(By Rod O’Donnell ) 1. I pledge to call my local newspaper with meet results, regardless of how my team finished. If results are not reported in the next edition, I will follow up with a phone all to the sports editor. This will be continued until the results are published. Note: On September 13,, there were three meets held in Northeastern Ohio involving every school that sponsors cross-country. 8,399 high school runners were participating in these meets. Coverage in the major papers was poor to non-existent.

2. I will run at least one home meet each fall. Cross-country is rapidly becoming the only sport in our high schools that never competes in front of the home fans. A 2-mile race in a dual meet will fulfill this pledge. This distance will not affect the Saturday race and can be used as a work-out early in the week. Note: we combine our dual meet with a junior high meet. This year was so well attended, that parking spaces were hard to find at our meet site.

3. I will not split my team, send them to two different meets, run only my “B” runners, not keep a team score or run an abbreviated schedule. Note: if you question this pledge, ask our collegiate coaching brothers what these practices have done to the sport at that level. The sport of cross-county is becoming extinct or a non-factor at many universities. High school athletes train to compete, and high school runners train to race. They don’t train to train. Additionally, placing all of your emphasis on the State Meet is not good for your team if things do not work out as planned.