More members for the miles

Cross country gains new team members

More+members+for+the+miles

Throughout past years, the Freedom Area cross country team has lacked members. With past seniors gone and the current ones leaving soon, the team would have been left almost empty. This year, the team has gained more members than they would have expected.
In recent years, the cross country teams have had a limited amount of members. With more people, the team shows a stronger competitive side, making them a bigger threat to other schools.
The alumni left a clear path of success for the returning students this year. New and old runners saw the amount of hard work put into the sport last year. The amount of passion put into running gave others a look into how important this sport is to the team members.
“I think the newer people benefit two ways from last year’s seniors. One, they saw the work ethic the older runners had and also now, with some experience, they see they have the responsibility because we do not have those seniors to count on,” Head Coach Ed Shephard said when asked about the benefits of leaving teammates.
The team this year is equivalent to some of the largest teams Freedom has ever had, consisting of students from both the middle and high school.Having the middle school members join the high school members gives them time for them to reach their full potential by the end of their time at FASD.
There are some people in every sport who will depend on others who may throw farther, run faster or hit the ball further. In cross country, one can’t count on others to make up for you. Everyone is responsible for beating their own running time and pacing themselves in order to complete the race. If everyone depended on the best runner to keep up their times, it would be impossible to succeed. Everyone is responsible for themselves and what they do.
In any type of sport, there will always be people moving on, whether it be quitting or graduating. When a team loses one of their best athletes, it affects everyone on the team, not just one individual.
In various sports, running is considered the punishment for something you did wrong. In cross country, running is what you have to strive to do. They have to look at running as a victory instead of a misery lap around the field.
The Freedom Area cross country team is more than just a team. On the bus ride to and from meets, it’s a time of fun and bonding. Whether or not they had an all-around victory, they keep a positive state of mind no matter the outcome.
This group shows what being a team is all about. A team should have fun together, be comfortable with everyone and above all, have trust in one another.