There were tears from the moms. There were hugs from the sons. There was gear galore to hand out. There were meetings to attend. Finally, at last, it was time to run this afternoon. Welcome to Preseason, 2013. The cycle begins again, with our cross country athletes. Next week, we are joined by our track brothers as well. And so begins the 2013-2014 journey for our sport.
The women's XC team was at Bowdoin Park today for 1km repeats; I brought the men to Mills Mansion for our annual Hill Workout, a tradition that dates back to the prehistoric era of 1991, when I first started coaching the program. Tuesday, it is our annual pilgrimage to Minnewaska State Park and Preserve, where we will return on Thursday as well. Wednesday is Move Out Day, when our athletes can move into their permanent rooms. On and on it goes.
Maybe it's the years, maybe it's the strong attachments ... but Sunday, I could not bear to post my thoughts on the beginning of preseason. My thoughts and feelings remain with our recently graduated classes. Not to sound trite and maudlin, but ... but ... but ... It's just not the same without them. We shared so many moments with them, and now those moments fade into history. New memories will be made with this group, to be certain. But there is always a sort of emptiness (same as with Commencement) with the realization that we begin again with a new group, and leave behind the memories of the new additions to our growing and loyal alumni base.
If I were on Twitter, I would #HashtagSomething right now. But I'm not. Maybe someday. For now, my recent alum sisters and brothers, just remember:
Foxes Forever, friends. Some new Forever Foxes begin their journey this week.
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