Calling All Tigers

*Black & Gold Tigers skip down to the ********** segment if you would like
*Maroon Tigers read from here :)

So San Antonio has been pretty desolate since the exiting of the Trinity senior class of 2011.

Graduation meant that it would be mostly Derick, Sherlock, and holding down the fort around town. The seniors were leaving and all the underclassmen were headed back to their families for the summer. While my summer has been wonderfully substantiated by moments of absolute Joy, literally- fun times with Joy Lindig, classes need to start so that everyone has to come back. It. Is. Time.

Thus, TUXC, here is a list of things I will need in the next few months:
-Main Street Pizza Outings (Derick... ahem... Coach Lawrence hasn't taken me out at alllllllll)
-Long Runs (preferrably fun routes we come up with- Contour and Dick F. are even more boring over the summer)
-Awkward Meetings With The New Freshmen (Who is that girl? Didn't she already graduate from school? Why is she still hanging around the team? What do we call her? So she's engaged to the coach?)
-Five Guys Outings (Yes James Woolley!)
-Pre-Meet Pasta Nights (Obvious- you all have to fuel up some how)
-A Partner For My Core Routine (ROSEMARY PLEASE COME BACK!!!)
-DoubleDaves Outings (notice how many references to food there are?)
-T-Shirt Making, Craft Forming, Girls Talking Nights (I am tired of beards and boys)
-Visits At Run On! (I am there 40 hours a week but still make it out to practice with you all, we have to meet in the middle somehow!)
-Meets, Invites, and Championships To Bring Out My Inner-Cheerleader Again (Seriously, my lungs are weak, and so is my cheer face)
-Luch Dates ANYWHERE (my grown up tastebuds are returning)
-Ultimate Frisbee Games (So I have something other to watch than Netflix)
-Team Dating (I have mine, go get yours)
-MARK GREENE (btw how was China?)
-The Antics of Sal & Pancho (You gentlemen and your short shorts do amuse)
-A Dogsitter/Housesitter/Cooking Teacher (Derick and I both FAIL)
-Work Outs WITH PEOPLE (Yes, Yes, UCL, the Golf Course, and Brackenridge will still be here)
-A Reason To Wear Something Other Than Running Clothes (I don't care if you have a band concert, art opening, or want to feed pigeons in the park- hold me accountable!)
-(And Finally) A Reason To Get Up Before 7 AM (serious laziness going on down here and it is too hot for that)

Also, I have some promises to make. If you all come back SOON I promise to:
-Try not to talk about "the good ol'days" and that-one-school-I-graduated-from all the time
-Not rant about the Barefoot movement, how big my feet have gotten, or the fun customers I get in the store
-Make it out to as many meets as possible this year
-Cheer my face off
-Eat my face off
-Actually have my Focus on Form days***COMING SOON to a track near you :)
-Take you on bird runs/walks (I know this is a big reason you guys are rushing back)
-Give you some great motivation!

SO HURRY!!!!
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For the Tigers in stripes that are not so Maroon, I hope you all know how much I miss you. I see you all growing your own traditions and moving to such an awesome level. Since I won't get to see my Gold & Black blood for SCAC, I may just have to find a flight out to good old Greencastle. The call is still there for you and I hope you still see it in what I write. The ages before you live on (we exist I promise!) through everything you guys do. Even all the way in Texas I can feel the heart, see the drive, and hear the passion that the team has. You guys face a new conference but you are armed with the right stuff to run with confidence and power. Remember the people you have supporting you- alumni everywhere cheering, family and friends pushing for you, the amazing coaching staff, and each other. Fight, run, hope, cheer, and dominate with each other. I can't wait to see how you all do. Thankfully, my stalking skills are still up to par.

To all the freshman I don't know- have a blast and love the run. The best thing I ever did my freshman year was drop in on Coach Stoffregen and just chat with him. We did that all four years and I ran faster than I ever thought I could. You want to improve? Talk. Chat. Discuss. Ask questions. And MOST important- LISTEN. The first time I really sat down with coach I asked him how he thought I was doing. He said fine, but I asked what else he wanted to say. I had heard his hesitation. He told me he thought I could work harder in practice. No one had said that to me for a long time, but he got me hungry and reminded me that this was a new level and that required more than ever! It was a suprise for me to hear I wasn't working hard enough, but if I wouldn't have stepped up my game that year I wouldn't have won Conferences as a freshman! Listen and talk to Coach Stoffregen. It makes a world of difference in your development as a college athlete and a person. (Also, laugh at his jokes- make sure he still has some good ones)

Get ready for an amazing year!