Um my kids fcps hs XC team strikes a great balance between focusing on the handful of uber competitive runners, while also fostering a fun team experience for all the runners.

Cross country is not a sport that just lets kids run because it is a nice thing to do. The school wants to win.

My kid was a first time XC runner this past Fall as a freshman. Big FCPS HS.
XC had a huge roster comprised of runners across the spectrum - crazy fast, middle of the pack, bringing up the back.
All runners who practiced consistently ran in meets.
The invitational meets are on weekends and have freshmen, JV and Varsity events. Room for a lot of strong runners to be invited to run.
The weekday meets included runners not doing invitationals.
All the meets featured support and cheering for all runners.
At my kids school, XC was organized and a positive experience. Many kids choose to go to meets even when they don’t run just to cheer.
I wouldn’t sweat the will my kid run in a meet question

What school? X country and rowing are both great options. Ultimate frisbee is also popular at our HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Do non-varsity runners get to go to meets? Or are they just practice runners?

Sometimes they can go on the bus if there is room? Or they can always attend if they can get there themselves.

But no chance of running ?????? So they train all week and get no opportunity to compete? Is that what DD is signing up for? Sigh.

Please see previous comment. Your kid will get to run in dual meets, and maybe some weekend meets, esp. if they are improving. It's a great sport ... tell her to go for it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Do non-varsity runners get to go to meets? Or are they just practice runners?

Sometimes they can go on the bus if there is room? Or they can always attend if they can get there themselves.

But no chance of running ?????? So they train all week and get no opportunity to compete? Is that what DD is signing up for? Sigh.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Do non-varsity runners get to go to meets? Or are they just practice runners?

Most dual meets (often held during the week) are for the whole team. The top 5 score.

Most invitationals (usually on weekends) are capped at a certain number, but they'll have multiple races. So, boys' varsity, boys' JV, girls' varsity, girls JV, and sometimes freshman divisions.

It depends on how stringent the invitational requirements are, but your coach might get to take 7-10 kids per division.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Do non-varsity runners get to go to meets? Or are they just practice runners?

Sometimes they can go on the bus if there is room? Or they can always attend if they can get there themselves.

OP here. Do non-varsity runners get to go to meets? Or are they just practice runners?

In FCPS- 10 boys and 10 girls are varsity. The next 10 are varsity.

There are a few meets with larger numbers or some that have freshman races but at most schools in this area- it is competitive.

The Varsity girls at our school all ran under 19 minutes for a 5k and no one has a guaranteed spot for the season. A freshman can displace a senior by having a good time.

Anonymous wrote:I remember when I was in HS it was no cut, but people definitely cut themselves. The first few weeks were HARD to weed out the people who didn't have the discipline or training to keep at it.

Totally agree!

Our HS is the same size maybe a little smaller-there are 600 kids per grade. The cross country team had over 100 kids and only 10 are varsity. Still everyone had to make the mile standard and there were cuts. Non-athletic kid is going to struggle on cross country. It is hard.

I remember when I was in HS it was no cut, but people definitely cut themselves. The first few weeks were HARD to weed out the people who didn't have the discipline or training to keep at it.

Anonymous wrote:Our FCPS HS requires freshman girls to be able to run a mile on the track under 7:30 and boys at 6:30.

And you definitely need to worry about times to get on the team. I think this "cross country is no cut" is a myth at most large high schools in the area. They have to be able to run the standard and might get a second chance but there are cuts.

Just out of curiosity, how large is your school, and how many kids do they keep on the team?

I live in a different part of the country. There are about 700 kids per grade. Yet such a tiny fraction goes out for XC -- they can't afford to cut.

Seven boys and seven girls make varsity. Everyone else is JV. We often don't even have a full JV roster for girls. In theory, we could keep an unlimited number of kids.

Our FCPS HS requires freshman girls to be able to run a mile on the track under 7:30 and boys at 6:30.

And you definitely need to worry about times to get on the team. I think this "cross country is no cut" is a myth at most large high schools in the area. They have to be able to run the standard and might get a second chance but there are cuts.