With the 2010 cross country season upon us, we wanted to take time to catch everyone up on what has been a very busy preseason for the Hannibal-LaGrange cross country team.
On August 5, the team arrived in Hannibal and quickly got their belongings put away before embarking on a 1,000 mile journey to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where the team had a week-long training camp.
After an overnight stop in Hendersonville, NC (thanks to the fine folks at FBC Hendo for letting us crash in their amazing youth center), we finished the long trek to the beach on Saturday afternoon. After getting settled into our beach house we were met by a rain storm and got to start our first team training run in the rain. After we got some dinner, the team wrapped up the first day with a worship service and team building.On Sunday we attended church at Wellspring Church, a year-old church plant that meets in the movie theater at Broadway at the Beach. They were stoked to see 25 out-of-towners roll in and we enjoyed getting to worship with them. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beach and wrapped up the day by moving our team worship service beach side, where we attracted several onlookers both on the beach and in the nearby condo. It was amazing to worship our amazing Lord in such a beautiful setting and we made it our regular devotional place for the week with team members and coaches rotating music and speaking duties. In a word...AMAZING!
I could go on and on describing each day in great detail but I will sum up some highlights. We ran (a lot), we ate (a lot), and a team that included a dozen newcomers came together in a way a coach could only dream of. We enjoyed all that the beach had to offer, including playing some night mini-golf, visiting some of the many surf shops (where they want you to think that everything is $5.99), and checking out Ripley's Aquarium.
In addition, we spent part of Thursday with the fine folks at the Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach, where we helped them clean out and reorganize the freezer they use to keep food that feeds hundreds of folks each day. We got to hang out with Beth and Nancy and we were all inspired by their servant's hearts and enthusiasm to make a difference. We left them with a nicely organized freezer, but we left with much more.
The evenings were always fun with numerous team beach walks worked around a Karaoke night and, what has become the ultimate HLG XC camp tradition...SKIT NIGHT! The team split up into groups and and came up with one hilarious skit after another and even the coaches got involved in the action.
As a coach, I was so proud of how the team came together and bonded. A week far way from home living in close quarters can test even the most patient, but this group has something about them that makes me think we are in for something special this year. We've been back on campus for over a week now and, with the rest of the HLG students moving in starting tomorrow, the team has it's sights set on our first meet on September 4.
Training has been going pretty well, and I am excited to see this group get to race. With so many newcomers, the team has a brand new look. However, the common goal remains the same as it always has...to honor Christ through all our team does. I saw a lot of that over the past three weeks and we pray that we'll be able to continue to put Him first.
There is a lot to be excited about this season. The men's team is ranked 2nd in the preseason American Midwest Conference ratings and, for the first time received a vote for the NAIA top-25. The women's team is ranked 3rd in the AMC preseason poll and has their eyes set on improving that. I don't put much stock in ratings, especially in the preseason but it is safe to say that this year's team has expectations like no other team before at HLG. I believe we have the talent, heart, and desire to be special, and I can't wait to get started!
We'll get some more pictures of our training camp trip up soon, as well as some athlete profiles. We'd also like to ask that you remember the cross country team at California Baptist University in your prayers as they were recently involved in an accident while on the way to their preseason training camp that injured a number of their student-athletes and claimed the life of a coach. More information can be found HERE.
