NMS Cross Country Team Information

NMS Athletics: *** Very important for those interested, competitive sport teams tryouts start the second day of school and games begin the second week of school. *** 

Any student interested in trying out for Cross Country must first register through the Family id system. All students must pass a physical examination within one year before participating in any sport. A copy of your child’s physical must be on file with the school nurse prior to tryouts. 

Sports Registration Link: https://www.familyid.com/norton-high-school-and-norton-middle-school 

All Students Must register prior to tryouts. Only those that make the teams will then go on to pay the athletics fee. 

NMS Cross Country Families

Welcome to Norton Middle School Cross Country!  We hope everyone had a good summer. The program was begun 11 years ago by Mike Whiteside and has been a successful program here at NMS. I was the Assistant Coach for several years and this is my 3rd year as Head Coach. I am happy to announce that Marissa Massaro will be the Assistant Coach this year. We are looking forward to seeing runners returning from last year and excited for all our new runners.  

 As a result of budget changes, as well as league meet rules, we are limited in the number of students that will be able to join the team.

There will be a tryout process. 

Tryouts will be Wednesday 9/3, 3:15-4:30,Thursday 9/4, 3:15-4:30 and Friday 9/5 from 3:15-4:00. 

Our first tryout will be on Wednesday, September 3rd from 3:15 to 4:30. We will meet by the concession stand on the soccer field behind the middle school.  Please have your child bring comfortable clothing, running shoes and water. Students should go to the locker room to change and then head out to the field. They should bring their backpacks with them because we may not be able to get back into the building when practice is over. 

The selection of the team will not be based solely on the fastest times, but also based on work ethic, attitude, and sportsmanship. We understand that running may be new to some and will take this into consideration as we build the team. 

We will discuss nutrition, expectations, stretching, a warmup, and run the course on Wednesday.

On Thursday, we will do some interval training as well as strength building exercises in addition to running the course.

On Friday, we will have a timed trial run of the course. We will end at 4 pm on Friday.

To prepare for tryouts:

1. Athletes should get into the routine of drinking water. It is important that they are hydrated every day (not just right before practice or a meet).

2. It is important to stretch arms and legs prior to running.

3. For those who are new to the sport, start off by trying to jog a mile. If they haven’t done this before and need to walk part of it - that’s okay. It is important for them to keep at it, and they will notice improvement over time. 

4. As a general guideline: For 6th graders or those who are new to running, run at least 3 times this week starting with a mile, then increase slowly as you are able.

For returning runners you can run up to 6 miles this week. If you are participating in other sports you can do up to 4 miles.

If you have been running all summer keep it up. If you haven’t been running; don’t worry, just start now. It is important to remember to keep moving even if you need to walk some at the beginning.

Remember that it takes practice to get better. It may seem hard at the beginning but it will get easier if you keep at it!

We will generally practice on Mondays, Wednesdays (if there isn’t a meet), & Thursdays. The first official practice will be on Monday, September 9th. The roster will be finalized by Saturday, September 6th. If there needs to be a change, you will be notified.  Our 1st meet is on Wednesday, September 10th. All of our meets (except for the final league meet) are scheduled on Wednesdays. If a change is made we will let you know as soon as we know. The courses we run are approximately 1.5 miles. The tentative meet schedule is included in this letter. We may be adding a meet or two as well.

For away meets, buses will leave the school at approximately 2:15. Students are dismissed from their last period class, therefore; they are responsible to turn in work for that class and get that day's work before leaving school for the meet. The team will return to the school when the meet is over, typically we are back by 5:30. Athletes should bring water and a healthy snack. Parents are welcome (and encouraged)  to attend meets.  If you want your child to go home from the meet with you instead of taking the bus, please be sure to send an email to Amy at adarling@norton.k12.ma.us or Marissa at mmassaro@norton.k12.ma.us or send a note into school with your child ahead of time.  Please write Cross Country Parent Pick up in the subject line. The meets are very busy, and it is difficult to keep track of athletes if parents take their children from the meet without us knowing in advance. Parents will need to sign out their child before leaving the meet. We would like the runners to stay throughout the entire meet if possible. We won’t leave an away meet without every athlete being accounted for so if you need to leave with your child early please make sure a coach is aware.

Runners are expected to act in a respectful manner as we represent Norton Public Schools. If there are behaviors that don’t positively reflect our team values and school guidelines, students will be spoken to and parents/guardians will be called if the behavior persists. 

IMPORTANT!!!!  You must register your child using the Family ID system (link below) prior to TRYOUTS. IF YOUR CHILD DOES NOT HAVE A CURRENT PHYSICAL (DATED WITHIN THE PAST 13 MONTHS) ON FILE WITH THE SCHOOL NURSE THEY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TRY OUT. 

Registration Family ID

We are looking forward to a great season! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Coach Jaye (Darling) and Coach Massaro

Here is the tentative schedule for the fall season. You and the athletes will be made aware if there are any changes.

2025 Fall Cross Country Schedule