Cross Country

Our team goal for the week is 575 miles.

This Week's Schedule

Monday (September 16 )

We will go to Occidental College today for a threshold workout on the track. It was supposed to be speed work, but with the change in schedule for the Valley Christian meet, we wanted to save everyone’s legs. You can either pick up your child at Occidental College at 5:00pm or you can pick them up at VCS at 5:30 pm. Let your coach know in advance if you are going to need a ride back to the high school.

Tuesday (September 17)

We will go to Stonehurst today for race prep work. After the run, Coach Monica will lead us in a stretching routine, so bring yoga mats. Pickup at Stonehurst will be 4:30 pm.

Wednesday (September 18)

We will leave school at 1:30 pm sharp in two vans for our meet at Valley Christian. We plan to return back to campus by 7:30pm, after stopping at the Chipotle on 10826 Alondra Blvd for dinner (send money for food). Everyone is running at this meet, so let me know if you have an unavoidable conflict so I can plan in advance. If you are coming to watch your child run, girls run at 4:00 and boys at 4:30 pm. Your child will need to get a mile cool down and stretching routine in before leaving with you, and you need to inform a coach that you are taking your child so we don't have nervous breakdowns ;-)

Thursday (September 19)

We will be getting mileage in at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park today. Students meet behind the school at 2:55 pm for a departure at 3:00 pm sharp. You can either pick up your child at Griffith Park (4:50 pm) or at the high school (ETA of 5:20 pm), but let your coach know in advance if you are going to need a ride back to the high school.

Friday (September 20)

Practice will start on campus today. Meet by the weight room at 2:55 pm. Practice will be finished by 4:30 pm.

Saturday (September 21)

We will meet at the Hansen Dam Ranger Station at 2:00 pm (the weather forecast is perfect for running). This will be an LSD run, and everyone will have a chance to sleep in because your coach has to host a football game earlier in the morning. A big breakfast, light lunch, and plenty of hydration in between meals is recommended.

About the Coaches

Jarod Ebenhack was the 2016 Coach of the Year for girls track in Broward County, Florida. His teams in Florida captured numerous district titles in track and cross country, a regional title in boys track, and a seventh place finish in state in girls track. While in Florida, he also was a member of the coaching staff for the Broward Elite Track Club at Pine Crest High School.

More recently, he was a part of the coaching staff at Desert Christian High School in Lancaster during their 2016 boys CIF State title. He worked as an AD and a track and cross country coach at Desert Christian for three years. In his first year coaching track at VCS, the Crusaders made a remarkable improvement from previous years, placing second in the Olympic League for girls and taking CIF-SS individual championships in the shot put, 1600m, and 3200m runs, as well as a runner-up performance in the 800m run.

Coach E continues to compete on his own, as well as coaching track and cross country. He placed fourth overall in the 2016 Fort Lauderdale Marathon, but is more likely to be seen running 5k road races. During practices, Coach E runs with the students to make sure they are hitting their paces during the two to three quality workouts they do out of the six weekly practices. Village Christian runners are expected to put in medium mileage, building up to 45 miles per week right before the end-of the-year taper, and there is a heavy emphasis on threshold runs and interval training, combined with weight training, easy runs, and long slow distance runs.

Monica Tutak has been helping individuals achieve their fitness and personal goals for over a decade. She has coached everyone from kids to septuagenarians as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at some of the top gyms in LA including Yogaworks, CSUN, and EXOS. She has a passion to help people of all ages with their journey into better health through various modalities including TRX, Yoga, Spinning and Olympic Lifting. Monica is constantly learning more about training and fitness, and has achieved the following certifications: Track and Field, Cross Country, Yoga, Total Resistance Exercise, Spinning, Olympic Lifting, Personal Training, and Group Fitness.

Coach Tutak has been the MS and Elementary Cross Country coach for the last two years. She has elevated the program, with athletes moving on to the National level, competing in the Jr. Olympics for Cross Country in both the 2017 and 2018 season. One of her proudest achievements is starting the MS and Elementary Track and Field team in 2017. Working with Burbank Vikings, she coached the Village team through all the running and field events, successfully coaching a student to an 18th place finish in the Junior Olympics nationals in the long jump. When she’s not running on the trails or at the gym, you’ll find her in the outdoors –cycling, mountain biking or tending her edible garden.

2019 Race Schedule

Congrats to the 2018 VCS Girls Olympic League Champions

Mia Barnett - 2018 Olympic League Champion