Summer Camp 2026

First, a big thank you to everyone for your patience as we navigate our new registration system together. We know it has come with a few learning curves, and we truly appreciate your flexibility!

Registration Walkthrough Video

To help make the process as smooth as possible, Coach Szabo created a short video explaining how to successfully complete your registration. You can view the video below

Current Enrollment & Session Status

We need a minimum number of runners to keep each session running. Here is where we stand as of this morning:

• Week 1: 13 athletes are fully registered, with 2 additional registrations currently in progress.

• Other Sessions: Currently sitting below 10 athletes. These sessions are at risk of cancellation if numbers do not increase. If you are planning to sign up for multiple weeks, please complete your registration before the school year ends so we can lock in these sessions!

Confirmation Emails

I have sent out a confirmation email to all families whose registrations are finalized. If you do not receive a confirmation email from me, your registration may be incomplete. Please use Coach Szabo’s video to double-check your account.

I am still learning the ins and outs of this new system myself, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if you get stuck or need help troubleshooting!

Coming Soon: Summer Training Plans

Keep an eye out later this week as I will be sharing our summer training plans directly with the athletes via Google Classroom.

This year, District 128 is transitioning to Bound for all camp enrollments and the link to register can be found on the 2026 athletic summer camp website. To ensure a smooth experience for your family, please keep these tips in mind:

• Navigate: Click the "Registration" tab at the top of the page to begin.

• Filter: You can easily search for sessions by gender, activity, or specific sport.

• Bundle: Feel free to add multiple camps to your cart to checkout all at once.

• Finalize: Complete the prompts to secure your child’s spot.

Financial Assistance

We believe every student should have the chance to participate. If fees are a barrier to entry, please complete this google form and wait for further instructions before finalizing your enrollment.

Questions? We are here to help! Please email Summer Camp Coordinator Abbie Gutzmer (abbie.gutzmer@d128.org) or you can email Coach Wolf by replying to this newsletter.

Summer Running Camp Registration (as well as other summer camps) is officially open!

These elements help athletes learn to listen to their bodies, stay injury-resistant, and become stronger runners overall. While designed with cross country athletes in mind, this program also benefits athletes from other sports by improving cardiovascular fitness, strength, and mental toughness. Whether you’re chasing PRs or building a stronger athletic foundation, summer training is where it all begins.

• 7 total sessions
• One-week sessions
• Tuesday–Thursday | 7:00–8:45 AM

Dates

• June 9 – July 30
• No camp the week of July 4

Locations

• Tuesday & Wednesday: VHHS Track
• Thursday: Various locations (TBA)

Special Activity

• Thursday Fun Runs
• Beach Trip: Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park (Session 5 or 6)

Required Equipment

• Good pair of running shoes
• Running clothes
• Filled water bottle
• Wristwatch

Also, new this summer, we will be hosting a middle school training camp for our future cougars. This youth running camp is designed to help young athletes build a strong, safe foundation for running through proper warm-ups, stretching routines, and basic strength training. Each session begins with an active warm-up to gradually increase heart rate, loosen muscles, and prepare the body for movement. Runners will learn dynamic stretches that improve flexibility and mobility while reducing the risk of injury.

The camp also emphasizes age-appropriate strength training specifically for runners. Using bodyweight exercises and simple drills, participants will develop core strength, balance, and stability to support good running form and efficiency. All activities will be coached by veteran high school cross country runners and will be overseen by both Steve Szabo (Head Boys Coach) and Chris Wolf (Head Girls Coach).

The goal by the end of the camp is to run a 2 mile race where family will be invited to cheer you on!

This is an opportunity to put your summer training to the test and race on the historic state meet course in Peoria. It is a fun and exciting atmosphere to be a part of, especially because it's raced at night under the lights! This is not an official school sponsored meet but you can set up, register and compete as a team. If you do plan to run, please let Coach Wolf know before you register so I can help you set it up as a team. There is an open race to start the evening that parents can run, a Jr. High Boys and a Jr. High Girls race in addition to the High School Boys and High School Girls races.

• Elmhurst University Running Camp - The staff includes experienced high school coaches from across the country, with current and former collegiate athletes from multiple levels serving as counselors, giving athletes access to strong mentorship and a broad range of competitive insight.
• Nike Cross Country Camps - This will list different camps Nike is sponsoring throughout the country including one at Elmhurst University.
  
• University of Wisconsin - this one has been very popular with our runners and they offer 2 sessions.

If you are participating in other VHHS camps which may conflict or you have other conflicts (work, summer school), please reach out so we can sort through that together.

• Summer Base Training: This is the start of the summer and is important to building endurance and strength to make it through the season injury free.
• Summer Pre-Season Training: Working on increasing mileage and starting to add speed work to run fast.
• Early Season Training: the season starts we will continue to build speed work and maintain good weekly mileage.
• Mid Season Training: Here we will transition to race specific speed training.
• Championship Series Training: Training to run our best races of the season at the right time. Running fast feels easy.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any runners & families you think may be interested in joining our cross country program, whether they are current VHHS students or middle school students.

Enjoy the rest of your school year. Finish strong and I look forward to seeing you all this summer.

Coach Wolf has been coaching cross country at Vernon Hills High School since 2006. He has helped coach 6 teams to state trophies, one sectional title, 7 regional titles and 12 All-State Athletes. Coach Wolf was also the Girls' Distance Track Coach from 2010-2014. In addition to coaching, He teaches AP Biology and Biology Honors in the VHHS Science Department, where he has been an educator since 2006. He lives in Libertyville with his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, Kylie (13) and Tessa (11).

Coach Wolf’s coaching philosophy centers on three core values:
Work Hard. Be Strong. Think Big.

These principles guide every practice, race, and season — both on and off the course.

I would like to get you connected to our team. Vernon Hills HS is using the AthleticAPP to communicate this season.

Get started by going to https://anet.io/7PRWJAPS6 to download the app, then sign up with our team code: 7PRWJAPS6