West Linn Summer Practice

To view and download photos from the practice, click HERE

We met the West Linn Lions at Mary S Young Park in West Linn for a tempo run for the boys and hill repeats for the girls. West Linn is south of Portland and competes in the 6A division. Before practice the athletes shared their favorite fast food restaurants and one athlete had the challenge to name every athlete who came to practice. Coach Jay Schrotzberger led the boys with the temp run and Coach Emma McCurry led the girls in hill repeats. After the practice, we spoke with athletes Lucas, Tai, Emily and Violet about the team.

How often does West Linn practice in the summer?

We practice Monday through Saturday. Sometimes coaches are there, sometimes one or two of the team captains will lead things when a coach isn't there.

What are events athletes look forward to in the summer?

The kids do a great job of organizing team activities on Fridays like Ultimate Frisbee, swimming, movie nights, team dinners, etc. We also have our own camp in mid-August that is always a highlight of the summer. 

How does West Linn build team culture?

Building team culture really starts in the summer with newer kids being brought into the fold and learning first hand how we do things. It gets reinforced when the team captains are in charge of practices and they hold everyone just as accountable for the day's work as a coach would. At the start of every summer practice, the squad gets in a circle and they have to say their name, grade and then answer a "question of the day", like "what's your biggest fear, favorite breakfast food, etc". At the end, we usually pick a random kid to put in the middle of the circle and they have to go around and name everyone. The activities that the captains plan for the team along with our summer camp really sets the tone for the season from a team culture point of view, just as the fitness gained in the summer sets the table for success in the fall. 

What are events that the team in looking forward to this fall in cross country season?

Veteran runners are excited to be going back to both the Wilsonville Night Meet and the Ultimook meet this year after a few years' absence from each. We're also heading to the Ft. Steilacoom invitational for the first time and we're looking forward to testing ourselves against some of Washington's best teams. 

Here are the athlete responses:

What are some fun events in the summer with West Linn Cross Country?

Lucas: I would say moratorium week which is really fun. It's like a week at the end of July where no coach or the entire state of Oregon are not allowed host practices. We as the captain’s kind of get to make some fun events to do like without coach supervision. It's really fun team bonding before the season.

Tai: I'm looking forward to our summer team camp we have like a four day one this year which is going to be pretty nice. Our location still to be decided but no matter where it is always super fun just being able to spend time with the team. We get to know, especially the freshmen, better and incorporate them into the team culture.

Violet: I've been really liking, especially this season, fun Fridays, well today's a Thursday but we do like games after practice. We really like to get the new kids comfortable on the team. Today's actually capture the flag because tomorrow's the 4th of July.

Emily: I like long runs. They're so fun just because we got to do a lot of miles together as a big group and play music and talk. It's such a good environment and we do like loops and run old river which is so fun, and we just knock out a ton of miles together. In the summer we always go in the river which is so nice and refreshing. We all like to go where there is a beach there and easy to get there.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Lucas: I'm really looking forward to the Fort Steilacoom Invitational meet because for the first time since I've been on the team, we're going to spend the night. That’s going to be really fun way to compete as a team. I think the teams are both going to be pretty competitive this year and it's just going to be super fun way to bond as a team too.

Tai: Oh yeah during cross season after every meet, we usually go get food which is usually Mod Pizza. It's a good way to kind of take everybody's mind off the meet no matter how good or bad the race was. It is just a nice way to spend time with the team and kind of reflect on the meet.

Violet: I really like the cheering during the races and at the very end of the race. There's just so many so many emotions, so many so many feelings. For instance, like whether you did good or bad and just being able to like to hug your teammate and hug the opposing team. I like to congratulate everybody. It's such a good part of cross country and such like a pinnacle of like why I love racing.

Emily: Similar to Violet, I'm just excited to start racing again and doing invitationals and cool meets with the team. It's so fun just to get ready together, rep West Linn, get out there, race, PR and do what we love as a team. I am really excited to get back into that.