NXN-Northwest Championship entries are posted on their website (runnerspace.com/nxnnw) ... quick thoughts:
-Small fields this year (16 teams each)
-Lots of good girls teams missing -- NW#3 Grant OR, NW#6 Sunset OR, NW#8 Tahoma WA, and even NW#9 Vallivue ID...
-Small fields will help teams with strong front runners but weak #4/5 runners. Great news for teams like Gig Harbor and Summit!
-Small fields negate the usual advantage of strong pack teams, like the Kamiakin and Central Valley boys...
Still, glad to see most of the top teams in the region will toe the line, including the top eight boys teams and nine of the top 13 girls teams.
Start lists for the Heartland regional have also been posted, though I haven't looked at those yet aside from noting that they are as big as they have been in the past (so for the first time, the Heartland will be a bigger/better attended meet than the Northwest! yikes...) and the Midwest entries will be posted tomorrow (and very likely to be bigger than the Northwest as well).
Believe this is another sign the meet needs to be moved from Boise:
ReplyDeleteNumbers going down
Difficult and expensive to get to for most teams
Poor course where a team's starting location can be incredibly disadvantageous and trail can get so crowded it can be difficult to impossible to move in spots
Even though it wouldn't be as central a location, having the meet in the Portland or Seattle area would make it easy and less expensive to get to for the bulk of the teams - at least look at rotating it. For teams not near Boise, the trip is expensive and a hassle and difficult to make year after year.
It would also be nice if Nike could organize switching the dates of BorderClash and Regionals. Having Regionals two weeks after the last State Meets in the Region would give teams a better chance to organize and plan the trip.
To be honest, if you are not either 1)In the running (even barely) for an NXN birth or 2) a state champion from a smaller classification wanting to run against the best, I don't really see the long-term appeal of the regional meet. When it was a new meet, people might have been more interested. So much goes into mentally and physically preparing for the state meet, to then come back the next week and try to gear up for the regional meet (unless you meet the criteria above) is tough. The reality is, unlike the state meet, no one outside the super die-hard fans, really care about what happens at the regional meet. If I'm looking at a trip with a flight or long drive, hotel, food, etc. costs I don't know that the regional meet gets me excited enough to go through the effort.
ReplyDeleteGrant has at least one soccer player (#2 runner) on their team that has a state quarterfinal game on Saturday. I would like to see others come, but as I mentioned above, if you're a team like NW#6 Sunset, what is your real motivation to go? You had a great season, finished as good or even a place higher than most projected at the state meet, but you don't have a realistic chance to make the NXN meet. Every team will be different, but I can see some teams in a similar situation looking at the regional meet and wondering what the real benefit is especially considering the cost.
ReplyDeleteThe meet is a tool for a coach. It can be used to motivate their athletes to better themselves. It allows the team to see where they need to be in order to be better. Do not underestimate this as a coach.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think top teams race their JV as a varsity and so on. They aren't always going to win or even place well, but they want their athletes to know what it will take to be better.
When teams decide they want to become a power house, they not only change their training, but they start racing at more competitive races - ones they might not win. Their athletes need to know what it will take to win/qualify/trophy.
Like said, it is a great motivator, especially for young teams. Also for teams that may not be super talented but love the sport and love the perks that Nike adds and also maybe like racing without the pressure that state or regionals or etc has with it.
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