Parent FAQs

We have a very collaborative coaching staff. Coach Gilhuley is the boys head coach for both cross country and track, Coach Robyn is the girls head coach for cross country, and Coach O’Connor is the girls head coach for track. However, they are not responsible for coaching all of the athletes themselves on a daily basis. Each member of the coaching staff has a main group of athletes they will work with daily. All coaches work with both genders.

• Encourage your child to develop a relationship with the coaches. The more the coaches are able to get to know athletes individually, the more the coaches can assist them to perform to the best of their ability. Encourage your child to ask questions, but also to trust the process. The coaches have a well thought out plan and it is important to be supportive. Support the program.  

• It is also crucial that athletes are hydrating, eating, and sleeping well throughout the season. Any support in this area would be beneficial. Athletes will be provided with a guide on how much water they should be drinking throughout the day, as well as breakfast, snack, and lunch ideas. An athlete should never attend practice on an empty stomach! 

We would like the athletes to become independent and confident individuals. The best way to achieve this is for the athletes to reach out to coaches directly to ask questions and gain information. Athletes should learn to advocate for themselves. Coaches are more than willing to speak to the parents, but it should not be the initial conversation about any topic or issue.  

Before the season begins, the coaches plan the schedule and have certain meets in which they know the athletes should be peaking (performing at their best). We backwards plan from here.  Due to this, it is essential that athletes and coaches are on the same page about their goals. It is also essential for coaches to know if there are any conflicts before the season starts. Meet entries and payments are due well in advance for all meets. It is an entry fee, not a participation fee, and not going to a meet you are entered in is costing money as well as taking away spots from other athletes. 

The athletics department has a list of excused absences that athletes should review if they have any questions. If he/she is going to miss practice, they must email their head coach before practice begins informing them of the absence. The email should come directly from the athlete. 

Sprinters, distance runners, and throwers all have very different training programs. We pride ourselves at Ridge in coming up with many different training programs with varying volumes to allow athletes of all abilities to be successful. Distance runners achieve the best success with consistent training. Therefore, you will see many distance runners running 6-7 days a week depending on their training age (actual age as well as how many seasons they have run with us). Injuries frequently occur from athletes who are inactive for months and then try to go back to training.  Taking long periods of time off training has led to most injuries. Recovery is important and each athlete will get a break between all seasons in which they compete for us.  

Here is some more information specifically about weekly mileage for distance runners.

• First, the athlete should spend more time stretching. If there is a particular area that is sore, additional stretching at home can help prevent a major injury. It is also essential that the athlete informs a coach so they can receive additional suggestions before the soreness turns into a major injury.

• If the athlete feels it is more than soreness, then the coach will send them to the athletic trainers. Our athletic trainers are very experienced and will assess the issue and determine next steps. There are times when an athlete chooses to run through a potential injury without informing a coach. This lack of communication almost always leads to an injury that could have been avoided if the athlete communicated.

Captains and coaches are the two best sources of information. If a captain doesn’t know an answer they will relay information to the coaches.  Captains and coaches are in frequent communication.  However, we encourage all parents to help their child build a relationship with a coach. We understand that it may be difficult at first to talk to a coach, but it is the only way for the athlete to truly be successful in our program.   

Athletes and parents receive an overview of practice times on the Cross Country/Track and Field Guide that was signed and turned in before the beginning of the athlete’s first season. Athletes also have access to a calendar on Google Classroom that is updated frequently. Information about meets and practices will be communicated directly to the athletes. This will be in person and/or posted on Google Classroom. It is the athlete’s responsibility to inform their parents of what is going on. This is again to help develop responsible and independent individuals.  

Parents and families can attend all cross country and track meets. Meets and their locations will be posted on the Cross Country/Track and Field Calendar which can be found on our website. 

It is best to let athletes prepare for their race with their teammates and coaches. After a race, the coaches would like the opportunity to give feedback and discuss their performance. The best time to talk with your child would be after they have checked in with a coach.  

In order to foster the best atmosphere between athletes and coaches, we ask that parents do not attend practices. This allows athletes to focus and train to the best of their ability.  

Our foundation of our training model is based on Jack Daniel’s running formula. Jack Daniels introduced his training plans in 1998, and he has been called "the world's greatest coach" by Runner's World. Jack Daniels introduced the concept of specifying training paces based on fitness and measuring fitness based on race performance. 

The various paces that you will hear the athletes talk about are:

Easy (E-pace). The E pace is for easy running. It is typically used for recovery between intervals, the bulk of many long runs, and "non-quality workouts". 

Threshold (T-Pace). also known as tempo or threshold pace, is used to improve endurance: the ability to endure a greater and greater intensity of effort for a longer and longer period of time. Distance runners will come to know T-pace well during their training throughout the season!

Interval (I-Pace). This is the primary pace used for intervals, and is intended to maximize V̇O2max by running at the pace that corresponds with V̇O2max. 

Repetition (R-Pace). This pace is a higher intensity than the I pace and is anaerobic, but is generally longer and slower than true High Intensity Interval Training.

There are many ways to support our program. You can volunteer to be a part of the Ridge Runners Board, take pictures at events, buy clothing from the team store, and follow our RidgeXCTF Instagram account. In the spring, we ask parents to help at the concession stand, grilling, and donating goods to be sold at home meets.  If you are not interested in being an official member of the RR board or work at the concession stand but would like to volunteer your time in some other way, please let the coaches know. There are less official jobs that we still need help with.  

Before our first meet, athletes will be provided with a team t-shirt, uniform singlet, and shorts as well as a jacket and pants. Like any other sports team, we expect athletes to show up to meets wearing team-issued clothing. In addition to this, we offer a team store where additional items can be purchased. Athletes sometimes prefer wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants from the team store rather than team-issued clothing, but this is not required. What is required, however, is wearing clothing that represents the Ridge XCTF program whether team-issued or store-bought.

• Your child needs adequate clothing for the weather. This includes a rain jacket, leggings/sweatpants, thermals, etc. 

• Your child needs a watch with a timing start/stop feature. Athletes are responsible for timing many of their workouts. They will be unable to train appropriately without a watch.

• Your child needs quality running shoes. We recommend the following brands: Asics, Mizuno, New Balance, and Hoka. The Sneaker Factory in Basking Ridge can assess the needs of your child and recommend an appropriate shoe. Quality running shoes greatly reduce injuries. 

• Your athlete needs to be cleared through athletics prior to the start of the season.  

During the season, we always address nutrition with our athletes. This is either through a presentation posted on Google Classroom or by having a nutritionist come in and present. We are always looking for ways to address the health and wellness of our athletes. 

Here is some more information about nutrition for cross country/track and field athletes.

NJMilesplit is an affiliate of the website Milesplit. It covers everything related to New Jersey cross country and track and field including athlete profiles, meet results, news articles, performance rankings, and race videos. It would be worth getting a subscription for many reasons. Your child can keep track of their progression from their first race, throw, or jump. It also has a meet calendar for each season that includes dual meets and state meets. The site also posts meet results so you and your child can see how they and other athletes from New Jersey have performed.

The Ridge Runners board is a group of parents who have volunteered their time to support the program. There are many roles within the parent organization and the coaches are very thankful for the tremendous support the organization has provided them in the past. These parents are advocates for the program and the coaching staff.  Currently, Melissa Morgan and Kristina Zalmover are the co-presidents and Tiago Arantes is the treasurer. There are many other extremely important positions within the board, and if you are interested in being part of this please reach out.

We are looking for positive athletes who are willing to put in the time and effort to get better.  Athletes who “buy in” to what we are doing, are giving it their all every day, and are seen doing the little things not just in runs but in the warm ups, supplementals, and stretching. These are athletes who support their teammates and recognize each other's accomplishments.  

Athletes are expected to compete in any event that is helpful to the team’s success.  For example, a long jumper may be asked to also compete in the triple jump at a meet to secure points for our team. The coaching staff will assess athletes abilities early in the season and help them to pick events. It is expected that athletes have an open mind, and it is not common for athletes to only compete in a singular event throughout a season. 

All athletes who want to compete at the college level have achieved that goal.  If an athlete is interested in competing beyond high school, they should communicate that with the coaches.  Coaches will provide insight into the recruiting process and help establish a list of programs that would be a good fit for the athlete.