Thursday Reminders

girls at the starting line


Hi Everyone!
After our never ending bus ride yesterday, both the boys' and girls' teams swept the competition at White Clay Creek! Since we were late in arriving, the photographer will come back on another day to take our team and individual pictures.


Tomorrow is the Middletown Invitational held at Lums Pond. Directions to the park can be found below:



http://www.destateparks.com/park/lums-pond/



The cross country course begins and ends in Area 5. Enter the park via the Main Entrance. Continue down the road until the end and bear right. There will be a large parking area. The two white poles are the start of the XC course.



The Varsity runners are listed below. Everyone else will be running in the Junior Varsity races.


Time Schedule:
3:30 girls J.V.
4:00 Boys J.V.
4:30 Girls Varsity: Maeve, Amanda, Allison, Ellen, Alison, Becca, Madeleine
5:00 Boys Varsity: Matt, Chanon, Mike L, Sam, Aidan, Mike S., Bill

Finally, there was a great article in yesterday's sports section about long time cross country coach, Joe O'Neill from St. Marks. Joe passed away this spring after battling cancer. An excerpt from the article is below. I believe it sums up what make XC such a unique sport:

A camaraderie exists between competitors and opposing teams in cross country that no other sport has. It is born of a shared understanding of the physical and mental anguish required to excel, and the tremendous satisfaction one draws from enduring those tests and making even modest improvements. When it comes right down to it, each distance runner is only truly competing against himself or herself, attempting to wring every drop of endurance left, when it seems there is none left.

You can read the entire article below:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090923/SPORTS11/909230320/1032/Runners-honor-legacy-left-by-iconic-cross-country-coach

EARLY DISMISSAL UPDATE

There is a change to the dismissal times that I posted yesterday:

Wednesday the bus is leaving at 2:30PM. Athletes must hustle out to the bus after dismissal. If you don't think you have time to change and make the bus, then plan on changing at the park.

Friday the bus leaves at 1:15PM with a1:00PM dismissal.

Please read yesterday's blog entry for the rest of the schedule.

Take care!

Coach Flanagan :)

Week of September 21-September 27th

Hi Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather we had the weekend! Hopefully, there are more days like that ahead!

Our schedule for this week is below:

Monday 9/21: Brandywine Creek

Tuesday 9/22: SCHOOL

Wednesday 9/23 : Meet with Delcastle & Glasgow at White Clay

Bus leaves BHS at 1PM. If there are any parents driving their children to the meet that day, please email me if you are able to give any other students a ride. pooh1932@comcast.net There are a few runners who wanted to stay in last period and would like a ride to the park after school. The meet starts at 3:30 PM.

Thursday 9/24: School

Friday 9/25: Middletown Invitational at Lums Pond

Bus leaves BHS at 1PM

Time schedule for meet is below:

3:30: Girls' Junior Varsity

4:00: Boys' Junior Varsity

4:30: Girls' Varsity

5:00: Boys' Varsity

Saturday 9/26: Distance on Own :)

Sunday 9/27: LONG Run on Own :)

Bulldog Notes:

Congratulations to Allison Lofland & Sam Young for winning our first Bulldogs of the Week. Allison ran a LIFETIME PR in our meet against A.I & Christinia. She was our #3 runner and placed 6th overall in the race. Sam dropped over 2 minutes in that same meet to grab 8th place overall.

We hope to see you out at the races this week! Go Dogs!

Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. ~A.C. Green

One Down...Thirteen to Go!

Our youngest bulldogs before the Freshmen race :)

Hi Everyone!

We had a great time at the Viking Invitational yesterday! Lots of bulldogs walked away with medals and the boys placed FIRST overall while the girls grabbed third! Thanks to Coach Rivera for picking up the scoring error! The boys were originally listed as 2nd :)

This week's schedule is below:

Wednesday 9/16: Another Trip to White Clay! The bulldogs go against A.I. duPont & Christinia. Boys at 3:30....Girls at 3:40. 12:45 Dismissal. Bus leaves BHS at 1:00! Coach Rivera has put a call into District Office to see if we can get a later bus for our future meets to White Clay or Lums. We'll keep you posted.

Thursday 9/17: Practice at Belleuve

Friday 9/18: Practice at Bellevue

Saturday 9/19: 8AM practice at Brandywine Creek State Park. Practice will be over by 10 AM :) What a great way to start your Saturday!!!!

Bulldog notes:

**Please send all $$ for boosters, New York, or clothing in an envelope with your child's name on the front :) Some loose money has been getting lost in bookbags.

**It was great seeing so many parents and grandparents at yesterday's meet! Thanks to the Colemans for bringing oranges and pretzels to snack on!

Brandywine Cross Country 2009

Hi everyone,

Until the website is up and running, we are going to use the Blog to keep you updated on any schedule changes and announcements.

Please bookmark this site and check it periodically for changes :)

****Today's Viking Invitational has been postponed until Monday September 14th. They are following the same schedule:

2:00- Course walk. Please clear the racecourse by 2:45
2:45- Coaches meeting in the pavilion. Please pickup team packet upon arrival
3:00- Freshman Boys & Girls
3:30- Sophomore Boys & Girls
4:10- Junior Boys & Girls
4:50- Senior Boys & Girls
5:30- Awards

****Tuesdays at School*****

We have decided to have practice at SCHOOL on Tuesdays. This will give the kids a break from catching the bus and allow them to finish practice early once a week. There is only one exception to this change. On Tuesday October 27th, we will be practicing at Bellevue.

****Other Reminders****

Money and permission slips for the Manhattan Invitational are due ASAP.

Last Call for T-Shirt/Sweats Orders. Please email me before Sunday with any last minute orders: pooh1932@comcast.net

All athletes are encouraged to jog lightly and stretch this weekend! We are looking forward to everyone's season debut on Monday!

Enjoy the Weekend!

Coach Flanagan :)

The Best Is Yet To Come

Mambu Baddu

In Kenya, when the local papers are scanned on a Monday morning at the training camps and the athletes smile over seemingly endless lists of Kenyan victories, they often would say, "Ah, Mambu Baddu Bwana!" Meaning, "This is good, yes, but the best is yet to come, Mister." There is a surety that stands above conviction in that land, that their landsmen will sweep each and every race, with a faster performance coming at will. (from The Kenyan Way)

Complacent:
Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned: He had become complacent after years of success.

As a competitive runner, this is ONE thing you do not want to be. Complacency indicates an “oh well” attitude….it means you no longer have that fire burning….that edge that puts you ABOVE other runners. The will to win….to compete….to push yourself further than you’ve been before…that is something that you do not want to lose!

Your years as a competitive runner are something to be cherished! Putting on that uniform….lacing up those spikes….lining up with your competitors side by side in battle. I still have dreams of running competitively. I loved the feeling I would get rounding that last turn with the finish line in sight….my parents cheering….my coach yelling….my teammates urging me on. The days I left the cross country course knowing I could not have gone any faster….they have become my very best running memories.

So my advice to you is this: Make the MOST of these next two weeks….The County Championships…The State Championships. Do not let any doubt enter your mind! Instead, let all the hard work you have put in this season shine through in our last two meets.

No Regrets! Leave it ALL on the course!

Mambu Baddu my bulldogs….Mambu Baddu!

Quotes and Commentary

"People say that racing is 90 percent mental and I would agree with that. It takes time to accept the responsibility of putting your body through agony for the good of your fellow teammates. Sometimes it takes a race like the one at Notre Dame to stir that fire in your legs and soul, so you can make the hurt of racing work for you."
Ashley Higginson



I know many of you were disappointed after the Bellevue Invitational. Some of you settled in when the gun went off and never RACED. Others lost that fire letting ten people pass you in the last mile of the race. Still others were overwhelmed. It's time to put that race behind you and look toward Conferences. Think about what went WRONG at Bellevue and make it RIGHT on Friday!


"God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe. Believe. Believe." Billy Mills

You need to BELIEVE that you are capable of running faster times. There is so much un-tapped potential on this team. Many of you still have that BIG RACE inside you....waiting to break free! We have some All Conference, All County, and All State runners on this team. You need to BELIEVE in yourself to reach your goals.


"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts. PRE

Try picking up the pace INSTEAD of slowing down during a race. It takes GUTS but you will feel BETTER and you will run BETTER! Never settle. Never give up.


"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." PRE

You owe it to yourself and your teammates to give your BEST in EVERY race! Leave it ALL on the course!


"We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. And hope does not disappoint. "
Romans, 5:3-5

Rejoice when you are racing! Be a positive force on your team! Channel all that nervous energy and make it work for you!


Mambu Baddu, Bulldogs!
The Best is Yet to Come!