GETTING READY FOR FALL SPORTS Ed Poirier, Coach Dear Coach Ed, My 13 year-old son, Jordan, will be participating in 8th grade XC and football this fall. He did both last school year and was very successful with little preparation. We would like to do better this year but school starts in 5 1/2 weeks. He loves to run and we have done some running this summer. Can someone give us a program that will prepare him for both activities in this short period of time? Thanks, Earl Hi Earl, The best advice I could give your son at this time is to keep or get his mileage up. Running 3 to 5 miles 4 days a week at a comfortable pace will get him in great condition before the season starts. Run one day 3 miles then the next time he goes out run 5 vary the mileage to avoid fatigue. The speed and quickness will come from his workouts with the XC and football team. Good luck, Coach Ed Ed Poirier, "Coach Ed", recently was invited by the United States Olympic committee to attend a workshop and training seminar at the Olympic training center in California.