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Tuesday, November 24
Hi there long time no talk. I hope everyone is doing well and not going too crazy while home on Remote. I'd like to start posting workouts for the rest of the winter off season beginning next Monday whether we are back in school or not. Winter sports will still be a week away from their potential first day of practice so that will at least let you be a little active before all of that gets going. Assuming we are in school next Monday if you want to run from school after classes that would be great. Then you have me and each other to keep you accountable for doing something. If we are still in Remote, which there is a chance we may be, we can meet up at Gibson or somewhere and go from there. We should know by tomorrow what we will be doing for school. Until then just try to get out and get some miles in at least three or four times a week, there's no sense in losing all the fitness you have already put in the bank. For those of you that are swimming this winter I posted a proposed schedule of meets, they are both virtual and actual in person, above on a button. This is not set in stone yet as there are lots of issues to address in order to keep everyone safe. There is talk about moving the state meet to our pool because U of M wants to charge Missoula too much to use the pool. More on that later, but at least the schedule will allow you to get an idea of what is in the works. Finally, on note on scholarships for seniors. Leia Ross and her family started up a scholarship last spring that will be given away for the first time this fall, it is called appropriately enough the Ross Cross Country Scholarship. The counselors kind of missed this one and it wasn't originally listed with all the other scholarships because the way it is chosen is different than the regular foundation scholarships, so you will need to do things a little different. I have some information about how to apply listed above on a button. Do not wait on this one because it is due on December 4th. If you have questions give me or your counselor a call. But this is a great deal for all senior cross country runners because one of you will win this, as we are the only ones that are eligible, so make sure you get your application in. So keep an eye out for Reminds as to our plan for Monday, whether it be here at school or of site meeting somewhere else. Until then be safe and take care of yourself and your family. Have a great Thanksgiving. Sting Monday, October 26 First of all let me apologize to everyone for all the headache and heartache that occurred on Saturday morning. The day which started out with so many emotions and potential stories became way more hectic and stressed than it should have been. To those team members that stayed on the bus no words can describe the anguish that you must have felt by not making the rest of the trip. I am truly sorry we could not all have made it to Kalispell and finished the season together. I owe a lot of you many thanks for the patience and trust you had in us on Saturday morning. Parents you had some hard decisions to make and I respect the choices that each of you made with your child's best interests in mind. I assure you if we thought the situation was unsafe we would not have allowed anyone to leave the bus and travel as we did. That being said I would also like to thank all the administrators we had on both Coach Gregier from CMR and my phones that morning. We were in contact with Mr. Henneberg, Mr Habel, Mr. Parsons from CMR, and Mrs. Hoyer, thay all worked with us to come up with a way to bend some rules quite a bit to allow athletes from both schools to travel and compete in Kalispell. A special thanks goes out to Tiffany Fox-Sunchild , Mac's Mom, and the now patron saint of stranded runners for being our team bus from Conrad to Kalispell and then back home. A final transportation thanks goes out to Andrew Denegar from CMR, and his parents Jackie and Cory who transported me at the last minute to Kalispell. Finally, thanks to Coaches LeBrun and Heryla for getting the kids and the bus back to school without incident. I now need to clarify a few points and stand up for Mr. Henneberg a bit. He really does not hate us, or cross country as some e-mails he got on Monday may have suggested. I had originally made room reservations for us last year after our state meet. I held onto them until after the crosstown meet before I released them. It was decided at that point that because of the two day state meet format with us running late on Saturday we would be able to travel in the morning on the day of the meet. Thus allowing our kids to sleep in their own beds and miss a lot of potential exposure to COVID. The finance end of it was not even considered. I guess in a normal year this would have been fine, but we forgot it is still 2020 and anything can and usually does happen. When the weather started going bad Mr. Henneberg did ask Coach Gregier and I if we wanted to go on Friday. At that point we consulted the National Weather Service and Big Sky Bus, and knew it would probably be bad traveling to Shelby, and then after that the roads would open up a bit and it would get better, which they did. Those assurances and the fact at that point we no longer had rooms, we would have to figure out how to feed forty kids three more meals without being able to go into a restaurant: additionally leaving on Friday would have had us driving right into the storm that dropped 12 inches of snow on us that afternoon and evening. It was a sort of damned if you do or damned if you don't situation. Coach Gregier and I both agreed at that point traveling early on Saturday would still be our best bet. I still think at that point on Thursday when we had to make a decision it was the best choice. Unfortunately, I don't think the driver had the same dedication that our runners did to get the job done that day. But on a bus the driver is captain on the bus and we really don't have much of an option if he says he's not going to drive any further because he doesn't think it's safe. We have to abide by his wishes, and we did. Enough said there. To dispel a few rumors that seem to be floating around out there. There were no calls or emails by either the MHSA or the AD from Kalispell telling everyone to get to Kalispell ASAP because of the storms imminent approach. If anything they didn't want anyone there any sooner than they had to be because of COVID and proper social distancing. At this point I feel like I'm beating a dead horse. If you want to be mad at anyone you should include me in your email, I will plead guilty , whether it was a bad choice to leave on Saturday morning or not, I think it should have been he correct choice. When we had to make a decision on Thursday afternoon, leaving Friday was just not a viable alternative. In closing I have to say that I was extremely proud of how all of our kids, but particularly our five boys, reacted to the entire situation. They were obviously anxious and upset when the bus turned around but everyone kept their composure and we figured out a way to get a team there, not the entire team, but enough to score. They were riding an emotional roller coaster on Saturday, and while they may not have run as well as they would have preferred they ran well enough to take 5th place, which is an achievement that they should be proud of. Thanks, Sting Saturday, Oct 17 Just a couple of things to pass along for today. First of all I hope you all ate big plates of pasta today, in celebration of National Pasta Day. Second a couple of you asked about whether or not you can still order photos. Yes, you can still order photos, hit the photo Information button above and follow the trail to the link. However, you do need to hurry because she is only taking orders until the 30th. Also congratulations to those of you that qualified for the state team. There is a list above with all the state information so check it out. Also something kind of cool to check out, since we won't be able to walk much of the course there is a link above to a virtual tour of the course. That will give you a pretty good idea of what the course looks like. You should check it out, and follow along with a printed copy of the course map so you have a better idea of what to expect of the course on Saturday. Maybe we can all watch together one day at practice since I have seen the old version of the course before, and it is not that much different from the 2020 edition I can let you know what to expect. I think that's all I have for now. Have a great evening , stay safe and I'll see you soon. Take care, Sting. Friday, Oct 16 Good run today , the T Shirt run is always a great way to start wrapping up the season. One more serious week and then we are off to state. Thanks to the Haslem family for the yummy doughnuts after the run today. Thanks also to everyone who stuck around after practice and got their weight workout in for the week moving all the course cones and equipment back to the shed. Your help saved me hours of work. Posters and hats should be here on Monday, and for those new runners that did not get their vests or jackets, make sure to pick them up on Monday. Be safe this weekend, wear those masks, wash those hands and limit your contact with others. I know that is tough, but it's just one more week. I have listed all sorts of information for state above. The race is held at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell which is a world class equestrian center with lots of wide open space, which is especially for this crazy COVID year. I will put an itinerary up after I get to talk with Coach Gregier from CMR. We will be leaving on Saturday morning probably around 7:30 AM and will probably be back around 10:30 PM on Saturday. The plan will be to get Pizza or something after the race delivered if possible, eat and head for home. I will have the state team posted up on Monday morning in the window. Those of you that use an asthma nebulizer make sure you get a copy of your prescription , and Chloe I need a Doctors note for your Daith piercing. For tomorrow, Saturday, make sure you get in a run. It would be good to get in some hills as there is one that you will hit twice in Kalispell. Probably six miles max for your distance. Not too hard other than some hills. Make a call and get together with a team mate and share the fun. Have a great weekend, and make sure to celebrate National Pasta Day tomorrow. Take Care, Sting Monday, Oct 12 Happy National Kick Butt Day, save that thought for Wednesday. This note is especially important for parents of our Senior Runners. Wednesday's Crosstown meet is also our Senior Recognition Day and we would like you at Anaconda Hills Golf Course by 3:30 to escort and be introduced with your student/athlete. This should be a cool, windy day full of great competition. Anything can and usually does happen at this meet. It's always close even when it should be a blow out, and I'm sure Wednesday will serve up some great competition. When you come please use the club house parking lot to the North of the driving range. All the important information pertaining to the meet is listed above on buttons. As always we could use a little help out on the course so if you are available to help from about 3:30 to 5:30 it would be greatly appreciated. Please call or text me at 590-1094 and let me know if you can help us out. One final big push for those truck ticket sales. All tickets need to be turned in next week probably on Wednesday so sell , sell , sell. I believe we are going to have a selling opportunity this week at Universal Athletics on Saturday. I will pass more information along as I have it. Also I will begin to post state meet information on the site tonight, so be on the look out for that. If you are planning on staying over night in Kalispell please call the Spring Hill Suites ( Info listed below). We were going to stay there so they have some extra rooms available, and it is very close to the race course. You don't have to ask for Britta but in case you need a name to get you a room it may help. BRITTA B. JOY ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER SpringHill Suites Kalispell 250 Old Reserve Drive/ Kalispell, MT 59901 T 406.314.6600 F 406.314.6611 Take Care, Sting Thursday, Sept 24 Whoop, Whoop ! It's the day before our home invitational. Parents when you arrive please sign in at the tables at the driving range entrances. Parents if you can help with the meet tomorrow that would be great. If you are helping all day we could use you there by 11 AM. CMR will run in the first quad and they never supply many helpers. If you want to be generous and help them that's great. If not that's o.k. too. Our portion of the meet starts at 3:30 with the boys varsity running first. We would need you there by 2:30. I will probably be in the driving range area, but if you don't see me just call my cell 590-1094. We will probably have you out on the course somewhere. You will be able to see your kids multiple times. Please text me and let me know you can help if you have not done that already. Thanks in advance, because tomorrow will be crazy and I'll be scrambling and might not be able to tell you how much your help is appreciated. Saturday, Sept 19 ARRRGH ! Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I just wanted to say great job yesterday. You all competed very well. To see how well you actually did look at runners from West and Bozeman and see how your times compared from last week to this week. I think we came out very favorably. Probably Jessica and Chloe also set PR's for a 5.6 kilometer race by going a little bit longer. Oh well, lessons learned. We move on to this week at home on the hills of Anaconda. I will post meet information later today and tomorrow. I'll also try to get points updated and posted on the web site. Remember use the site, it is a wealth of information about everything that concerns you for the season. Tomorrow (Sunday) if you are free at 10 AM please meet me and Coach Gregor from CMR at the stadium to help load up cones, flags, and stakes up to Anaconda for Friday. It won't take long and the more help we have the quicker it will go. We will load up at the stadium, drive to Anaconda and then unload up there and be done. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you have a truck to drive even better. On a final COVID note, you probably all know by now the entire Varsity and JV volleyball team is out with contact. That is as fast as it will happen, one day you are at practice the next you are home twiddling your thumbs for two weeks. I do not want that to be us. Please, please, please take this seriously. Wear your mask, wash your hands, and try to distance yourself from others in school as much as you possibly can. We are running well as a team right now I want that to continue. If you haven't realized it yet the boy's team is doing quite well right now I want that to continue. I want all of our Senior athletes to be able to finish this season on a high note. For today it is smokey out there, but you do need to get in a little bit of activity just to loosen up. A walk jog, bike ride anything to get you moving for about 30-45 minutes just to flush out those muscles from yesterday. Have a great weekend, and hopefully I see some of you in the morning at 10 AM at the stadium. Take care, Sting Tuesday, Sept 15 Hey we are going to try and go from Pinski Park today at 3:40 for practice. The smoke is rolling in so we may have to change plans once we get there but we will make the call from there. Bring water with you as I am on the scooter today. See you there, if you cannot make it just call or text me. Supposidly, we are back in school tomorrow and will have practice as normal. I have a Foundation meeting tomorrow so we doing distance out on the roads. If Valon has not put the practice time and location out on the group chat can someone do that for me? Pinski Park @ 3:40. See you in a while, Sting Sunday, September 13, Part 2 Oh my gosh what a day. By now I'm sure most of you know that we have no school for a couple of days due to a number of COVID cases, some necessary deep cleaning, and lots of contact tracing to be implemented. While there is no in person classes you are all still responsible for any on line activities and assignments your teachers may be able to post for you. I'm still not quite sure how that is going to work if we don't have computers in the morning. I still have to report to school in the morning. My advise to you would be to sleep in a little and then get online and get any assignments you have knocked out. Don't blow off any assignments you get because I don't think anyone is going to get a free pass this fall. As for practice, we are still ok to practice, but you are not allowed in the building while cleaning is going on. So if you need your shoes or anything get in touch with me and I will bring them to practice. For Monday we will meet and be ready to run at 3:40 from Gibson Park. No speed work, just some distance away from the school. I will be working on points later tonight, but I just wanted to get this out before it got too late. So call me if you have any questions or if you need anything from your Varsity Locker. If you were contacted by the County Health Department for a possible COVID contact remember you are not allowed to come to practice, but please contact me so I know where you are at, and how you are doing. You should stay home and quarantine for the two weeks. I will post some daily workouts for you on this page up above on a Quarantine Workout button. Remember take care of yourself and be safe. Tuesday would seem like a good time for everyone, when you are not doing anything during the day, other than school work, to go to the fairgrounds and to get tested. This way you will at least know that at this point in time you are good to go and you are not putting anyone else at risk. So remember Gibson Park @3:40 on Monday. Take care , Sting Sunday, September 13 Happy National Peanut Day, sorry to those of you that are allergic. If you haven't checked it out yet results are posted on Athletic.net as well competitivetiming.com and on our Meet Results page. On the boys side last time I looked Garrett was still not included in the results. I called the Bozeman coach to get him added back in. More on that later. I think we had the more competitive of the two races in terms of teams. Yes it was cooler for us, but it was just the reverse last week. I think we all ran very well. Individually one way to see it you ran better this week than last is to look at the Billings West runners and compare your time differentials from last week to this week. On the boys side I looked at Caleb Hornung on the girls look at Hannah Lukasik and compare your times to them each week. In the JV races find the top west runner and compare your times to theirs. A word about the boys race on paper right now we are in 4th, with Garrett in the results we would be third a point or two ahead of Skyview. So in terms of team performance that is certainly a step up especially when you look at last week's results when they beat us by 7 points with Gavin and Ryan. In the hypothetical race with Gavin and Ryan in the field West would still have gotten second with about 45 points and we would have been third with 61. They have a pretty tight group of runners 2 through 4 that we need to work on breaking into. Pete and John did a great job of stepping up and competing well in the varsity race. I'll be working on letter points and rankings later today and I should have them all posted by late tonight. For everyone this was another double points race, additionally for everyone I think I will be giving a half a point for improvement from one week to the next for seasonal P.R.'s. That will help your point total. I posted what meet information I have as of today on the Billings meet on a button above. They are running a little different formatted meet than what we have run the last two weeks. We are allowed to have 9 runners run varsity in three separate waves. For the girls we need to get nine runners first. I will break our ladies up accordingly where I think they will race the most competitively. That will actually help out our boys that are trying to break into the top nine spots for state consideration. The format looks interesting, it will just take us a little longer and will require us to logistically do a few things differently on Friday. Make sure you get in some activity today just to shake everything out. A good bike ride or a walk would do your legs wonders. Matt, sorry you are stuck in a bucket of ice all day. Take care and have a great day. I'll send a Remind when points are posted. Sting Thursday, September 10 I have posted all the meet information I have up to this point. See the buttons for the meet itinerary, meet information, and travel instructions to Glen Park Rotary Park where the meet is located. The course map and our meet entries are also now listed above. As with the meet from last week the races will be held in a public park. Meet information says only Gallatin County parents only, but should you happen to be in Bozeman on Saturday morning please make sure you are not wearing any Bison gear, but make sure to wear your mask, socially distance from others, and stay well away from the start /finish area. Remember too if you are not riding the bus with us make sure you have done all your paperwork and had it signed by an administrator. Don't wait until Friday afternoon to get their signatures because you may not find them. Please make sure that you have signed up your student athlete on the Dragonfly platform. Any questions please give me a call. Thanks, Stingley Sunday, September 6 Happy Sunday if you have not seen them yet complete results are posted at https://my.raceresult.com/157065/ and also at Athletic.net Each site will give you a little different look at the results. You may have to copy and paste the my.race result link into your browser as I'm not sure if the hyperlink will work. Anyway onthe my race result site it does break the results down by each Quad so you can see how you finished in our race. The morning racers had a much easier day because of the cooler temperature than we did in the afternoon. So when you look at the combined results from both races we will not appear to have run as well as we did. But there is good news next week we run in the early race. I will try to have our results with points posted up later today, as well as information about next Saturday's race in Bozeman. We will be at another new site because Bozeman was not able to secure Bridger Creek Golf Course for the entire day. We will be running at Glen Lake Park, which is in the same general vacinity as Brigder Creek . Hopefully they will have the fire put out by then. On a different note, a reminder of how important it is to pay attention to what is going on around you while you are out running on the road. Our good buddy Coach Darko was the victim of a hit and run while he was out for his daily run/walk on Saturday. A car came speeding and fishtailing down the road at him by Chief Joe Elementary, and he remembered when Sophie got hit and he tried to dive out of the way. Luckily the car only hit his foot as he got mostly out of the way. No broken bones, but he is in a cast like splint because the doctors were worried he may have a partial tear in his achilles tendon. The driver did not stop, but continued on across a few peoples lawns, hit a light pole and drove away. She was found a few blocks away collapsed on the steering wheel either drunk or stoned, and hopefully in jail as you are reading this. We are all hoping Coach Darko doesn't have to spend too much time recovering on the couch and heals quickly. Remember run on the sidewalk when you can, face traffic if you are in the road, and move out of the way for cars, because they will win every time in an altercation with a skinny runner. Keep Coach Darko in your prayers. On another cautionary note, I'm sure by now you are all aware that we have two confirmed cases of COVID at school. My thought is that if there are two confirmed cases there are probably twenty out there walking the halls. So be careful out there. I'm not sure how this will effect us, but teachers will have a meeting prior to school on Tuesday. I'll report more as I find out information. I can only remind you to continue to take proper precautions by wearing a clean mask each day and to keep those hands clean and away from your face. Again we don't want to be the sports team to go down to quarantine. Take this seriously, because it could make you sicker than you ever want to be, and while you may not get sick yourself you can still carry a heavy viral load and kill some old guy like me with pre-existing conditions. So be cautious, stay safe, and keep those around you safe. Thursday, September 3 Long time no talk, so far so good at school. Everyone is staying healthy. Please note we did have a change to our schedule in that the Billings meet originally scheduled for Friday, October 9th backed up one day to Thursday, October 8th. As a team we are gelling nicely and working well as a group. We have a few sport aches we are keeping an eye on with the kids, so if your athlete comes home hobbling make sure you let me know. Generally our injuries are all overuse issues, so ice and ibuprofen are our best friends. Ice for 20 minutes and then take about an hour break and then ice again. With the ibuprofen we don't want to O.D. on it , but we do need to keep it the athletes system all the time to make it effective. It should always be taken with plenty of water and then they need to stay hydrated all day to keep their kidneys safe. The best dosage is to take one or two with breakfast, one at lunch, possibly one before practice and two before bed. This will keep the anti-inflammation going all the time, as opposed to just taking it once a day when it hurts. Additionally we have been putting some kids in the pool to do water workouts to help reduce those overuse problems. I have posted Belgrade information above on the two buttons for the itinerary and meet information. Also please take a look at the MHSA COVID Rules that are listed above to make sure what is expected of our athletes. In talking with their coach she said technically there aren't supposed to be any spectators, but since it is a public park it's hard to keep people out. She just asked if you do happen to just happen to be in the Gallatin County Regional Park and there happens to be a race going on, to please not crowd the course and to stay away from the start finish area. Additionally make sure you have a mask on and socially distance yourself from others. I would add to that to NOT wear any Bison gear, as much as we'd like to, so as to not attract attention to where you are from. We are having sandwiches delivered to the bus after the meet so we don't have to go in anywhere. The kids are responsible for paying for their own sandwiches. Depending on what they get they are either $10.80 or $12.25. If you want to just write a check to me I will probably just charge it on my card to make it easier for the driver. Please make sure if you have not signed your athlete up for the Dragonfly platform yet to use the link above and to do that ASAP. If you have any questions please call me. Thanks, Stingley Tuesday, August 18 Well we've made it through to the second day of two a day practice. For this afternoons practice we will probably run just a little, do some weed pulling and clean up outside, and then hit the pool to cool off. So for this afternoon in addition to your running gear you will need a swim suit and towel, work gloves, a hat and your water bottle. The weed pulling and clean up won't take us more than about a half an hour if we have enough people. I was just noticing lots of weeds in all of our new rocks, so this will be a pretty quick clean up, and will make the campus look much better. Make sure you check out the above schedule information for Wednesday, lots of different stuff going on. Also notice above there is the opt in information for ordering pictures. Just follow the directions once you go to the link. On Wednesday, even if you are not ordering pictures we want you to get you picture taken for bag tags, the fall sports program, and possibly our poster. So wear your uniform to practice on Wednesday. Pictures will be at 8 AM in South Campus. For Freshman, Juniors and anyone who has not taken a concussion test with Great Falls High that is also happening on Wednesday morning at 7:00 AM before pictures. Come to the pool office to check in and then we will walk you over to room 104 to take the test. Pictures and practice will follow immediately after. Also please notice the Dragonfly information and the Dragonfly Sign Up Button located above. All student athletes must create a profile on this new platform. It will be used initially to keep track of their physicals and all their other important paperwork. In the event of a medical emergency this would allow us, or any first responder or medical professional to access student information immediately. This profile should be completed ASAP, and must be completed before our first road trip. One health concern that creeps us on us at this time of the year can be the air quality due to fires burning elsewhere. Please notice on the bottom of the home page there is a GF Air Quality Button. Use this to see what level our air quality may be at. This is especially important if you have asthma. Typically may have to reset the view or the date, but if you just click on Great Falls on the Montana map, it should show you up to date Great Falls Air Quality. Finally, for parents we will have our parent's meeting on Thursday night in memorial Stadium at 6:30 PM, bring some water as it may be toasty. Use the South drive in entrance on 4th Avenue South and 18th Street for access. We will go over all sorts of information pertaining to this year. Hopefully, the staff and I will be able to answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions, as always feel free to call me at 590-1094. Thanks, Sting Thursday, August 13 Happy International left-handers day, as we celebrated the 10% of the population known as lefties. Just a reminder tonight is our Midnight Run to start off the season. Meet at my house 221 4th Avenue North by 11:45 PM. Remember you must bring along your physical to turn in if you do not have it turned in already. No physical means you cannot practice. This year they are going to be very strict on this. Make sure you have your glow in the dark stuff on and headlights or flashlights are suggested. The run will start at 12:01 and everyone should be done by 12:14. We will probably have some Bison cookies and water melon at the finish. We will try to send everyone home by 1:30 as I have to work in the morning. Friday we will only practice in the afternoon at 3:30 . We will meet upstairs in the gym and go outside from there. We will go over some of the new protocols we must follow for the year. Remember to bring your water bottles. There will be no organized practice over the weekend, but you are encouraged to run on your own. Next week we will practice at 7:00 AM and again at 3:30. For now we will plan on meeting in the gym, but may move out to the track as we progress. Parents, there will probably not be a Big Blue Day as we traditionally have due to COVID, but I would imagine we will have some sort of a parents meeting before the season hits full swing. I would urge you to make sure you are signed up for Remind and to continue to check the website as I will be posting pretty heavily over the next couple of weeks so that you can stay up on what the team is up to. Our assistant coaches this year will be Mrs. Vickie LeBrun, will be back with us for her third year. Miss Katie Heryla will also be assisting us for the first time this year. She is a first year teacher at Paris. As always if you have any questions please fee free to call or text me on my cell or once school starts call on my school phone. All the information is listed below. The season ahead poses many challenges but rest assured we are taking the situation seriously and will do our best to keep your student athlete safe. Bob Stingley Cell 590-1094 School 268-6281 email bob_stingley@gfps.k12.mt.us or bobstingley@gmail.com |