FAQs

Welcome to the 2008 Pioneer Men’s Cross Country season!   The following is information the team parents hope you will find helpful - including some stuff it took us a couple of years to figure out.  

Our coach is Don Sleeman       sleeman@aaps.k12.mi.us

Practices:

Training runs with the team captains during the summer help you stay in shape - meet at Pioneer at 8:00 am

August:  Every morning Mon - Sat at 8:30 a.m.  Also afternoon practice on M, T, Thu at 6 p.m.

Time Trials:   Saturday of Labor Day weekend, arrive 8:30, race the Alumni at 9:30 a.m.
Once School Starts:  3:45 p.m.- 5:30 or 6 p.m., M-F
School policy requires that athletes attend 90% of the events, including practices in order to be considered on the team.  Missing practice can affect a runner’s participation in a meet.  Runners should e-mail Coach Sleeman before practice time if they are going to be absent.
Bring water to practice and make sure your stuff is locked up – either in your locker or in Coach Sleeman’s office.  
Meets:

Almost every Saturday through October.  Saturday meets often take most of the day.

Conference Jamboree races are during the week on school day afternoons.  Runners will be excused from classes if necessary.
The team will take buses to and from all meets.  All team members are expected to ride on the bus both ways.  Parents are encouraged to come in their own cars to watch.
Buses usually leave from the flagpole at Pioneer.  On Michigan home football game Saturdays, the buses will leave from the front entrance of Lawton Elementary School on S. 7th Street.
Usually one 7-runner squad represents PIoneer in the Varsity race and all others run JV.  (At some large meets, Pioneer may enter both an A and a "B" squad; each squad is scored separately).  Which runners are chosen to run Varsity at any given race depends on recent practice & race performances.

Parents are needed to arrive early at meets to set up tents and/or ground covers for the runners to eat/sleep/rest/stretch on during the meet, particularly in inclement weather.

During races, spectators scramble to find good locations to cheer for all the Pioneer Varsity & JV runners.  Depending on course design, it is easy to see both the start and finish of the races, usually possible to find 1 or 2 other vantage points along the way - and if the course loops around, you'll get more photo opportunities.  Watch carefully, though, so you don't get trampled or get in the way of a runner.  Before, between & after races, parents typically gather at the team's "campsite"  (look for a purple tent with a droopy roof).  Wear purple or "Pioneer" clothing if possible - it helps other parents find the group and get acquainted.  Invest in rain & wind-proof parent-clothing, because rainy, cold or windy days are a definite possibility during the fall season.

Directions to the meets are usually sent by e-mail and are also on the team website.  Use the "team" directions, NOT the ones found on the Pioneer Athletics site - those are sometimes directions to high schools and not necessarily the cross country course locations!
Race Distance and Scoring:
Races are 5 kilometers (3.1 miles).
In the Varsity race, the first five runners on each team score for the team.
Runners score 1 point for their place; i.e., 1 point for first place; 2 points for second place, 3 points for third place, and so on.
Therefore, the team with the lowest score wins the meet.  
JV races are not always scored, but, if they are, the same concept applies.
FOOD AND DRINK:

Pioneer Men's Cross Country is extremely fortunate to have information on both nutrition and hydration for runners prepared especially for the team this year by Kaitlyn Gwyther (a 2008 MPH Candidate in Human Nutrition/Dietetics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health).  Thank you Kaitlyn!   (Hard-copy of this information was handed out at practice.)  If you'd like to learn more about sports nutrition in general, "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook", now in its third edition, is another book recommeded by local nutrition professionals.

At the Meet:  Runners should always bring their own water and light snacks, like Cliff Bars, etc.  Parents will supply some food at the meet.  (Parents will have the opportunity to sign up to bring water and snacks to the meet at the pre-season parents' meeting.)  Recommended foods to bring are bagels (sliced in half), bananas (ditto), oranges (ditto), apples, and granola bars.  Athletic performance drinks are OK (Gatorade, etc).  Water is better.  (In hot weather, cold drinks are much appreciated.)  Do not bring soda pop!

INJURIES:
Always tell Coach Sleeman if you are injured.  Coach can help you determine whether you can run through it or if you need to sit out.  Trainers and other forms of training are available.   It’s better to take a week off than to aggravate the injury and be out the rest of the season.
UNIFORMS AND CLOTHING:
Coach will issue the runners uniforms before the first meet.  Uniforms include singlet, shorts, and warm-up pants & jackets.  Uniforms & spikes are only for meets. 
Uniforms are free unless the runner doesn’t return all of it at the end of the season or ruins parts of it.  
 For practices, runners should wear running shoes (no spikes) and running clothes appropriate for the weather.
In cold weather, layers of close fitting, breathable clothing (such as "Under Armour") might be added for warmth.  For races, under shirts should be white and without visible logos.  Under shorts are generally black for cross country - the mud stains don't show so badly.
It is sometimes cold and wet, so make sure to bring a change of clothes, especially socks, and a warm jacket or hoodie.  The team runs in all kinds of weather.  Only lightning or tornadoes will interrupt a meet or a practice.  
You can get practice shoes and spikes at sporting goods stores: both Running Fit and Tortoise and Hare  give discounts if you mention you are on the Pioneer team.  Coach Sleeman will set up a special team shopping night with one of the running stores.
Spikes are 3/8 inch for normal conditions.  When it is raining and muddy or sloppy, consider 1/2-in spikes.  
TEAM T-SHIRTS, ETC.
As soon as they can get it organized, the team captains will send out order forms for t-shirts, hats, pants, and whatever.  These are a great way to support the team and identify yourself as a runner or parent. 

THE ROAD TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP:

Pioneer is in the Red Division of the Southeast Conference.  So are Saline, Bedford and Ann Arbor Huron.  Schools in the White Division are Dexter, Chelsea, Lincoln and Tecumseh.  Winning the Conference is good, but our Regional assignment is unrelated to our conference.  Our Regional race is for all of the Division 1 teams in region 5-1, (southeast lower Michigan), and also includes Ann Arbor Huron, Belleville, Woodhaven, Dearborn-Edsel Ford, Lincoln Park, Monroe, Romulus, Saline, Southgate Anderson, Taylor-Kennedy, Bedford, Wayne Memorial, Wyandotte-Roosevelt and Ypsi-Lincoln.  Generally, the top 3 teams from Regionals go on to the State Finals.  The individual medalists go to the State Meet, regardless of how their team did.  The State Meet is always the first Saturday in November and is held at the Michigan International Speedway..  If you want to know more, try the MHSAA's website: http://www.mhsaa.com/sports/bxc/07reg.html

WEBSITE:

The team's website is currently maintained by Kathy Culbertson.  It posts all team announcements, and also post meet results & times and race commentary after every meet (and sometimes photos)   Check it out and bookmark the site right away - tell your friends and relatives, too!     http://www.pioneercrosscountry.com

PICTURES AND MEMORY BOOK:
A Memory Book will be made for each runner.  Parents are encouraged to submit photographs of the season.  A team picture will be taken at the first meet of the season.  For several seasons, one of our team parents was a professional photographer - we would love to find an avid camera buff to take his place.  If anyone has special talent with desktop publishing, is willing to take photographs, or is interested in helping, please contact one of the team captain’s parents.  
BANQUET:
There will be an end of season banquet in November.  These are always fun, with a detailed recap by Coach Sleeman, letters, pins, certificates, and peer awards.  Parents will be asked to bring food and help with set up and clean up.   
SUGGESTED DONATION:
The cost of the decorations and utensils for the Banquet and the materials and printing of the Memory Book, plus the coaches’ gifts, come to about $50.00 per runner.  Fundraising and contributions over that amount go to the other items on the list (see below).  The Athletic Benefit Fee that you paid at the Athletic Office does not go to the team.  Please make your checks out to Friends of Men’s Track and Cross Country
FUNDRAISING:
Cross country is a relatively inexpensive activity for athletes, as school sports go, but there are expenses.  Unlike most sports, there are no admission fees that go to the team, no concessions or other opportunities to raise funds to support the team.  The team needs to replace uniforms and equipment, pay for entry fees and transportation the school doesn’t pay for, post-season competition, expenses for the State Championship meet, clinic fees for assistant coaches, supplies, and batteries for the stop watches.  New tents for the runners are a possibility this year, if the funds are there.  Parent Yolanda Whiten is the guru of fundraising.  She does a great job, and she can always use help.  
Team Communications:
Coach Sleeman provides most information about meets and team events through e-mail.  If you are not currently receiving these e-mails, please contact Coach at sleeman@aaps.k12.mi.us
QUESTIONS?  Please feel free to contact any of the captains or their parents if you have questions now or throughout the season.

 

2008 Captains' Parents:
Kathy Culbertson
Bil Culbertson
Ali Ogilvie
Tim Wallington
2007 Captains:
Dan Culbertson - 677-4132    
David Wallington 972-7683

 
updated June 3, 2008