or at least several times a week) to log in your workouts in the Training Module. There will also be a blog function for teammates to contact one another for chat purposes (pertaining to cross country). Lastly, as people are entered into the program, I, or any other member, will be able to send out emails to the team. I will use this for announcements or reminders; team members may prefer to use this to perhaps arrange locations/times for practices, or other team gatherings. NOTE: I will be tracking your training through this, so be diligent in logging in, and be honest and complete. This is very important. I expect it to be used, starting on June 9th.

4) Make plans to get a VHSL Physical TODAY!!!!! Do NOT wait until August to get one, as you will not be allowed to practice, starting August 5th, without one. You must use the proper form, which can be found on our team page (again at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccforms.html). Simply download it and print. Please note that I have no flexibility on this; make sure that ALL signatures are completed, and that insurance information is given. If you do not have insurance, see me ASAP. There is inexpensive student insurance available through the school, but it needs to be done in advance.

5) I am requesting the following forms submitted to me at Chantilly HS NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, JUNE 3RD. They can all be downloaded from our team website. -

Emergency Care Card - Spirit Pack Form w/ Check- You will need, at minimum, to purchase the following items:

i. Team T-Shirt (to be worn at meets)

ii. Team Polo Shirt (same as last years…you do not need a new one)

iii. Jersey (This is new…everyone needs one

iv. Shorts (Boys) or Briefs/BoyShorts (Girls- you may get either design)

Please note that we are having new uniforms this year, and are not using the one’s from last year (or since 2002). We will use these for track as well, but with my apologies to last year’s freshmen who just bought their’s, this is a requirement. We will NOT be getting new ones for at least 3 more years.

For those who are consider warmups, they are also new: a purple jacket and black wind pants. These are not required, but teams that dress alike at meets display a sense of unity, both in appearance and in purpose, and thus it is encouraged.

- Physical Form (if Applicable) - Complete both the Athlete Info and Parent Info surveys online. (Do not need to turn in any forms with this).

- Camp Forms(Permission Slip and Luggage Check (Check is preferred now, but if finances are an issue, let me know). Camp is an expectation, although not a requirement. It is VERY important to attend. The first 60 to sign up will attend.

6) Please give consideration to attending Blue Ridge Running Camp in late July. While this is more heavily stressed towards the veteran runner, it can also be beneficial to the novice, as well. The only thing I will stress, though, is that you go in shape. There are other camps out there; this is the one I am personally familiar with, and personally endorse. It is not imperative, as our team camp is, but still recommended. Varsity level runners are STRONGLY encouraged to attend.

7) Purchase a GOOD pair of RUNNING shoes. These should be a pair of shoes that are just for training, and not for everyday wear. These should not be basketball shoes, tennis shoes, or cross trainers. I recommend going to a running specialty store, such as VA Runner, Metro Run & Walk, Footsteps of Reston or Potomac River Running. Each of these stores are owned and managed by runners, and offer discounts for HS athletes. Moreover, they will help fit you with a shoe that is appropriate for your feet.

8) Keep track of all announcements/info by checking our team website (www.chargercctrack.com) regularly. It will be undergoing an overhaul this summer, which should help it be more user-friendly, as well having more info for the user.

9) Please study your workout schedule carefully, and start training. Starting is always the hardest part. Select the appropriate group, contact your teammates, and start running.

10) Please DO NOT HESITATE to email me if you have ANY questions of any sort. Your summer training is key to your seasonal success, and it is my job, and my pleasure, to help you adjust as necessary, especially if you are new. My email address is MTGilchrst@aol.com. Please use it whenever necessary.

Instruction on Using eTraXC.com

This summer we will be using a new website to track our training, communicate with team members, and post announcements. This will be in addition to our normal team website, www.chargercctrack. Our team management site will be at www.eTraXC.com. (This replaces our Blackboard site from seasons past.)

You are expected to use this regularly. As such, you will need to get on it ASAP, to get used to it. I will be checking them regularly to see who is using it to log in your training, etc. If I don’t see evidence of training, I am assuming you are not. This can easily be part of your workout routine; use it and get used to it, and you may astound yourself how much work you have gotten done this summer.

STEPS 1) Complete your profile. I will be putting everyone’s name into the roster ASAP, along with your email address. You will be sent an introductory email when this is done, with a private PIN number that you will use for log-in purposes. When you first log-in, go to the ROSTER function, click on your name, and update your profile completely. This should be private information that only and I (as administrator) can see.

2) COMMUNICATIONS- You may wish to use this to send emails to your teammates. You may not have direct access to their emails, but you can send out individual or group emails through this platform. This will be especially good to use if you are planning on running together, or organizing practices/social functions over the summer. I will also be posting a weekly blog forum, which I will expect you to log on to at least once a week. Talk about how your training is going….is it good/bad, are you getting stronger, dealing with injuries, improving on hills, or getting used to distance, etc. This is a requirement.

3) TRAINING- This is one of the most important functions of this, and is an absolute REQUIREMENT of ALL athletes to use. This will allow me to assess your training. When you click on the TRAINING button, you will go to the Training Log function. Each day, you need to enter data for what you did that day. Be as detailed as possible. Include how long/far you ran, comments about the nature of the workout, including weather, type of workout (ie: hills, easy, tempo, etc); if pertinent, who you ran with, and definitely notes on how you felt. If you cross trained (bike, swim, etc), add that either as well, or instead. Include your weights or supplementals. If you are injured, or hurting, list that as well. Please understand that this log is both for your benefit and for mine. It is important for me to assess the type of work you are doing, and if you are training properly. I will be able to get a sense of the preparedness of the team, when I see the work being done. As runners, it is important for you to get a gauge of what you are doing. If you are running everyday and feeling good (or bad), it is good to know why. If you have not been running, that becomes evident too, when you look at the training log summary and see a lot of empty blocks. Use this as a motivating tool to for yourself into running when you might otherwise not want to. In addition, there are individual and team summaries, so you can not only see what you are doing, but also how the rest of the team is working. Supporting one another in a positive manner is crucial to team success.

4) Other Functions- Take a few minutes to play around with this site. I will continue updating it regularly over the summer with announcements when pertinent. I intend to put your workout schedule into the training module. I will concede that this is new to me as well, so I am still learning about the range of possibilities, but I do intend to make this an integral part of our team management.

We will hold our seasonal tryouts on August 5th, 2008. You MUST be present to tryout. Failure to show may result in not running this fall. If you are going to be absent on August 5th, you must notify Dr. Gilchrist NO LATER THAN AUGUST 5th, AND HAVE IT EXCUSED. (ie: Family Vacation may be excused; work schedule may not be excused). In the event of an excused absence, a make up tryout may be scheduled at Dr. Gilchrist's EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY.

The tryouts will be held on our two-mile course at Lees Corner Elementary. The tryout standards are as follows:

Boys: Freshman - 16:00; Upperclassmen: 15:00

Girls: Freshman- 19:00; Upperclassmen: 18:00

The course will be previewed during the July 2nd Captains Practice. In addition, a PRACTICE time trial will be conducted on the course on Friday, July 18th. (Please note: any time run on this course prior to August 5th will NOT count towards the tryouts).

Athletes who do not meet the standards on August 5th will be placed on a probationary period. They must meet the standard by a second time trial, which will be scheduled for Friday, August 15th. Any athlete who does not meet the standard by this date will not be on the team. Any money paid for camp will be returned to them, although spirit pack fees are non-refundable.

Freshmen who go through the tryout process will be kept on the team, providing they fulfill all other practice/team expectations. They will still be placed on a probationary period, however, until the standard is met. In this time, they will not be permitted to compete in any races (scrimmage or regular season), so that they may demonstrate a minimal level of fitness which would suggest that they may be "race-ready".

NOTE: Within the coaches discretion, a veterans/upperclassman "probationary period" may be extended, if it the time is not met due to injury or illness, rather than a pure lack of fitness. Such medical issues may require documentation by the doctor as requested.