Sunday, May 9, 2010

Last CTK Track News for the 2010 season...

Greetings track families,

The 2010 CYO Season is now behind us aside from the picnic. If you and your athlete have not had enough track and field, I have a few ideas for you below.

Diocesan Championship Meet
Our athletes had a very successful weekend at the Diocesan Championship Meet Friday evening and Saturday. As soon as the Diocese posts the results, I'll post a link on our web site. I added the Sectional results to athletic.net today and will add the Diocese results toathletic.net when they are available.

CTK Parish Festival
The Christ the King annual Parish Festival is next weekend. It starts Friday evening and continues Saturday and Sunday. If your kids miss seeing their track teammates, there's an excellent chance that they will see many of them (or even most of them in the case of the middle school kids) at the festival. There are games, food, live music, and lots and lots of people!

Want More Running?
If your child is especially interested in continuing with track, Diablo Valley Track & Field Club might be for you. Please check their web site at http://dvtfc.org/.

If you are interested in a track & field summer camp, De La Salle High School is offering two sessions. See the announcement at http://www.dlshs.org/athletics/summer/index.aspx if you are interested.

You will find a great number of your teammates, coaches, and parents at Pleasant Hill's 4th of July Firecracker 5k race. See the city's site at http://www.phjuly4.com/ as we get closer to the date.

CYO Cross Country starts in late August. It's a lot of fun and pretty low-key compared to track. I'll send an announcement out before the season starts.

This Mailing List
I will send out only about three more emails to this mailing list before retiring. First, I'll send you a reminder shortly before the picnic. Second, I'll send you a CYO Cross Country announcement as I mentioned above. Third, I'll send an announcement in early January 2011 (!!) announcing CYO track again.

Picnic
I hope to see you all at the awards picnic on Sunday, May 30, at Pleasant Hill Park. It's three short weeks away! It's been a pleasure working with your kids all season and of course a lot of fun running the track meets with all of you parents. Thank you for another terrific season!

See you in the park,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Sunday, May 2, 2010

CTK Track News for the week of 3 May 2010...

Greetings Track Families,

We are entering the last week of the 2010 season already. Seems like it just started! Congratulations to all of the CTK/SC/SS athletes who participated in the Sectional Championship Meet over the weekend. The coaches have a big pile of ribbons and medals to hand out!

Practice
There will be two final practices this week:
  • Monday, May 3 from 5-6:30pm at College Park HS track
  • Thursday, May 6, from 5-6:30pm at College Park HS track
(As with last week, we've abandoned our Tuesday time slot to yet another home CPHS lacrosse game.)

Diocese Meet
The Diocesan Championship Meet will take place this Friday evening and Saturday. All of the details are on the front page of the web site.

Meet Volunteers
We'll need a few meet volunteers this week for the Diocese Meet. If your child qualified, please contact Katy Simpson, our volunteer coordinator, to volunteer your time. We won't have many slots to fill at the meet but they are all important.

Thank you very much to all of the parents who worked Saturday at Granada HS. A special thanks to the tireless volunteers at the boys long jump pit who worked all day in the hot sun.

Volunteer Deposits
Most families did a great job fulfilling their volunteer jobs this season and I will be feeding my shredder most of your volunteer deposit checks shortly. However, I will be in touch with a dozen or so families who appear to have skipped working their shifts more often than not. To be sure that we don't keep any volunteer deposits in error, I'll be contacting each family whose check I plan to deposit with an individual email some time this week. The subject line will be "Volunteer Deposit in Jeopardy."

On the other end of the scale, many families worked more or MUCH more than they were asked. (Okay, I asked some of you again and again...) We'll recognize these families at the picnic and hold a drawing for gift cards to various local restaurants. We couldn't have done it without you!

Awards Picnic
We'll have our annual track family picnic with more awards than you thought possible on Sunday, May 30, at 11am at Pleasant Hill Park. Please mark your calendars, if only so the coaches can hand out all of the ribbons that have been accumulating in their bags all season. Mount Lost & Found will also appear, and anything not claimed by the end of the picnic will be donated away. Check the "Lost & Found" page on the web site.

See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Sunday, April 25, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 26 Apr 10...

Greetings Track Parents,

Thanks to everyone who worked hard at the Qualifying Meet on Saturday. We had beautiful weather and fine performances from many of our athletes. On to the championship part of the season!

Qualifying Meet Results
As I sent earlier, the unofficial meet results for our meet Saturday are here:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AupQ1UXElObEdGNka1ZfVE90c2duUVIxbzlzOHFBQ2c&output=html

We are Meet A, so look for your kids there. If you saw"#NAME?" earlier for the 800m
and some 200m results, I have fixed that now so look again. Also as I said earlier,
please get me any comments by 4pm Monday so that I may look up the results at
our Coordinators meeting Monday evening.

If your child possibly or definitely qualified but cannot compete next weekend, please let me
know ASAP. If your child was on a relay team that possibly or definitely qualified but cannot compete next weekend, please let your child's primary coach know ASAP so they can work on finding a replacement.

If you have general questions about the Sectional Championship Meet, please have
a look at the new FAQ page on the web site. Or you can always ask if I haven't explained
something there clearly enough.

Practice Day Change
Due to College Park's lacrosse schedule, we can't practice on the track for the next two Tuesdays (4/27 and 5/4). For that reason, as I announced last week at practice, we'll practice Mondays 4/26 and 5/3 instead. As it stands now, rain is forecast for Tuesday so this may turn out to be a wise move!

Practices are for EVERYONE
If your athlete didn't qualify on Saturday for the championship part of the season, please
be assured that they are still welcome at practice this week and next. We should have
ribbons on Thursday this week and I believe they will go to 5th place.

Picnic Coming
Make sure you've marked your calendar for the Team Awards Picnic on Sunday, May 30, from 11am until 3pm at Pleasant Hill Park. One tradition we have is to salute our departing 8th graders, and recognize those who have been with the team since they were in 2nd or 3rd grade. We will also have our annual drawing for extra-helpful parents. Will you be a winner? I hope you all can come, if only to pick over the Lost & Found collection*!

See you on the track,

carl

* I have not had time to update the Lost & Found collection page for Saturday yet.
--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

CTK Track News for the week of 19 Apr 10...

Greetings Track Families,

We had beautiful weather in Granada yesterday for our final "practice meet." I especially want to recognize and thank the volunteers we pulled from the stands to fill in for some (ahem) no-shows. Thank you very much! Results are not posted yet unfortunately but I'm sure they will appear soon.

Practices
We'll practice twice this week as usual.
  • Tuesday, April 20, 5-6:30pm at College Park HS track
  • Thursday, April 22, 5-6:30pm at College Park HS track
The forecast for this Tuesday is rainy so please remember to check the "Twitter box" on the web site home page after 4pm to see if practice has been cancelled due to rain.

Qualifying Meet
Next Saturday is our Qualifying Meet. The location was finally announced on Friday night:
  • Saturday, April 24, 9am at Ygnacio Valley HS track
Briefly, the qualifying meet will determine who qualifies for the Sectional Championship meet the following week. This meet will be just like our regular meets except for two differences:
  • Second graders run as third graders from now on
  • Relay teams must be gender-pure, parish-pure, and grade-pure.
To save many of you reading about this for the millionth time, I have started a new page on the web site called "FAQ" where the first two entries attempt to address all of the most frequently asked questions about the Qualifying Meet and the Sectional Championship Meet.
Please check there first, and then call or write with any remaining questions. (Old-timers are encouraged to proofread that page since I just wrote it!)

Lost & Found
The collection continues to grow. Please check the "Lost & Found" page on the web site if you left something at Granada yesterday. If the item is not there, it may be in the snack shack at Granada High School. After the meet yesterday, a coach from St. Michael and I wandered around the track picking up clothing. I took some with me if I recognized them or if there was a name or (say) a local swim team insignia, and she took some with her. We just guessed on the rest.

Picnic Coming
As kids finish their season with us, I want to remind everyone to mark their calendars for Sunday, May 30 when we'll have our annual Team Picnic where we hand out lots of awards. More details are coming on that, but I hope you'll save the date.

See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Sunday, April 11, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 11 Apr 2010...

Greetings Track Families,

Welcome back to everyone who has been away for spring break!

Relay Meet
The relay meet yesterday was a lot of fun despite the unseasonably windy and cold conditions.
Results are posted on the web site and have been uploaded to athletic.net.

Between our meet at Ygnacio Valley and the other relay meet at DVC, ten new records were
set including one by the 6th grade boys medley team of Marco Monti, Ian Dota-Clemens, Jake
Simpson, and David Phair. (The record they broke was just set by a CTK/SC team last year.)
Our 7th grade girls St. Catherine team of Helene Hollidge, Allie Timbrell, Tara Schueller and
Janean Bell also broke the old medley relay, but alas a St. Joan of Arc team running at DVC
did too, and they were faster.

We will have ribbons for 1st through 5th place (combining heats) this week at practice.

Practice
We will try to practice twice this week as usual but it may be a challenge practicing on Tuesday.
The College Park HS lacrosse team has a 5pm game on Tuesday so we can't practice at the track.
Last season, we moved to the grass field behind the baseball diamond once or twice but the
rain today and tomorrow may prevent us doing even that. Please check the "Twitter Box" on
the web site's home page where I'll post an update by 4pm Tuesday.

On Thursday we'll practice from 5-6:30pm as usual on the track.

Next Meet
Our meet next Saturday will take place at Granada High School in Livermore at 9am which
is 40-45 minutes away. Please plan accordingly to get your athletes to the meet on time!

Granada High School features "fully automated timing" which will relieve many of the timers
and judges of working most of the events. We'll still need volunteers as relay judges and
to staff the opposite side 50m & 100m. Granada even has two high jump pits so the volunteer
schedule has been reworked to reflect all these changes. (We'll give the boys the glory of the
home side this time, and send the girls to the opposite side.)

Granada has a very nice facility and will be hosting the League Championship and
Diocesan Championship meets this season. They feature a big snack bar, which is
a major fundraiser for their track and field team so have a bite of lunch while you're
there! Directions to Granada are on the web site, or plug "400 Wall St., Livermore"
into your navigation system.

That's all for this week. See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Thursday, April 8, 2010

CTK Track News for the week of 5 Apr 10...

Hi everyone,

I know I promised (you PROMISED!) no team email this week but things are piling up here
at CTK Track world headquarters so here goes a mid-week special.

Will You Miss the Relay Meet?
If your athlete will miss the relay meet, PLEASE tell your runner's primary coach. An
email address for one of the coaches in each group is listed on the Staff page of the web
site. The coaches try very hard to put together good relay teams and knowing ahead of the
meet that your athlete is not coming is a lot better than being surprised. Thank you!
(Note: if you've already told me that your athlete is missing the meet and he or she
is not in my group, I passed along the info to the proper authority.)

A whole lot of volunteers are signed up to work the relay meet and, judging by history,
our volunteers making reminder phone calls will find that a number of them are actually
on vacation this week. If you are at the meet on Saturday, and hear us appeal for a few
more CTK volunteers, please step forward and help out.

Fabulous Prizes
I don't believe that I have mentioned our annual drawing for "extra-helpful volunteers"
this season. Our volunteer coordinator keeps track of who has worked extra shifts at
our meets during the season and these volunteers are entered in a drawing at the
picnic at the end of the season. A few rules:
  • Every shift after your fifth earns you a "ticket" for the drawing.
  • The Mini-Meet does not count, nor do the League Meet or Diocese Meet
  • We take into account that certain jobs are full-meet jobs so they count double
  • You need not attend the picnic to win
  • Hiring YV students to work your shift definitely counts as a shift worked
  • Please always sign in so we know when you've worked!
Ygnacio Valley Students for Hire Again
If you are interested in hiring YVHS athletes to fill your shifts at the Relay Meet,
please let me (or Katy, our volunteer coordinator) know by Thursday. A few more
can be hired at the last minute at the meet but it will help the coach plan to know
how many of his runners are likely to be needed.

Marty Mart Scholarship
8th Grade CYO athletes are invited to apply for the Marty Mart Scholarship
every year. If you have an 8th grader and are interested, please see the application
here:

Three More Quick Items
  • The Relay Meet starts at 9am, so please arrive at 8:30am at YV to warm up
  • If you've seen the missing walkie talkie, please tell me!
  • Practice resumes tomorrow at 5pm at College Park!
See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Sunday, March 28, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 29 Mar 10...

Greetings Track Families,

Thanks to all of the families who pitched in to make our meet on Saturday run so efficiently. Results are now posted and will turn up on athletic.net soon.

Missing Radio!
Did anyone accidentally take home one of our walkie-talkies attached to your belt after our meet? I have hunted everywhere but can't find one. Please let me know right away if you have it.

Speaking of lost items, the Lost & Found page on the web site is amassing quite a collection of clothing. Is anything yours?

Spring Break
This week we will begin our Easter break. There will be no practice Thursday, no meet next Saturday (April 3), and no practice the Tuesday after Easter (April 6). There will not even be a weekly newsletter next Sunday evening with which to curl up. (Parents are encouraged to send their kids out running every time they say, "I'm bored" over Spring Break.)

The weather for Tuesday may not cooperate, so remember to check the Twitter box on the home page of the web site after 4pm Tuesday in case rains forces a cancellation.

More YVHS Athletes for Hire
Our next meet, on Saturday April 10, will be at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord. If you are scheduled to work that day, you can again hire an Ygnacio Valley HS athlete to work in your place. Please let me or Katy, our tireless volunteer coordinator, know if you would like to do so and we'll set it up..

Relay Meet
Our next meet will be the annual Mary Chatterton Memorial Relay Meet, named in honor of the late coordinator of the St. Agnes track team. The meet will consist of just three relay races but will involve athletes from seven other parishes and will take about as long as a regular meet.

Since it comes at the end of Spring Break for many schools, we understand that lots of families are away for the week which is completely fine so long as you tell your athlete's coach. (See the Staff page on the web site for contact info for one coach from each primary group.)

The races this year are the 4x100m relay, the medley relay (200/200/400/800m), and either the 4x200m relay (grades 2-4) or the 4x400m relay (grades 5-8).

Have a very happy Easter! See you on the track,

carl
--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 22 Mar 10...

Greetings Track Families,

I thought our athletes and our parent volunteers did themselves proud yesterday at our Meet with
the combined St. Isidore and St. Joan of Arc teams. They are used to hosting meets since they
also have a very big team and their coordinator was very complimentary of our efforts. Thanks
very much to all of the parents who worked so hard.

Sprints on Both Sides of the Track
As you may have noticed, we finished half an hour earlier despite having run two sets of relays
at the meet's end yesterday. Yes, we started 10 minutes earlier than last week, but the big
difference was, I think, running the short sprints on both sides of the track simultaneously.
I have to admit I was a skeptical of this practice, but now I'm a believer. And from the rave
reviews I heard from many parents, a lot of you are too. If we can save all the meet attendees
an hour each Saturday, I think we all win.

We are going to try to do it again next weekend at DVC since we have plenty of volunteers
signed up if we can come up with the extra equipment necessary to do so in time. (I am
working on it, rest assured.) The good news is that even if you are an unassigned volunteer at
this point for next week's meet, we'll find you something to do if only for the 50m and 100m
races.

Practices
We'll practice twice as usual this week, on Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6:30pm at College
Park.

Next Meet
Next week we'll host St. Bonaventure at DVC and we'll start at 8:30am. (We intended to do
so yesterday but unfortunately a lot of the SI/SJA families did not get the word. We compromised
and started about 8:50am.)

Results
Results from yesterday's meet are already posted on the Schedule page of the web site
They will be uploaded to athletic.net when I get a chance. I am hopeful we'll start handing
out "Personal Best" ribbons this week to athletes who improve in an event over the course
of this season. And of course we'll have StarBurst awards on Tuesday and regular ribbons
on Thursday as usual.

Lost & Found
The Lost & Found page has been updated with the haul from yesterday's meet. Please
check to see if you recognize anything. I can bring lost treasures to practice if you send
me an email.

See you on (both sides of) the track,
- Hide quoted text -

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Sunday, March 14, 2010

MEET UPDATE: We're at DVC this week

Hi everyone,

Sorry to fill your mail boxes this week, but we'll be at Diablo Valley College tomorrow instead
of Ygnacio Valley High School.

The meet still starts at 9am. Please arrive at 8:30am if you are a first-shift volunteer, or 8am if
you are on the Setup Crew. Runners who plan to run the 1600m or 4x100m should arrive by 8:30am
as well.

The meet will finish by 1:30pm (earlier if we can manage it!) due to another group using DVC at 2pm.

We'll still have Ygnacio Valley HS student workers as planned.

Thanks for your patience with all the changes this week. See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

IMPORTANT -- Saturday's Meet Moved!

Greetings Track Families,

Due to a conflict with a soccer tournament, the meet scheduled for Ygnacio Valley HS will move
to a different venue. (This is obviously not my idea; it looks to me like a double-booking problem
from the school district.)

Stay tuned for an update later on today. I am sending this email early since I know many of you
get your track emails at work and I wanted to catch as many people as possible.

If you have arranged for an Ygnacio Valley HS track athlete to take your work assignment,
that arrangement is still on -- don't worry.

I will send another email when I have details or you can check the web site or follow "ctktrack"
on Twitter for news on this.

I'm really sorry about this! This season's insurance, lacrosse and soccer surprises are not
typical.

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

CTK Track news for the week of 8 Mar 10...

Greeting Track Parents,

We had beautiful weather for the 2010 Mini-Meet and I thought the meet ran very well. I hope your kids enjoyed themselves and are eager to compete again next week.

The Mini-Meet results will be posted this week. (Actually, results are starting to appear now on athletic.net) We don't award ribbons for the Mini-Meet this year, but we'll be awarding ribbons after all of the rest of our meets. We'll also be awarding personal best ribbons to recognize improved performances throughout the season. And for the old-timers, Starburst awards start Tuesday!

Two Practices This Week
This week practice will go from 5-6:15pm at College Park HS as usual. Next week we'll extend a little further -- to 6:30pm -- which is as late as we'll go for the balance of the season. (We're springing forward next weekend.)

Practices this week are
  • Tuesday, 3/10 from 5-6:15pm at College Park HS
  • Thursday, 3/12 from 5-6:15pm at College Park HS
First "Real" Meet Next Weekend
Next Saturday, March 13, is our first regular season meet and it will be very similar to the Mini-Meet except that we'll have more company. We'll be hosting the St. Perpetua, St. Monica, St. John Vianney, and St. Francis teams. The meet will be held at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord.

The first gun is at 9am, but
  • All athletes and first shift volunteers should strive to be there by 8:30am
  • The setup crew should be there at 8am
  • Please tell your athlete's primary coach if your athlete will be absent or late to help in relay team planning
  • If you cannot make your work assignment for this (or any other meet), please find a replacement or contact our volunteer coordinator as a last resort.
Contact info for the primary coaches and volunteer coordinator is on the Staff page of the web site.

But If You Don't Want to Work...
Ygnacio Valley High School's track coach, George Francis, is a former CYO coach and has an offer for you: Sponsor a YV track athlete who will work your shift(s) this weekend.

Here's how it works. The YVHS track team is doing a fundraiser at all CYO meets held at their track this season. (We'll have at least two.) For a $40 donation, a YV athlete will work two shifts for you next Saturday. Or, for a $20 donation, a YV athlete will work one shift next Saturday. If you are interested, please let me know ASAP so I can contact George and tell him how many of his athletes we'll need.

(By the way, please don't do the math here with respect to your volunteer deposit. This is a fundraiser and donation!)

Event Variety & Late Relays
Please support the coaches as we encourage your kids to try different events at the first few meets. Each athlete will have his or her favorite events but we want them to try longer or shorter distances once or twice. If your child just does the 50m, 100m, and softball throw every week, they are missing out on the full track and field experience!

We normally run two relay races (Sprint Medley and 4x400m) at the end of our meets. If you are working the second shift anyway, please encourage your kids to run these events. We didn't run them at the Mini-Meet, but will do so the rest of the season. These relays are lots of fun since we seem to be left with the more dedicated kids from all of the teams present. And since many of the kids have left, ribbons are often easier to come by!

See you on the track,

carl

Sunday, February 28, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 1 Mar 2010...

Greetings Track Families,

There's less than a week to the first meet of the season. Here's hoping the weather is cooperative next Saturday afternoon!

Practice Schedule
We'll practice twice this week until 6pm. Starting next week, we'll go until 6:15pm.
  • Tuesday, March 2, 5-6pm-- College Park HS track
  • Thursday, March 4, 5-6pm-- College Park HS track
A few people have asked if I send an email out when canceling practice due to rain. The answer is no, I do not. Instead, I use Twitter to update a box on the front page of the web site. You can either check that box on rainy days after 4pm, or follow "ctktrack" on Twitter.

Mini-Meet News
Your athlete's T-shirts should be available at practice Tuesday and Thursday or at the mini-meet on Saturday. If not, kids may wear last year's T-shirt or anything they like since this is just a practice meet for our team. We try to get the kids to wear black shorts to make more of a uniform, but it's by no means a requirement.

The Mini-Meet starts at 1pm, but all athletes and first shift volunteers should be there by 12:30pm. The setup crew should be there at 12 noon. We will wind up this meet by about 5pm, regardless of where we are in the progression of events.

Kids will be signing up for events this week at practice. If your child won't be attending the Mini-Meet, please make sure he or she knows that so that they can tell their coach. We have the kids sign up for events ahead of the meet since they are limited to two running and one field event or one running and two field events at each meet. (Relay events don't count; kids can always run in all of the relays though of course we always need teams of four.) We find that having the kids sign up ahead of time makes it easier for everyone at the meet and focuses them a little bit. Signing up for events ahead of time is not required nor is it binding since the kids are not really signed up for anything until they register with a clerk of the course for a running event or at a given field event at the meet.

As has become a tradition, we've invited the St. Ignatius CYO track team to our Mini-Meet. (They teach our sprinters humility, a valuable trait!)

Volunteer Alert
Expect a reminder phone call from the volunteer coordinators (or one of their helpers) regarding your work assignment late in the week. Please note that they may have assigned you a job if you signed up late or perhaps we moved you from your original assignment to fill a more urgent need. Thanks in advance for your flexibility.

Please check the Volunteers page on the web site for the Mini Meet volunteer positions. If you are not signed up already but are available to work (especially in the second shift, and especially if you are experienced), please contact our volunteer coordinator, Katy Simpson (katysimpson4@gmail.com), to let her know where you can help. This is a training exercise for our "real" meets so we expect everyone to help out. Thanks!

Officiating Clinic

We will hold our annual Officiating Clinic this week. It is especially for parents new to the team who will be working at meets though everyone is invited. We often have volunteers from other parishes join us too. While most of the meet jobs can be learned on the spot, please try to come to the Officiating Clinic for a preview and overview.
  • Wednesday, March 3, 7pm at Christ the King School, room 222 (6th grade classroom)
Which Events Should My Kids Do at the Meet?
The two most frequently asked questions I hear at this time of year are
  • What is the order of events?
  • Which events should my kids do?
The first one is addressed on the front page of the web site. I also have little cards to hand out that summarize the same information. (I gave them out at the parent meeting, and there are always more cards available at the meets.)

The second question is more subtle but you and your kids will quickly come to your own understanding. Here are our guidelines:
  • We encourage kids to pick different events over the first 3 meets as far as possible. What we don't want is for kids to decide coming into track that they are sprinters and only ever run the 50m and 100m races. Since each athlete is allowed to do 2 individual running events and 1 field event (or else 1 individual running event and 2 field event) at each meet,they can try out quite a lot of distances. Relays do not count in this -- kids can do all three relays each week if they want.
  • On the other hand, it is useful for the coaches to find out who is fast for planning relay teams. We usually build relay teams strictly on a merit basis with the fastest 4 kids on the "A" relay team and the second fastest on the next team and so on. However, some kids improve more than others so these things are not set in stone until later in the season. Anyway, I often encourage everyone to do a 100m race in the first couple of meets just so I get all their times.
  • Every athlete is expected to run in the 4x100m relay near the beginning of each meet. It's important that you alert your primary coach if your athlete is not coming to a meet so that the coach can adjust the relay teams.
  • If a kid just isn't sure what to do, his or her coaches will help. We always have an opinion!
See you on the track,

carl


--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Friday, February 26, 2010

CTK Track news for week of 22 Feb 10...

Greetings Track Families,

Welcome to week 4 of the track season.

Practices
We'll practice twice this week as usual, going a little bit longer:
  • Tuesday, Feb 23, from 5-6pm at College Park HS
  • Thursday, Feb 25, from 5-6pm at College Park HS
We'll begin doing different event workouts this week which can be a little chaotic until the kids get used to it.

Looking Ahead
We have two weeks until our first meet, which will be our Mini-Meet. It takes place on Saturday afternoon (our only afternoon meet), March 6, at 1pm at College Park HS. Next week's mail will talk more about this meet.

In advance of the Mini-Meet, we'll also have our annual Officiating Clinic, on Wednesday evening, March 3, in the 6th grade classroom at CTK School. (This is the same room where we held sign-ups.)

We will also hand out team T-shirts to those who ordered them at the end of practice on Thursday, March 4th. Our T-shirt coordinator should have the remaining T-shirts available at the Mini-Meet itself, and for a week or so afterwards.

Volunteers
I've posted the volunteer lists for all of the meets on the web site on the Volunteers page. Katy, our volunteer coordinator, is just starting to fix my mistakes and fill in the blanks with people who signed up late. If you spot errors (especially if I managed to misspell your name, for instance), please email Katy at katysimpson@sbcglobal.net . We will be moving folks around as spots open up and promoting people with some experience into "head" jobs as necessary.

We'll also be providing reminder calls 1 or 2 days before each meet when you are assigned to work.

If you are wondering about the shaded areas on most of the meets, those jobs will be assigned to the other parish teams once the schedule is published. We host most of our meets, but rely on our guests for their help running all of the events.

(First Aid and Ribbon Sorter volunteers -- You don't appear on the schedule yet but your time will come!)

Shoes
Is your athlete coming to practice in skate shoes or basketball shoes? Please try to make sure that he or she actually wears those running shoes you bought! Your children's feet will thank you.

Also, as I mentioned at the parent meeting, please don't send your athlete to practice if they are sick or injured and can't participate. Yes, it's happened already this season a few times. Thank you!

See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Insurance Crisis Solved


Greetings Track Families,

I'm very sorry that I had to cancel track practice on Tuesday with almost no notice, but it was unavoidable.

The school district now has their insurance certificate so we'll be able to practice Thursday, Feb. 18, from 5pm until about 5:50pm.

carl

Sunday, February 14, 2010

CTK Track news for week of 15 Feb 09...

Greetings Track Families,

Practice Schedule
We'll practice twice this week again, on Tuesday and Thursday from 5 until 5:50pm at College Park. If it's rainy, you can check the web site after 4pm to find out if practice has been canceled and replaced by ark building. The practice status will appear in the Twitter window in the upper right hand corner of the main page. (I am told that it's possible to get these "tweets" on your phone or other mobile devices; ask your 6th grader if you need help with such things.)

Team Roster
Full alphabetical roster with contact info: http://tinyurl.com/ctktrack

Late Sign-Ups

We have 250 kids signed up at the moment, and we will only accept new sign-ups through the end of next week.

Don't Like Track After All?
If our track program is not working for you or your familiy for whatever reason, I am happy to issue refunds for your fees and either return or shred your volunteer deposit check. Please let me know and provide a mailing address where the refund check is to be sent. By dropping formally, we will know to remove you from the volunteer assignments you may be leaving behind. I am happy to give back at least partial refunds well into the season, so there's no hurry.

Miss Past Track News?
If you are joining us late and want to read past email newsletters, please check the
News link on the team web site.

Volunteer Listings Coming Soon
All of the volunteer jobs that you selected at sign-ups have been entered and will soon appear on the Volunteers page on the web site. If you signed up late, we'll be adding your name to the mix too. Our volunteer coordinator or one of her assistants will be in touch with you when that happens. I'm hoping to make it easy for you to search for your assignments as well this season, but we'll have to see how that works out.

Lost & Found
After Thursday's practice, one of our families found a Plantronics ear piece (apparently for a cell phone) in the College Park parking lot. It is a Steel Blue color and looked to be in good condition. She turned it in to the CPHS office so please inquire there if it's yours.

We will have Lost & Found items galore once we start meets!

See you on the track,

carl

--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

CTK Track news for the week of 8 Feb 10...

Greetings Track Families,

Parent Meeting Handouts Posted
Thanks to all who attended the Parent Meeting last weekend. I have posted the handouts from that meeting on the
(you guessed it) Handouts page of the web site if you missed it.

Practices
We'll practice twice this week:
  • Tuesday, Feb 9, from 5pm to 5:45pm at College Park HS track
  • Thursday, Feb 11, from 5pm to 5:45pm at College Park HS track
Remember to check the team web site after 4pm on practice days if it's rainy. Or, if you are trendy, you can follow ctktrack on Twitter for track practice updates.

Running Shoes
...are HIGHLY recommended. We're seeing a number of kids who are wearing skateboard (not good) or basketball shoes (not as bad) to track. They should all be wearing running shoes. Local shoe stores such as Athletic Outpost in Walnut Creek, Fleet Feet in Pleasant Hill, and Roadrunner Sports in Concord will all give you 10% off if you tell them your child is on a track team, but you can buy running shoes anywhere.

Team Roster
The team roster is at [Ask Carl]. I have added new kids since last week and fixed a bunch of errors. Let me know if you find any mistakes. There is a second page called "Stastistics" that looks at the numbers in each group, by parish, and this week only, by T-shirt size.

Late Sign-Ups

We have 239 kids signed up at the moment. This number moves around a lot and we will still accept new sign-ups for another couple of weeks. Tell your friends.

Old News
If you feel that you want more information or a preview of the season ahead, most of the family emails I've sent out over the past two seasons are archived under News on the web site.

See you on the track,

carl


--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

CTK Track News for the week of 1 Feb 2010...

Greetings 2010 CTK/St.C/St.S Track Families,

Welcome to another fun season of CYO track featuring the combined team of Christ the King,
St. Catherine, and St. Stephen parishes! I'll be sending (at least) a weekly email for the
rest of the season with news about practices, meets, and other team information. Don't
say you weren't warned.

Practices
We will be practicing at College Park High School this season, on Tuesdays and Thursdays
starting at 5pm. We'll finish up before 6pm until the time changes in March. Please pick
your athletes up promptly after practice so the coaches can get home themselves.

Our first two practices will be:

Tuesday, Feb 2 5-5:45pm at College Par High School track
Thursday, Feb 4 5-5:45pm at College Park High School track

Dress warmly for practices at College Park. Even though your kids probably claim
not to feel the cold, PLEASE send them to practice in sweats.

Athletes should wear running shoes, sweats, and bring a water bottle. I would really
like it if they brought all of these things home after practice too.

Parents should walk their athletes down to the track and either come to the track for pickup
at the end of practice, or meet us shortly after practice ends at the gate to the parking lot.

With all of the rain we've had lately, I hope you won't be surprised if some of our practices
are cancelled due to bad weather. Here's our plan: We practice on an all-weather track,
so it's possible to practice no matter what the weather. However, in the interest of
keeping all of the coaches from quitting, I cancel practice if the weather is particularly
bad. I will post an announcement about practice on the front page of the web site
(http://www.ctktrack.org/) by 4pm if practice will be canceled.

This season that announcement will be in the form a "tweet" which should appear
in the Twitter box in the upper right corner of the home page. Or, you can follow ctktrack
on Twitter directly if you are as au courant as all that.

Parent Meeting
Don't forget the Track Parent Meeting on
Thursday, February 4th,
at 7pm in the Christ The King
Parish Hall. We hope that at least one
parent from each family, particularly new families, will come and learn more about
the program, meet the coaches, and get their questions answered. If
you have friends who may be interested in signing their kids up too, invite them
to the meeting. I dislike long meetings (ask any of my co-workers) and intend
to finish up by 8:15pm if possible, though we'll stay around to answer questions
as necessary afterwards.

Web Site
Our team web site has a map (on the Directions page), a schedule of events
(on the Schedule page), and lots of other information. You can even check your
volunteer assignments (eventually) and view meet results (after we have some meets).
The web site address is at the bottom of every mail you get from the team.

I do not want to help you get more spam or junk mail, so I do not put a link to the
roster on the web site. However, it's always there in case you need it to arrange
job swaps or car pools at [Ask Carl]. If I have managed to misspell
your name or confuse your contact info, please let me know. In attempting to decode
some of the handwriting on the forms, I was occasionally forced to make a wild guess!

Mailing List
If your family uses multiple email addresses, I can add others to this mailing list. However,
it seems more likely that you will ask me to drop an email address. In either case, please
let me know.

Late Sign-ups

We will accept late sign-ups until about February 25th. If you have friends who are interested,
please invite them to the parent meeting, or to check out the web site or even to come to
practice. Kids not actually signed up for the team are welcome to practice with the team to
see if they like it as long as a parent sticks around during practice. (That's because I don't
have a medical release and if anything should happen, we'd have a problem.)

See you on the track and the parent meeting,

carl


--
Carl Godkin
CTK/SC/SS Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/

Friday, January 1, 2010

2010 Twitter Experiment

I like to try new things to help communications among the team.

This season I'm going to try using Twitter (http://twitter.com/ctktrack) to send out last-minute reminders, cancel practices during bad weather, and so on. There is a little box in the top right corner of the web site's home page that is the team's "Twitter Status." You can follow the team on Twitter in any other way that's convenient, however, which is the point of the experiment.

carl

2010 CTK/SC/SS Track Sign-up Announcement

Greetings 2009 Track Parents,

Happy New Year!

Sign-ups for the 2010 Christ the King, St. Catherine, and St. Stephen CYO track season will take place on Thursday, January 21, and Monday, January 25, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at Christ the King School in the 6th grade classroom. The address is 199 Brandon Road, which is at the corner of Brandon and Gregory Lane in Pleasant Hill.

We'll begin practice on February 2nd, and we plan to hold the usual Tuesday and Thursday practices starting at 5pm. I expect we'll be practicing at College Park High School track again this season.

There will be meets every Saturday from March 6th until the diocese meet on May 8th, except for the Saturday before Easter (April 3rd). What I already know of our meet schedule is posted on the web site.

The fee this season is probably going to be $65 for each athlete. We will set the exact cost closer to the sign-ups depending on a few factors still to be determined. (Families finding this difficult should contact me privately.) Please bring your calendar to the sign-ups as we will once again expect you to sign up for five volunteer work assignments and leave a $50 deposit to encourage you to follow through.

As usual, we are very interested in having parents (experienced or not) sign up to coach with us. We usually end up with around 200 kids on the team and coaching so many athletes requires plenty of help. We are particularly interested in finding parents with experience in our field events (long jump, high jump, and shot put) or who are willing to join us for distance workouts ("road runs"). Please contact me if you have any questions.

If you are interested in more information, please contact me or check the team web site, at www.ctktrack.org. If you spot any mistakes on the site, please let me know as I've just updated it for 2010 and have probably made a few errors.

(I have your email address from last year's Christ the King, St. Catherine, and St. Stephen track season. This is meant to be a one-time mailing unless you sign your athlete up again. I know that some of you will receive more than one notice and that some of your kids have passed 8th grade.)

We are looking forward to another great season on the track.

Best regards,


--
Carl Godkin
CTK/St.C/St.S Track & Field Coordinator
280-9748
Visit http://www.ctktrack.org/