Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
— Psalm 19:4
Conduct which is not in compliance with the Code of Conduct and/or is detrimental to the team by runners or parents may result in the athlete’s dismissal from the program. Fees will not be refunded in the event of dismissal.
Parents
- Encourage and model good sportsmanship at every practice and meet.
- Support the team by volunteering in at least one area.
- Support the coaches and officials.
- Place the physical and emotional well-being of all athletes above any personal desire to win.
- Provide a drug, alcohol, and tobacco free environment during all Trailblazer events.
- Be a role model, not a critic. Do not speak behind others’ backs.
- Arrive on time for practices and meets.
- Make sure your child commits to attending at least two of the three practices per week and
completes a minimum of three runs per week.
Athletes
- Arrive on time for practices and meets ready to listen, learn, and do your best.
- Be respectful of coaches, officials, teammates, and competitors from other teams. Be mindful of including others and avoiding cliques.
- Use appropriate language. Profanity will not be tolerated. If in doubt with a word, please refrain from using it. See Psalm 19:4
- Use your best behavior at all times. We are guests of the locations we practice and race and poor behavior will reflect poorly on our team, our coaches, and homeschooling.
- Please encourage and support your teammates. This means being out on the course (with your group coach) cheering for your teammates. We ask that you remain at meets until all team members have finished.
- Stay with the team during meets. Coaches will be warming up groups of runners. Please stay with your coach- do not leave to use the restroom or to go anywhere else without checking with your coach. Meets can be very chaotic and coaches will not have time to come look for you. All athletes should cool down after races.
- Plan to stay for the entire practice unless you have notified the coach in advance. Athletes needing to leave practices for dual credit classes may do so after first contacting the coach. All other athletes are expected to stay at practice until dismissed by a coach. Core strength and stretching are integral parts of our training and omitting this part of the workout leaves the runner at risk of serious injury.
- Use words that build up and encourage, not ones that tear down. See Ephesians 4:29. Refrain from speaking poorly about any teammate, parent, or official both in front of others or behind their back. Cliques are hurtful and will be discouraged.
- Plan to participate in as many meets as possible. When runners do not come, they let their teammates down. There is a minimum number of runners needed to score for a team. When athletes choose not to participate, it prevents our team from getting a score. Those who practice and race consistently will see the most improvement in times and overall running fitness. These are also the participants who find a fun, welcoming community through cross country. We are selective in choosing our races—ones that will enable our runners to have fun and feel successful against good competition. There is a place for all abilities of runners on our team. Everyone is important!
- Bring a water bottle, towel, and therabands to each practice and meet. Bring extra water to meets especially in hot, humid weather. Bring warm clothing for warm up and cool down. In cool weather, make sure to come and leave in warm clothes to prevent tight muscles.
- Commit to attending practice at least two times per week and running three times a week even if the third time does not happen with the team.