We will never get this opportunity again...

We will never get this opportunity again...
And 
Why Aaron Leblanc will be the reason we win. 

Dreams...That what I see when I look at this picture of Aaron. A guy dreaming about getting faster and being better, and succeeding. No matter what happens over the next year, Aaron Leblanc will be a guiding light on a path that has potential to be the greatest in school history. Having already showed up the final weeks of the season because all he wanted to do was get better...he is showing us the way. Aaron is in it for all the right reasons and his heart and passion is an example of the type we all will need in order to be great. 

Although, different contexts and narrative we have the makings of something very special on both sides, guys and girls in 2018....

While the high aspirations of our guys team will certainly continue to dominate conversations we cannot forget the context and narrative on the girls side. Losing five seniors and losing incoming girls to Develyn High, we have work to do on the girls side. We have a wonderful core of hard working passionate girls who the responsibility of keeping Dakota Ridge in the State XC meet will fall on. We must work this winter, in track season and this summer in order to improve everyone. We will need everyone. Our Region for the ladies will get immensely harder with Mountain Vista and Valor joining us. Chatfield is hungry and young and looking to finally move ahead of us in a Regional. We are in a year long fight to improve. Steady, passionate, fun hard work will bring us the improvement we seek for all our girls. We will prevail in the end, but in this sport we must train year round to do it. If we pull together as a group and work together to improve, this girls 2018 year will be a very special one in our history. 

For our boys program we have a singular chance at history for Dakota Ridge, for ourselves, for each other. The decisions we make, the choices we encounter are now going to be looked at through a different lens for the next year. This is the inevitable road we travel with a program searching for greatness. A program with a road to a State Championship, a road to Portland for a National Championship birth. 

In order to achieve the most coveted of dreams for most High School Cross Country teams...we must make decisions through the lens of "team". 

What can we do that will honor the immense opportunity we currently have? 

The first thing that will help the team...will be what Aaron has shown us... that showing up, training hard with a great attitude and passion to improve will win the day. 

We cannot count on our talent, our charm and our general good nature to lead us to the promise land. What we can count on is each other. We need to be accountable to each other and the immense opportunity before us. Without each other we are nothing. Showing up, making this a priority is worth every minute of stress it may bring. The celebration... is that through everything we journeyed together and gave each other our best effort in order to succeed. 

Mountain Vista didn't get to where they are right now because of luck. They got there through a dedication to each other, and to the cause. They got there because they made it a priority in their lives to always improve. Right now, as I write this a group of boys who will take over the reins at Mountain Vista is looking at us, looking to hunt us down and beat us. We are the hunted like it or not. Rock Canyon is doing the same. Young and led by an incredible talent in Easton Allred they want more then 2nd at State and 6th at Nike. They also will hunt us for a year looking to beat us. 

For one year of your life you will have to make decisions that help the team. Often times it has been the decisions to NOT do something that makes the greatest impact. NOT having tons of sugar should keep you healthy overall and minimize sickness. NOT doing dangerous things like trampolines and "crazy" downhill mountian biking...(sorry guys) among other potentially injurious events should be at least considered as something you don't do because of the risk. Every great thing in life requires sacrifice on some level. This endeavor to be great will be no different. I watch injuries in the NFL and in NBA ruin seasons and I hear horror stories from other coaches whose kids dreams were dashed because of injury. My sincere hope is that we can be smart about our choices and stay healthy enough and training consistent so that we can make our dreams a reality. 

 The winter training cycle has proven vital over the years as a setup for the rest of the year. Consistent and smart training is usually what keeps athletes healthy and thus on a path to improvement. Over the years I have seen athletes not have good winters and it often leads to a challenging year either performance wise or injury wise. We make things gradual and we are planning to add in some specific weight room routines that will help us. It will be important to be a part of the process if you can be here this winter. 

The process of training, the process of seeking our best for each other is what will ultimately make the difference for our boys and girls in 2018. Aaron Leblanc has already been showing us how to do it. His work paid off big time already and I am so excited to his progress through the coming year. If we do what Aaron has done and show up to keep improving and looking to be our best we will never regret it. 

We will never get the opportunity we have before us again. Let's honor it for what it is and be willing to engage in the process and seek the very best from each other.