Track & Field Team Rules

High-Level Summary / Rules

We still expect athletes & parents to understand the applicable event-specific rules as well as the detailed version below.

Athletes must have athletic clearance on Home Campus
Athletes must be registered to XCStats
Athletes must communicate about missing practices or conflicts (see about extracurriculars in the section below) with the practice/meet schedule via email with the head coach ahead of time
Athletes are expected to be on time to practice, meets, meetings, and team events
Athletes are never to text, use text-like apps, or have direct contact over social media with any of the coaching staff
Athletes are expected to attend all school-day practices (unless they have a different agreement with the head coach), even if they are injured. Low attendance can lead to removal from the team.
Athletes are expected to compete at all school-day meets, which have transportation provided or are held on campus. (Additionally, athletes must compete at Wilcox-sponsored or organized invitiational/s if they are entered into an event)
Athletes are expected to look up for themselves, which events they are entered in for, and write with a permanent marker their ID number on the back of their hand for dual meets. See Athlete ID #'s Info.
Athletes must compete in all events they are assigned before they can check out with their events coach and leave when at an away meet. For home meets, athletes must compete in all assigned events, perform all tasks/jobs assigned to them, and stay until the end of the meet for attendance before being excused.
Athletes are expected to have good sportsmanship on/off the field. No cursing while at the track, at a meet, or invitational. No arguing with officials, taunting, or misusing equipment.
Athletes must keep their T-shirts/tank tops on while on campus(even if it's hot); no undergarments should show.
Athletes may be given minor punishments to address issues that come up during practice
We have a 3-strike system. If an athlete gets 3 strikes over their high school Track & Field career, they will be removed from the team and will not be able to join the sport again.
Athletes are expected to compete in league competition as well as any post-league competition they qualify for.
Athletes must stay AWAY from the Start/Finish line and timing area at any meet/invitational and NEVER cross the finish line unless they are in the currently timed race.

Event Specific Rules

These rules apply to athletes when practicing with the relevant event team/s.

Sprints

Athletes should come prepared - Propert sprint spikes or trainers, workout clothes, water.
Must warm-up and cool-down fully. No skipping drills or stretching.
Must give full effort on all reps; sprinting requires focus and intensity.
Pay attention duirng explanations. Sprint workouts are technical & percise.
Are expected to be ready early for events on meet days (blocks set, spikes on, warm-up done).
Must not have any unexcused absences the week of a meet in order to participate on relay teams.

Jumps

High jumpers must set-up and take down the high jump pit.
High jumps athletes can ask other teammates for help, but they should lead this activity.
Athletes are expected to clean up tapes and measureing tapes off the track every session.

Hurdles

Athletes should come prepared - Propert sprint spikes or trainers, workout clothes, water.
Must warm-up and cool-down fully. No skipping drills or stretching.
Must give full effort on all reps; huddling requires focus and intensity.
Pay attention duirng explanations. Hurdle workouts are technical & percise.
Are expected to be ready early for events on meet days (blocks set, spikes on, warm-up done).
Hurdles must be put away in their designated spots on practice days
On meet days hurdlers must help set up and break down the hurdles to the lowest height.

Throws

Athletes must wear proper shoes at all times (sneakers or throwing shoes); no sandals or slides are allowed.
Must perform team warm-up until C-skips, at which point they are excused to start throws practice.
Must set up the throwing area when they get to practice. There is no skipping warm-ups because they set up.
Must towel off any wet equipment before putting it away in the shed.
Athletes who hit another student with equipment will get a strike.
The shotput circle must be kept clean.
All athletes except the one throwing and the one returning the shotputs must be in the shotput area. All others must stay outside the fence.
Always walk backwards (face throwing circle) when going to retrieve shotputs or discus
Keep the discus circle and netting area clear of any student bags or equipment.
Only one person may be allowed in the throwing circle, and they must stay away from the throwing net (3 ft. min.)
Ensure that no runners or anyone standing near the sector is aware of clear before attempting a throw.

Distance

Must follow Neighborhood Running Safety NFHS Guidelines and XC running safety rules
Athletes can only use Open Ear headphones during practice (transparency/pass-through mode or just one earphone in, are not allowed)
Athletes are expected to know the order and typical routines from XC regarding cooling down, rolling, core, etc.
Athletes are expected to complete the routes they say they will be running. Cutting a route short just because or making up a route that is not a part of the set is a reason for a strike.
For track workouts, athletes are to perform the workout assigned to their group unless a coach specifically tells them to change groups.
For track workouts, athletes are to complete only as much of the workout as they can. When they stop a workout, they are not allowed to then rejoin the workout later on. Once they drop out, they are done.
If an athlete is absent for many consequtive days they are subject to not being allowed to compete at the next meet.
All athletes which are primarily distance athletes must use Garmin Clipboard to log their mileage.

Athletic & School Requirements

All athletes must meet the Wilcox Athletic Eligibility Requirements & have gained athletic clearance on Home Campus.
To be eligible for competition, athletes must have at least a 2.0 GPA in their previous high school grading period.

Communication

All athletes must be registered on XCStats (a free service to students & parents). Instructions here.

We use this platform to hold all official race results and send vital email communications to the entire team.

It is strongly advised that athletes sign up using their student email, so they can get communications during school hours.

Athletes are expected to contact the head coach at their district email address. See email adresss here.
The head coach's phone number may only be used by Athletes to locate the team when arriving at an invitational or in the case of an emergency. Athletes should never text the head coach or any other coaching staff.

Expected email communications from athletes to the head coach are outlined in the relevant sections below.

Attendance

All athletes are expected to attend and participate in all practices held on school days.

This includes if they are injured or getting injured. The coaches will provide an individualized or adapted workout, assign exercises or drills to aid in prevention/rehabilitation, or assign a job for the athlete to perform. Being injured is no reason not to support your teammates or skip practice.

Practices on days school is not in session are optional, although strongly recommended.

Practice is held, modified, or canceled based on weather conditions. We advise all of our athletes to check the conditions at Wilcox, though the Is there practice? page.
This is a live, dynamic page that shows the variables that go into determining if practice is held. However, sometimes weather conditions change, and as such, practice can be canceled during a session based on the weather conditions observed during practice.

For example, if lighting is predicted, it will not cancel practice. However, if there are multiple lightning strikes in the area before practice's start time, the head coach will email via XCStats letting athletes know practice was canceled. Or if lightning is predicted but there have not been any lightning strikes, practice will be held, but canceled if there is a lightning strike in the area.

Attendance is a measure of the consistency & quantity of training an athlete performs during official practice sessions. As such, we take attendance at every practice and note if an absence is excused or not. An unexcused absence is when an athlete misses practice and does not notify the head coach ahead of time, or does notify the head coach ahead of time via email, but does not provide a reason, or the reason provided is determined not to be adequate.

Athletes must not have a teammate pass along notification of an absence; such cases will be marked as unexcused.

Attendance plays a role in the player points that athletes earn towards getting their letterman's jacket letter, sports patches, and the competition division on their participation certificates. For an explanation of how attendance contributes to these points, please refer to Player Points.

Low attendance is also a reason for removal from the team. If an athlete's attendance is 30% or lower, the athlete will be removed from the team. If an athlete's attendance is between 50%-30% they are notified by the head coach (verbally at practice or, in the case of not showing up consistently to practice, via email) that if they do not improve their attendance, they will be removed from the team. This warning is provided the first time they fall within that attendance percentage range, and a reminder is provided if they enter this range again after having been outside of the range. There are no additional reminders provided before team removal if they do not improve their attendance after the warning.

One example of a common attendance issue is fantastics. We understand that it is a major event at school, in which many participate in the activities involved. However, fantastics practices are not supposed to be mandatory. No one should be telling you that if you do not go to a fantastics practice you can't participate, etc. Missing practice for fantastics is not an adequate reason to miss practice. We have many athletes who participate and yet do not miss practice during that week. Missing the entire fantastics week is a recipe for a bad performance at the meet.

Meets

All athletes are expected to attend and compete at every meet that takes place on a school day and has bus transportation provided or takes place on campus, including the League meet. Additionally, any Wilcox-sponsored or organized invitational/s are also mandatory.

Our team trains the entire season for the League Trials & Finals meets, as it qualifies individuals and relay teams to CCS and beyond. As such, unless there are extenuating circumstances that could not have been reasonably planned for, we especially expect all our athletes who qualify to compete in the League meets. If an athlete just decides they will not compete at League meets, they will be removed from the team and given a strike (strikes explained in a section below).

If an athlete qualifies to move on past the SCVAL League Finals, they are expected to compete unless there are extenuating circumstances. This applies to CCS and CIF State competition.

Meet competition plays a role in the player points that athletes earn towards getting their letterman's jacket letter, sports patches, and the competition division on their participation certificate. For an explanation of how meet competition contributes to these points, please refer to Player Points.

Lastly, it is important to note that athletes need to be excused from competition by their primary event coach. It is not up to the athlete's discretion whether they compete or not, or even which division they compete under. Athletes should always be in communication with their event coaches about potential and existing injuries, and with the head coach about scheduling conflicts. This enables the head coach to be able to excuse them from competition when appropriate. If an athlete competes in a division different from that which the head coach assigned, they will be given a strike.

Leaving from a Meet

For all meets where transportation is provided to any degree by the school, the athletes should follow the process below.

Make sure the head coach has marked you as having attended; you will not be excused from class otherwise!
Do not leave the meet before competing in all your assigned events otherwise you are subject to a strike.
You must check out with your events coach before you leave!
If there is a return bus, you will need to wait until the meet concludes for it to head back to Wilcox. Please make sure to arrange a ride from Wilcox to your home if necessary.
- If you are riding the return bus check with your events coach if there is something you can help with.

Hosting Home Dual Meets

All athletes are expected to attend and help with the meet in some way, shape, or form. In the entries Google sheet, which is shared at the start of the season, there is a tab named "Jobs" that outlines which task you are expected to complete or help with. You must perform your task to help us run a respectable and smooth meet for all involved.

At home meets, you are not to leave the meet until after our post-meet huddle in the middle of the football field.

We take attendance, and then the coaches have a few closing words about how the meet was run as well as commend particular athletes. If you are not there for attendance at the end of the meet, you are subject to receiving a strike.

Please help put things away once an event is completed and before we huddle at the end of the meet. Ideally, we want everything put away so everyone can go home when the huddle concludes with a break.

Other Extracurriculars

Beyond sports, there are other extracurricular activities that students can participate in at Wilcox or even outside of the school. Some of our athletes have other activities they participate in during the season. We do not have any rule that excludes these athletes from participating on our team directly. However, we require that those athletes who have other extracurricular activities must notify the head coach via email of which activities they are participating in which have scheduling conflicts with our practice session times and meet schedule at the start of the season.

It is the responsibility of the athlete to come to an agreement with the head coach for how these scheduling conflicts will be addressed or resolved. Once an agreement is reached, the head coach will send the mutually agreed-upon agreement to the athlete in writing via email. The athlete must notify the head coach if there is a change that will deviate from the agreement as soon as they are aware of it. Open communication is best practice.

Generally speaking, the expectation is that athletes with other extracurriculars attend practice at least 3 times a week, and that track & field competition be prioritized over other extracurricular events on those dates. However, special arrangements may be made with the head coach during the process to reach an agreement if the reasons are justifiable to the head coach.

Conduct / Participation

Athletes are expected to perform the workout assigned to them to completion, unless excused by a coach.
Athletes are expected to follow school policies regarding conduct while at practices and meets
- T-shirts/tank tops must remain on while on campus
- No student may drive another student.
  Students can drive themselves with parental permission.
Athletes are expected to adhere to the meet-specific rules at away meets or invitiationals
Athletes are not allowed to pace teammates they are not in a race with. Doing so will disqualify the participant.
Athletes are expected to compete in meets as outlined in the "Meets" section above. It is important to note, though, that during competition, athletes are expected to give an honest/true effort to perform at their best. Anything less is bad sportsmanship and will face consequences.
Athletes are expected to have good sportsmanship on/off the field: CCS-CIF Sportsmanship Info
(This also applies to Coaches, officials, and spectators/parents)
- Respect opponents, officials, coaches, and teammates
- Adhering to rules and handling both victory and defeat with grace and dignity
- Conduct themselves in a manner that shall bring credit to themselves, their school, communities, coaches, and families.
  - Refrain from any conduct that degrades, baits, intimidates, or otherwise discredits their opponents or
    officials.
- 6 pillars of the Pursuing Victory with Honor Program:
  - Trustworthiness
  - Respect
  - Responsibility
  - Fairness
  - Caring and good citizenship.

Minor punishments

We expect our athletes to follow our instructions and cause minimal issues during regular practice sessions.
As such, we may give minor punishments as needed to correct such behaviour and discourage it from happening in the future. The standard minor punishment is 10 burpee pushups. The quantity may increase depending on the severity of the incident or if it's a recurring offense.

Minor punishments are given for:

The athlete being late to practice (only after it's become a recurring problem)
The athlete is not ready for the start of practice announcements
(i.e, being quiet once the head coach says he is going to start)
The athlete is permitted to do something that will hold up the entire team, and then takes a long time.
The athlete is playing around when there is work to do and/or is playing in a manner that could potentially injure others.
At the head coach's discretion, depending on the issue and its gravity.

Strikes

We have a 3-strike policy.

Each athlete gets up to 3 strikes during their high school career in XC and Track separately.

At the 3rd strike, athletes are subject to removal from the team at the head coach's discretion and will not be allowed to join the team again.

Strike 1 will be issued as a conversation with the athlete about the instance. Allowing the athlete to self-correct. The athlete in question will then have to perform a punishment determined by both the head coach and event coach in front of the rest of the entire or event team.

Strike 2 will be issued with a conversation similar to strike 1. However, it will be followed up with an email to their parent/guardian to inform them about being 1 strike away from being subject to removal from the team. The athlete in question will have to perform a punishment in front of the rest of the team (this will be of greater difficulty than that issued for strike 1).

Strike 3 will be issued as an email to the athlete with the parent CC'ed. If the athlete is removed from the team, that will be it. The athlete is free to come to discuss the incident with the coaches if they would like. If the head coach determines they will not be removed from the team, they may elect not to allow them to join the sport next season if applicable. Or there may be some other agreed-upon repercussions between coach and athlete for a final opportunity. In either of the two previous cases where the athlete is not removed from the team, there will be another punishment in front of the entire team with a greater level of difficulty, which is to be determined by the coaching staff.

Strikes are given for:

The athlete runs a different route than that assigned after having been warned
The athlete cuts the route short without a justifiable reason
The athlete continually skips rolling or strengthening sessions
The athlete causes issues due to behavioural problems
An athlete is a negative influence on peers, as determined by the coaching staff based on repeated behaviour
The athlete refuses to run at League Finals or several meets
The athlete competes in a different division/race than assigned
At the head coach's discretion, depending on the issue and severity

Reasons for removal from the team

Low attendance (<30%)
Unable to compete at the League trials meet due to ineligibility
Refusal to compete at the League trials and/or finals or multiple meets throughout the season
Reasons outside of those listed in the rules that are explicitly stated, but based on the head coach's discretion
An athlete has 3 strikes on their record