This year, the wish list is surprisingly short.
It almost seems greedy to make up a Christmas list this year.
While not everyone is going to agree with me in every detail, I'm looking at a lot of things in Colorado Track and Field/Cross Country and thinking that we really do have it pretty good.
I like the new regions with a guaranteed number of qualifying teams in cross country, and I'm thinking that's a good thing. There was some quick thinking on the part of the cross country committee members to break 4A up into six regions instead of five so we could have regions of equal (or very nearly equal) sizes, but once that was done, it just seemed like the logical way to do things. As with the previous qualifying arrangement, there will be times when teams sitting at home are arguably better than a few teams running at state, but at least we won't be applying all kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle pressure on teams struggling just to close out their season with dignity to show up at the regional meet with complete teams. This new arrangement is a step forward.
Although this always gets me crosswise with a few folks, I like qualifying for state track by rankings. I can guess what's on the Christmas list of folks who don't like it, but that won't be on my Christmas list.
I love it that we hold our state track and field meets at a single venue now. I love seeing all the great talent from all of the classifications on the same weekend. I know many others of you do, too.
I appreciate it that we were able to keep the nine, eight, or seven runners at cross country regionals. I want the people on my team who were still in the running for a state slot to know they made it or missed it on the merits of their own efforts and not due to some other, less objective, factors.
I love it that we know what a wind gauge is in Colorado, and that we know how to use them.
I'm as happy as magpie at a Burger King dumpster about having real cross country scoring for our regional and state meets. It worked fine the other way all these years, but it just feels good to be doing things the way the rulebooks were written.
I'm excited that snowshoe is growing in Colorado. I just ordered a pair of racing snowshoes, and I intend to join the fun this winter. How can you write about something you've never experienced? Actually, I have snowshoed once before, in northern Minnesota. My most vivid memory of that experience was catching a tip on a buried willow branch and going face first into five or six feet of powder with narrow willow branches intermingled throughout, but nothing solid to stand on. It must have taken 15 minutes to get back onto my feet again. Such are the lessons of breaking your own trail in real snow country. And always keep your tips up.
I only hope I can find a way to get in some good training around Colorado Springs this winter. We aren't exactly the snowfall capitol of the state.
So what do I want for Christmas?
1. Less wind on spring weekends. It's always on my list, but Santa finds this request especially challenging, I guess.
2. An NXN at-large bid, especially for the girls, going to the Southwest region.
3. For the marketing folks at Nike, New Balance, Asics, etc. to succeed in convincing the male gender that wearing half-tights is not a breach of the masculine code. This is an idea whose time has come. Function over fashion, guys. If Troy Polamalu can wear yellow half tights, track guys can wear black ones.
4. An entire track season where nobody asks for a clarification of the uniform rule at a coaches' meeting.
5. We've flirted with it long enough now, let's have someone break that boys' 1600 record!
6. For one meet--any meet--to serve a coaches' lunch with a gluten-free option. Actually, I got that last year. Hats off to the coaches' lunch at the Glenwood Springs Demon Invitational. Blake Risner, you were spot-on when you told me your meet serves the best lunch in the state! This is payback time. Now everybody knows your meet serves the best lunch in the state. I hope your meet grows by five teams!
7. No lightning and no hit-and-run drivers pegging the Buena Vista bus at this year's state track meet. I did use the time to catch up on a few conversations with folks, but those three hours in the Jeffco Stadium parking lot seemed like an eternity.
I trust your holiday time off is restful and enjoyable for each of you. I very much look forward to a full year of covering high school cross country, track and field, and snowshoe in 2012!