"Common men go nowhere. You have to be uncommon." As we look to hit our stride heading into October, the progressions and workouts have been leading the group toward a great finish to the season. We look to stay focused on US, and make each day important. We can't rely on past success, or dwell on past failures. Instead we need to recognize that both are necessary for our growth as men. Down the stretch, the team needs to fight for each other, doing what is uncommon. We must embrace the role of underdog, and fight for every last guy, putting focus into every drill, every run and every insightful words a coach or teammate shares. Together, or not at all. Talent won't win in October, it will take the power of a loving team, guts and a desire to make it happen. We have the opportunity, but it won't be easy, and nor should it be. What are you guys willing to risk, to sacrifice, or endure in order to make this five weeks a historic 5 weeks for the Hale Program? Stepping Up! Starting things off, it was great to have 7 middle school boys competing! Many of them future Huskies, it was exciting to see them get an opportunity to run on a fantastic course on a beautiful sunny day. They represented well, many brand new to the sport. Just build that love and excitement for THE best sport on the planet. Some guys took on new roles and embraced the opportunity on Saturday. Brennan Kompas has had some incredible workouts and his fitness is at another level. He had struggled to put things together the past couple of weeks in races, but this week he started putting those frustrations behind him. Breaking out as our 3rd man and coming home with an all time best on a wet sloppy course showed more light on where Brennan truly is with his training and progression. He expects to keep moving up, and so do his coaches. With a nice confidence week with great workouts and a solid race, we look forward to seeing Brennan have a breakout October. Our 3-6 guys definitely were a light tighter with a 20 second spread between them. It's cool to see the packs emerging from practice into racing, and it goes to show that the way we practice, whether it be positive or negative, DOES translate to races. This pack, along with Cole who was out ahead as our 2 man Saturday, can really move up if they can come together and believe and trust in their work. If we find a way to go into the final races with complete selflessness and a for the team attitude, we WILL have success. Again, that's a decision you guys must make. Frank Bevsek blew the doors off the first mile and helped get the boys out in the JV race. Following close behind were Nick Burgess and Ethan Fisher through the mile, and both thanked Frank for helping them get out more aggressive, ultimately helping them finish higher. SELFLESSNESS! Frank held on nice, with Ethan Fisher, Alex White, and Nick Burgess progressing nicely to finish as our top 3. Our scoring 5 on the JV side had a 1:02 spread which is a nice improvement. Our 5th man Tony Rodriguez had a huge day moving up throughout the race! This was his first time scoring as a high school athlete, and definitely not his last time! He's been a great leader, and showed it Saturday, responding mid race by moving up and carrying the pack of Robert and Jack along with him. We love guys running together, but it's important also for someone to step up and PUSH that pack forward once past the mile and definitely past halfway. If everyone has that thought process, that pack will roll and pass tons of guys by the finish! No limits with these packs, but again, huge step in the right direction. Now let's see them move up in the next 5 weeks! Joey Elliott got an opportunity to run varsity and we are glad he did. He unfortunately went down early in the race and had to work most of the way to get back in a good position. I was happy though that he took the opportunity with excitement, and he will definitely bounce back in a huge way at Viking in a couple of weeks! Jaylon Alexander bounced back nice from last week. He's had some killer workouts and will keep growing confidence and have a huge breakthrough by the end of this season. Chase Witty was rolling close behind our 5 and 6 guys and is another guy that has huge breakthrough potential. It's been great to see both of these guys improve so much over this season and compared to last season big time! Three Straight Victories We can't take for granted what's happening up front and the fantastic season Joshua is putting together. He had a phenomenal race putting 20 seconds on 2nd place within the last 1k alone. The second place runner is a fantastic runner from Hortonville, and both him and Joshua (along with a great Illinois runner) really put on an impressive battle. Coming through the mile in 4:50, and the 2 mile under 10 minutes and continuing to push shows the strength and power Joshua continues to build through consistency and purpose, along with a great trust. He will continue to enjoy each day and keep a team focus as we head into October with this great group of guys. He and this team have some much bigger moments coming. Article https://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/09/29/hortonville-freedom-stevens-point-runners-lead-way-lourdes-academy-invitational/3809504002/ Video https://twitter.com/jordanjacob91/status/1178339672726134785 Selflessness + Drive > Selfish + Talent We are excited to have the full and healthy squad competing at Viking and we are prepared to fire as a team at the right time. We are very dangerous, and can make this a special finish. But as I said earlier, it's up to each guy to decide what they're willing to do for the team. We must collectively have the same mindset, same determination, and the willingness to embrace discomfort for a bigger purpose than ourselves. Hard work is fun and rewarding. Be the counterculture, be loving, be the best teammates. With that, you'll be the best team. Week 7 It's homecoming week, and with it will bring distractions. Be smart with not getting caught up in what is easy, and always ask yourself, "Is this good for me? Is this going to affect my team?". Have fun, but take care of sleep, homework and bring great focus to practice this week! Bring warm and dry clothes for keeping in your locker!! Monday will be warm, but after that, it appears the cooler air and off and on autumn rains are here. This is what autumn should be, and we love any weather. But we have to be prepared for running in any weather! Even 50's can be quite cold, especially if it's raining. We practice outside, so be prepared AHEAD OF TIME! I say it a lot, but I know someone will not be ready that first really cold/wet day. I'm talking, pack hats, gloves, long sleeves, pants etc. Trust me on it! There is no meet this week. We will put in a great week of training, starting with a bang on Monday!! There will not be a formal meetup this weekend, however, about 10-14 guys will be expected to meet up for a Saturday morning run. Even with no meet, we have something exciting the guys have been looking forward to. Monday is our annual LAKEFRONT RUN! Below here is the official roster of guys running to the lakefront, along with a map. We will drive them to 124th and Howard for the start, and take Howard this year. Some will be staggered, starting a little further up. Guys not on the lakefront list will still practice, but they will be done earlier (around 4:45). Guys going to the lakefront and ON the list, please expect a bit later day for driving back etc. Usually 6:15ish. Lakefront Run Roster Lakefront Route (Some will start closer) This is always a great run, and we will look to make it a nice progressive and powerful run. We will do a nice workout then Wednesday or Thursday this week and mix in some quick work and strength as usual. Prepare for a great week, and bring good intensity.
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