Don't be like us.

 It was the conclusion of the 2016 Cross Country season and our team made our way towards the local trails to end the season the way we normally do-by tossing our trainers on to the “Shoe Tree”. This tradition was a symbolic way to say goodbye to the past seasons pain and turmoil as well as reflect on recent success. This was also an opportunity for the Seniors to give one last piece of advice to the underclassmen before they graduated. 

Now the 2016 season brought both success and failure to our team. There were PR’s recorded, races won, and records broken; but there was also a fair share of failures. Team camaraderie deteriorated, some members quit the team, and we fell short of the conference title. Overall, the season did not go as well as we had hoped for both in terms of tangible achievements and team morale. 

After 7 months of training, we were now all gathered around the Shoe Tree ready to close another chapter. As the underclassmen said our short soapbox speeches, it came time for the seniors to give their advice. Of all the things said that day, the most memorable were the following words, “Next year, don’t be like us. Be better than us”. 

Fast forward one season and we’re back at the Shoe Tree-Fall 2017; wrapping up what I would like to call my favorite season of Cross Country to date. Although we fell short and lost in a tie-breaker at our conference meet, there was tons to be praised. We had 6 guys make the all-conference team, we had many runners PR in the 8k, but best off all; we became a family. The 2017 cross country season- although filled with brutal mileage- was also filled with laughter, smiles, and a sense of brotherhood. The team camaraderie was turned on its head compared to the 2016 season, and that was the biggest achievement of all. 

It was my roommates turn to toss his trainers on to the tree, and he took his time to reflect on the advice given by a particular senior a season ago. “A year ago we were given this advice, ‘Next year, don’t be like us. Be better than us.’” He said. “And although we did not come away with the conference title we all worked towards, we came away with a title much more important; the title of a family”. 

I’ll end this post with one last thought. Every team has its ups and downs. It’s human nature to have disagreement and downfall, but what leads a team towards ultimate success is a “family-like” relationship. Even if you don’t win the conference title, the state title, whatever title it may be; if you are able to walk away from each race knowing you are a family, you have won the bigger race. When a team can truly enjoy each other’s presence and be a family, it makes each day of practice and each race a hell of a lot better.

- Anonymous