Girls XC Scouting Report: Hoover High School


School: Hoover

Coach: Devin Hind

How many years have you been coaching high school cross country (and at your current school)?
18

What do you attribute as the main reasons for the success of your program?
hard work, good attitudes and a desire to succeed

What would be the best way to describe your style and philosophy of coaching and working with high school runners?
Tell them what it takes to succeed and trust them to do it

What are your core beliefs in your training plan and workouts for your cross country squads?
Each year's team is different; I give workouts that I feel are needed by the current team. Therefore, our workouts may be similar from year to year but the formula may change. I ask the athletes to work hard on certain days and to take it easy on others. Rest, nutrition, hydration and sleep are as important as hard work.

How many runners do you return from your top 7 from a year ago?
6

Who is your projected top 7 heading into the cross country season?

Who are your team captains or leaders and what stands out about them as examples for the rest of their teammates?
Lauren Wallace--she is our top runner and most consistent hardest worker

Who have you been most impressed or surprised with their improvement and/or fitness from their summer training?
Abby Batchelor--it's only her 2nd year to run and she is vastly improved over last year.

Any impactful freshmen or transfers to join the team this season?
Not Yet

What are the top invitational meets that your team will be attending this season?
Chickasaw Trails

What will be the biggest reason why your team is successful this season?
Desire--last year our girls team did not qualify for state for the first time in Hoover history. If that doesn't motivate them to improve, nothing will.

What will be the biggest obstacle or challenge facing your team this season?
lead gators--a few of our girls have asthma and when there is a gator leading a race, the dust just about kills them

What is a favorite annual or common pre-season workout or run for your team?
Time trial Tuesdays--early in the season we'll do a mile time trial each Tuesday around the school. Seeing them improve from week to week is fun and inspiring.


What is a favorite annual or common mid-season workout for your team?
6 x 1000 meter runs on the grass


What is a favorite annual or common championship season or end-of-season workout for your team?
- none


What are your top 3 goals for this year's squad?
close the gap on our top 5, qualify for state, win state

How has the Covid-19 outbreak affected your team in preparation for the 2020 XC Season?
None--many of the athletes have been meeting to run without coaches supervision all summer. That's normal for us. August 3rd was the first time I was with any of our athletes for a practice.