With two meets down and five remaining, the Mills College cross country team is setting short term goals and working hard to meet them in time for their end of season competition.
For NCAA West Regionals in November, the team is training and implementing Head Coach Ivory Veale’s coaching philosophy into every practice and meet, like setting multiple short-term goals, perfecting the fundamentals of distance running and emphasizing teamwork. The team is motivated to work together to achieve success and is focusing more on enjoying the process of achieving their goals, rather than on the end results.
In their most recent meet at Humbolt State, the average 6K team’s time was faster than last year’s mark. According to Veale, last season set the momentum and motivation for this year’s season; the goal is to keep the momentum going.
Veale emphasizes team orientation, self-discovery, general fitness improvement and competitive confidence. He encourages his athletes to set goals and to give them the necessary tools to be successful student athletes.
“Visualizing short-term goals to understand what needs to be done to accomplish long terms goals is key,” said Veale.
Senior runner Brooke Chilimidos’ goals for this semester includes being present and in the moment for every practice and race. She is focusing on achieving her short-term goals in order to have a successful end of the season competition.
“One of my goals is to not worry about the end result and pay attention to where I am here and now,” Chilimidos said.
First year Reina Kirkendall wants her team to keep encouraging each other through practices and competitions. Being a part of the team, and learning new training methods in the fitness center has helped her adjust to college. According to Kirkendall, Veale has been a crucial asset to her transition to college.
“He introduced me to new things; this is the first time I have done weight training,” Kirkendall said.
Senior Katie Meyer returned to crosas country after taking a year off. Her performance this season has been a product of Veale’s training philosophy of perfecting fundamental skills and setting short term goals. So far, Meyer has achieved her personal best time in the 6K race at the Humboldt State Invitational. As of now, her goal is to get faster and build endurance.
The team looks forward to picking up even more momentum throughout the season, with their upcoming race, the Sonoma State Invitational on Oct. 1.
