How to Start a Middle School Cross Country Program Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions Your middle school does not have a cross country team. Maybe it never did, maybe it folded years ago when the coach left, and now you are the athletic director,...

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Heel Pain in Young Runners: A Coach’s Guide to Sever’s Disease Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions Week three of the season, a twelve-year-old jogs the first lap of the warm-up looking like their shoe is full of gravel. By the second lap they look...

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How Many Miles Should a 12-Year-Old Run? Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions Your kid joined cross country, came home talking about mileage, and you went looking for a number. What you found was answers ranging from ten miles a week to thirty, none of...

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Your First Week Coaching Middle School Cross Country Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions You got the job in July. Practice starts in ten days. You have thirty kids coming, most of whom have never raced anything, and you are not sure what a cross...

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12 Middle School Cross Country Workouts Disguised as Games Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions Search for middle school cross country practice ideas and you will find candy runs, card runs, and ultimate frisbee. Fun, all of it. But none of those lists tell you...

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How to Coach Middle School Cross Country Coach Jason Saltmarsh · USATF Level 2 Endurance Coach · 25 years coaching, 31 state champions Somebody handed you a middle school team. Maybe you asked for it. More likely you coach the high school program and the feeder squad came attached, or your kid is on the...

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