Knappa High School Summer Practice

View the practice photo gallery HERE

Watch the interview of Knappa athletes HERE

We met with Knappa High School, home of the Loggers, at Fort Stevens State Park. They were having their team camp at the campground. The morning we attended, the team completed a 3000 meter time trial. The boys won the 2A Oregon State Cross Country title last fall and working hard to defend that title. Coach Amanda Isom timed the race and assistant coach Nick Jacobson led the time trial with his bike. Knappa High School is located on the old US Highway 30 which is 12 miles west of Astoria, OR and 90 miles east of Portland.

Coach Isom shared information about the team:

How often does Knappa practice in the summer?

We practice three days per week, but they are also encouraged to meet up and run together on the off days. 

What are some of the summer highlights?

We ran to a semi-secret waterfall up in the logging roads for one practice which was a lot of fun. We also had a practice where we started from the Astoria Column, ran around all of Astoria, and then finished back at the top, ending with pizza! 

And then of course our team camp. This is only our third time doing a team camp, and our first time going to Fort Steven’s which we are really excited about. We split into two teams and have Logger Games where they compete in things like a scavenger hunt, chocolate milk mile, etc. 

What are events that Knappa looks forward to in the fall?

We will be camping at Ultimook this year which we haven’t done in a while so they are excited for that! 

How does Knappa build team culture?

This summer we have really been working on accountability and getting the kids to reach their mileage goals each week. We talk a lot about using Strava or a running journal to keep track, and they earn Logger stickers every week they meet their goal. 

My assistant coach and I really look to our runners to be motivators and build the culture at Knappa. We facilitate by trying to keep things fun but also competitive, but really the kids are the key! We are fortunate to have great groups of kids year after year.