I'll be spending time this semester on Girls Illinois High School Cross Country.  The Red Devil Invite in Hinsdale called us for my 4th visit.  The new routes were wet from overnight rains.  The girls were seriously amped up with 5 top-six teams competing.  Our team, the Palatine Pirates, lost 3 seniors from last year's squad and are led by junior Kelly O'Brien who certainly will be all-state in November.  We have a serious team with slots 2 &3 filled by veterans.  We have a young Junior with transition & growth issues typical of our female atheletes who can place anywhere on our team from #2 on, but is in need of experience and maturity.  When she is on, she can run with the Gazelles.  Our planned 5, 6 & 7 can be filled by any of 3-6 veteran and new runners including my daughter who is a strong 4-7 runner and senior leader on the team.    

The team ran well with our 1 followed at a distance by #s 2-5 with a 80+ second split.  We came is 3rd place, a very fine performance.  

But these are the Pirates with a legacy second to none in Illinois so expect changes the next few weeks.

As a parent I'm wondering how these girls find the time to study, train, work and be nice to each other and us parents.

More later