In the first of our summer high school practice profiles, we spent the morning at the Cottage Grove High School practice on the Row River Trail. Cottage Grove Cross Country is coached by Ricky Knutson and they compete in the 4A division in the six division state of Oregon. Cottage Grove is about twenty miles south of Eugene, Or. This morning the team ran on the Row River Trail which is a path on a former rail line. The old rail line is famous for being in the 1986 movie Stand by Me. The athletes ran to Dorena Lake and then back to their meeting spot. Coach Knutson shared information about his program at Cottage Grove.
During the summer season, how often did the team practice?
We have been meeting a few days a week during the last few weeks of the school year, but starting Monday we will meet Monday - Thursday for the rest of the summer (other than the moratorium week of course). On Tuesdays and Thursdays we hit the weight room after running.
What were some special activities the team did during the summer?
We keep things pretty organic for the most part during the summer. Athletes look forward to playing ultimate frisbee after our runs every Wednesday. The athletes also accumulate "practice points" for attending summer workouts. In order to attend our preseason team camp they have to have at least 20 practice points. More on our team camp in the next question.
How do you build a team culture?
We rent a summer camp facility in Glide, Oregon for two nights and three days in August. Athletes that accumulate enough practice points during the summer are eligible to attend, and almost every athlete attended last summer. During the camp we run, play, have team meetings and goal setting sessions. We also start what we call the Cross Country Olympics where athletes work in different teams each day to complete a variety of challenges to earn individual points. The XC Olympics carry through the first two weeks of practice where there is a different challenge each day, and at the end we crown our winners. I've linked a short (less than 3min) camp highlight video from last year HERE where you can see some of the activities.
Last year we also took a group to NXN Regionals in Boise which was a big motivator for kids leading into this year.
This time of the season our biggest challenge is infusing the new runners into the program while helping the older runners develop as leaders. We're working on learning to work together to train in packs rather than trying to outrun each other in practice.
What are some events that the team is looking forward to in the fall season?
I've been coaching track in Cottage Grove since 2006, but I've only been leading the XC team since 2021. Our program is still growing, but it has been fun! We hope to have about 35 athletes out this fall, which isn't too bad considering our student population is only about 630 for next year. The kids look forward to being with each other at practice and spending time with one another on trips. The kids always look forward to events like the Ultimook Race and the possibility of heading to Boise again this fall. We're also excited to attend Nike Portland XC for the first time this year, which I know you worked hard to grow. We have a lot of runners that are new to the process, so we are still learning a lot. We don't talk about winning much, but try to focus on the small things and learning to be consistent. If we take care of each other, and take care of details then good things will happen. When we do sit down at camp and set some goals for the season our team goals will be based on what the kids have accomplished the last three seasons.
In 2020 the boys team was ranked 26th in the state for 4A and since then the boys team has qualified for state three years in a row (two district championships), and finished in the top 8 at state three times. In 2021 the boys took 3rd at state and brought home the first boys xc team trophy since 1975. Last year we had our first individual state champion since 1957. Every runner returns this year that ran at state last fall. This year the boys hope to claim their 3rd consecutive league title and make a run for another top four finish at state. Carter Bengtson will have a challenging task in defending his state crown.
In 2020 the girls team didn't have enough runners to score as a team. Since then, the girls team has qualified for state twice, and they won the first girls district xc championship in school history last fall. They went on to finish 6th at state which equaled the best finish by a girls xc team in school history. All the girls return this year and they hope to break into the top four at state and bring home a girls xc state trophy for the first time school history.
Thank you Cottage Grove for inviting us and HERE is the photo gallery of the practice.
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