As the sound of rubber meeting asphalt fills the air, it’s time for Coach Bob Breuer to face the upcoming season as well as a problem that the cross country team hasn’t faced in years: a packed team roster.

The boys team is facing a growth of 16 runners compared to last year. This is a change from the ongoing trend from the last few years.

“Attendance has actually been decreasing the last few years,” said Coach Breuer. “I think that our efforts to get more kids interested, for example, teacher recommendations and word of mouth, played a big part in the jump in numbers this year.”

Junior Devin Enochs, a returning member of the team, had some doubts about the increased size of the team.

“The larger team is annoying because traditionally the team has been a relatively small and tight knit group,” Enochs said. “Plus, there could be some issues with transportation to different off-campus locations for practice, as the team usually carpools to these
locations, and now there are much more freshmen.”

Coach Breuer acknowledged the potential difficulty in transportation, however, he pointed to a possible solution on the horizon.

The Dardenne Creek Greenway is planning an expansion on a trail very close to FHC, allowing for an easy practice location that wouldn’t require transportation.

Coach Breuer remains optimistic about the new pool of freshmen runners.

“Ideally, we see a one minute improvement on their 5k time per year,” Coach Breuer said. “These freshman definitely are carrying a lot of potential as their time at FHC progresses.”

As the runners around him finished their pre-run stretches and began to jog off for a warm-up run, Coach Breuer looked around and explained that extra numbers are a good thing.

“More numbers mean more competition,” said Coach Breuer with a wide grin. “And competition is good.”