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Nashua South Boys Summer Recap

We went into the summer knowing that all of our scoring team was returning which feels great. Especially after being unranked last year and then coming in 6^th at the Division 1 meet. An opportunity like this doesn’t come very often, but you can’t rely on talent alone. So after spring track was over and we had taken our rest, the team started meeting up a few times a week to get out and run. We started slow, with some easy runs, gradually building up our mileage.

These group runs continued throughout the summer with the addition of a few JV and freshman runners. Then when it became time to begin our long runs, we started meeting up in Amherst every Saturday to get some more challenging, hillier runs in as a team. Afterwards, those who came would meet up for food at the local market for some team bonding.

We are a young team, so focus on team building is important.  We would meet to run as a team a few times a week but also mixed in some fun too. Our coach did a fantastic job of organizing these non-running outings in order to further improve our team chemistry. Early on in the summer we went to Hayward’s, our local ice cream shop. Then we went paintballing as a team at AG Paintball. This was an all-day outing that resulted in a few welts, but also some great memories. A few weeks later we went to Mel’s Funway Park in Milford. A few athletes had challenged our coach to a driving contest at the driving range. Only to find out that the driving range was closed when we got there. So instead we all went mini golfing. After mini golf we hit the tracks and went go carting.

Finally, our coach took us out to the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, NH for a team scavenger hunt. The 19 of us that went were divided into four groups. These groups then had to strategize how they would get their whole team to as many of the 81 pieces of artwork on the mountain in the allotted 50 minutes. We then had to take a team picture with the artwork (excluding the photographer) to get credit for going there. Whoever had the most pieces of art visited, won. Bonus points were given for trivia about the art at the end and also for the most creative picture.

We spent the summer working hard for the hopes of a successful 2015 cross country season, but mixed in fun along the way to make us a strong team.

Aiden van Batenburg – Nashua South XC Sophomore