Scouting Report: Creekside Girls XC

The Creekside girls are the preseason favorite for the 3A classification. With the regular season quickly approaching, Coach Yates gives us the scouting report on this year's squad. 

What takeaways did you learn last season that you are looking to apply to the 2018 season?
Last season, the majority of our Varsity team consisted of new runners. Each week we had a different finishing order. This helped the girls stay focused during races, knowing they each must perform to the best of their ability that day in order for the team to succeed.

What is the best way to describe your coaching philosophy when working with these high school athletes?
Although Cross Country is a team sport, I focus on knowing my athletes individually. They each have reasons why they run and personal goals to accomplish. Knowing these things about my athletes helps me design workouts to help them develop as runners. In running and in life, I focus on the positive and encourage my athletes to do so also.

What has summer training been like?
Summer went by FAST! We had a great group of athletes attend the Brevard Distance Running Camp in July where we logged lots of miles in the mountains.

Any impactful freshman or transfers to join the team this season?
We do have several freshmen on our team this season. Caroline Rice and Emily Tomasi were both in the top 7 of the team last Friday at the Cecil Field Pre-Season Classic.

From your perspective, what would define success for your team this season? What do you think it will take for your team to achieve that?

Success for the team will be to have each of my athletes improve their times from last season. The team had a successful season last fall. We are looking forward to being competitive at the state level again. We will use race experiences from last year and training from the summer and fall to help us perform at the best of our ability at the end of this season.

What are some of the meets the team is looking forward to this year?
We are looking forward to several local races, UNF Invite, Bale N Trail and Katie Caples. We are also traveling to FLRunners Invitational and Pre-State this season.