2009 St. Thomas Aquinas Cross Country Camp at Covey Rise in Husser, LA

The STA Cross Country Camp started on Friday (Aug 28th) at 3:30 p.m. with the team bus ride to Covey Rise Lodge in Husser, Louisiana. The kids were kind of quiet and tired after a long day at school, and had no idea what was in store for the weekend of the 2009 STA CC Camp. They arrived at Covey Rise and were separated into their sleeping quarters, with the girls on one side of the lodge and the boys on the opposite side and a group out in one of the cabins. They started the camp off with a 4-6 mile run on the wooded trails and paths around the lake, what an awesome site!  After the run we split them into two groups of teams and started the Cross Country Olympics. The Olympics included the javelin, which they had to make themselves, the shot put, which consisted of pine cones. Oh boy was one team creative, they were told to find some pine cones to use as shot puts and they covered the pine cones with clay and won that event. Then there was the partner run where two runners had to race 600 yards locking arms. Then came the banana relay, which had four runners and the anchor leg must eat the banana. The Olympics ended with a tug-a-war and the teams battled five times to end the 2-2 tie breaker. Dinner was served at 7:00 p.m. they had spaghetti and meatballs and stayed up until ten , and boy did they crash! 
 

           

The next morning we got them up at 5:45 a.m. and started the morning with one of Coach Rosendo’s core sessions. They stretched and went on a 8-10 mile run, I think Malia went at least 11-12 miles. Thanks to Mr. Sharp (Katherine’s Dad), he prepped the trails for 3-4 days and the kids never ran the same course on any given run. Covey Rise is about a 400 acre site and he had about 12-14 miles of trails ready for the team to run on.   The Parent’s had breakfast ready shortly after everyone finished the run. The Scavenger Hunt was the next activity, and boy did the kids have an awesome time. I think the Parents and Coaches had just as much fun, especially when the girls team came back with one of their five random items and it was this huge set of mounted deer heads with the antlers missing that was picked-up by no one else but Elizabeth Gambel! Who knows which fire pile she pulled that nasty thing from! Catching the live fish was the next fun site, the boys used the top of one the outdoor fireplace to catch theirs, and Elizabeth climbed into one of the big pipes on the lake to catch her fish with one of the Cross Country cones. The Scavenger Hunt ended in a tie and we gave all of the athletes prizes donated by the O’Krepki’s and Cali’s. Thanks again to our awesome Parents! The kids brought all of the items back to its original place of origin and everyone got cleaned-up and lunch was served at noon. Mr. Jeff Day (Spoga) was our first guest speaker, he was awesome, the kids really enjoy him and he has helped our program tremendously on the mental side and strength training aspects of our program. He talked mostly about diet, but touched on many topics that really had the entire team at attention. Our second guest speaker was Mark (Perfectly Fit), he did a great job on showing the kids what type of shoes they should be in and answered many questions on shoes, socks, spikes etc. He also brought the kids energy gummies and New Balance water bottles. A special thanks to Jeff and Mark! The Cross Country Fitness Competition was next, the boys battled it out  and Randy came out on top, the girls definitely competed hard, Jordyn, Carmen and Michelle were right on Malia’s heels in every event and made her work. In the Fitness Competition they went through three minutes of sit-ups and double-leg jump rope and ended with a 400 meter uphill run. The night ended with an awesome red bean dinner, swimming, lots of games, a hayride, bonfire and fireworks. 

 


            The last day of camp was really low key, we started the day off with an hour run 7-9 miles for most runners. Breakfast was served and the kids showered and got ready for mass. Mr. Becerra (Jordyn’s Dad) brought the team to St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Husser, just a five minute ride from camp. We packed the church and it was great to get the team together for prayer and the Priest included the team in prayer and he preached for ever. Thanks to all of the family members that attended mass with the team it really meant a lot to the team. After mass we went back to Covey Rise to pack-up and clean-up. The kids were definitely ready to get home, it was an awesome camp, the best camp in my 21 years of coaching! A special thanks to the Sharps’, all of the STA parents that stayed on the grounds and helped with everything, Mr. Becerra for transporting us back and forth, Mr. Jimbo for allowing us in the lodge and to Coach Rosendo with helping me keep my sanity this past weekend.           

 

 

The kids had a really awesome time, they worked hard, they worked together, they bonded and are definitely ready to open-up the season in next weeks Border Clash in Bridge City, Texas

Check out the photos: at https://la.milesplit.com/photos/albums/3976