Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Meet entry fees.

• Racing uniforms, which are distributed to the athletes prior to the first race, cared for by the athletes through the season, and returned to the coach at the end of the season.

• Bus transportation to and from off-campus practices and local meets.

• Tent/canopy used at meets.

• Prior to participating at practice, all four health forms (Physical Examination, Medical History, Emergency Contact & Safe Sports) must be completed and submitted via the Athletic Training System (ATS) portal.

• Prior to participating at practice, two handbook forms (Parent Handbook Form, Permission Form and Release, and Waiver of Liability for OSAs) must be completed and also submitted via the Athletic Training System (ATS) portal.

• If your physical examination form has not been submitted on ATS, you must complete the Waiver of Liability for OSAs form in order to train with the team during the offseason. After August 12, this form is no longer adequate to participate on the team and the physical examination form must be uploaded to ATS in order to continue training with the team.

• Required forms are due before August 12 (physicals must be performed and dated after June 1), with the exception of the Waiver of Liability for OSAs which is due before participating in any Out-of-Season activity.

Note: Athletes are not permitted to practice or join an athletic team until all health forms have been submitted via the ATS portal.

• Yes, all four health forms (Health Examination, Emergency Contact, Medical History & Safe Sports) must also be submitted via the ATS portal even though they were sent to DeMatha as part of your son's admittance package.

• For subsequent school years, health forms must be completed and submitted via the ATS portal if your son chooses to join an athletic team.

Note: Freshmen and transfers are not permitted to practice or join an athletic team until all health forms have been submitted via the ATS portal.

If you are unable to get an appointment with your physician within a reasonable timeframe (i.e. a day or two), you can go to a MinuteClinic (located within various CVSs). Remember to bring the DeMatha heath forms and your checkbook/credit card - no appointment necessary.

• For text alerts, subscribe to Important Notifications updates (click HERE for setup instructions).

• Additionally, cancellations are typically announced by the school via an email blast.

Athletes should text, email, or call Coach before practice begins. Your teammate is not responsible for communicating with Coach on your behalf (and neither are your parents).

• The bus leaves on time; if an athlete misses the bus, please contact Coach and let him know if you still plan to attend (you will need your own ride).

• If Coach does not hear from you by the time he arrives at the meet, you will be scratched (see Rules & Expectations for consequences).

• Yes - the school and coach provide a tent and tarp, among other items, for athletes to use during a meet. Athletes are responsible for loading these items onto the bus prior to leaving for the meet. They are also responsible for unloading the bus and setting up the "team area" upon arrival at the meet. 

• We schedule our departure and arrival times to provide the required time to set up our area, visit the rest room, get race information, and warm-up prior to the first race. Late arrivals are avoided as they create unneeded stress and do not provide for optimal race performance.

• Additionally, team unity is built when athletes ride to and from a race together.

• For special circumstances (e.g., you live five minutes from the meet), please discuss with Coach prior to race day.

• Athletes are not allowed to leave a meet until they have done a cool-down run (approx. 30 minutes) and all equipment is packed up and loaded onto the bus.

• Athletes are responsible for packing up items (i.e., tent, tarp, water cooler, etc.) after the meet and putting them back on the bus. They are also responsible for unloading the bus upon its return to DeMatha.

• Once everything is packed up and loaded on the bus, the coach has approved, and the Return Trip form has been given to Coach, athletes may leave with a designated driver.

• Athletes are strongly encouraged to remain for awards ceremonies. If an athlete has earned an award, it shows respect for the other competitors to stay and accept the award. And even if an athletes has not earned one, it shows good team spirit to support your teammates who did and good sportsmanship to applaud our competitors who earned awards.

• One additional thing to keep in mind - team unity is built when athletes ride to and from a race together and when they encourage each other during their races. For this reason, it is strongly encouraged that athletes stay through the meet and ride the bus back to school from a meet.

Note: If you want your son to carpool with another athlete or parent to a meet, the two sections of the Carpool form must be completed by the involved parties and given to coach before the day of the meet.

• Each athlete on a team earns the same number of points as his place in the race (though points could be altered if there are incomplete teams in the race whose athletes do not score).

• The top five athletes on a team "score."

• The team with the lowest number of points wins the meet.

  • A perfect score in cross country is 15, where a team has five runners who finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. 1+2+3+4+5=15

Some Meet Directors require information about the school (i.e., the number of students) along with a list of athletes who will be competing at their meet. Once these details are submitted, the Meet Directors place each school into the appropriate division (i.e. small school or large school). At most meets, DeMatha is considered a large school since its student population is over 800 (generally, 500 students is the dividing line), but some Meet Directors classify DeMatha as a small school - presumably because we are a private school.

If you are interested in participating in a school club, talk to Coach. If your club activities do not interfere with your commitments to the team (practices and meets), he will approve.

• Training plans vary based on athlete experience and physical ability.

• For new runners at the beginning of the summer, weekly mileage is typically around 10 to 15 miles per week and may increase to as much as 25 miles per week late in the season.

• For runners with two years of experience, weekly mileage is typically around 30 to 35 miles per week.

• For veteran runners (3-4 years experience), weekly mileage is typically between 35 and 50 miles per week.

• Yes, athletes must have a locker in the Convocation Center as they will have no access to the other school buildings after school hours.

• If an athlete's school locker is not located in the Convocation Center, they will need to rent a lock from the Athletic Director's office. The cost is $5. After renting a lock, an athletic locker in the Convocation Center will be assigned.

• At the end of the season, rented locks must be returned to the Athletic Director's office.

• Yes; with your parents' permission. Coach must be notified before an athlete begins driving himself to practices.

• Athletes may not drive other athletes without both athletes' parents' approval. Coach must be notified of such an arrangement.