Sunday, February 21, 2016

Track News for the Week of Feb 21

Practice this week, 5:00-6:00pm

Full disclosure: These newsletters are shamelessly copied and modified from last year's gems by Mike Clemens.

The Golden (Track) Rule

The number one rule in CYO is the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated.

This means being quiet during announcements, listening to the coaches during practice, and respecting all your teammates. Our practice groups are large, and track is very social, but there's never a good time to tease, belittle, or harass anyone else.

CYO publishes a code of conduct (PDF) that everyone is expected to read and follow. You can add "teammates" anywhere that you see the word "opponents."

Athletes: if you're having problems during practice, please tell your coach as it happens. They're in the best position to correct it, and to let me know the names of who was involved.

Anyone who finds that they cannot follow the Code of Conduct will be asked to leave the team, with their fees forfeited. That would be unfortunate, so please be kind.

Volunteer News

We hope to have the volunteer schedule posted in the first week of March. We're still waiting for final meet information from the League. We'll let you know when you can start signing up. If you have questions in the meantime, you can email volunteers@ctktrack.org.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Track News for the Week of February 15th

Hello families, it's time again for this week's news...

Safety at College Park

There are lots of other sports going on inside and outside of the track stadium. Remind your athletes to walk around the outside of the track fence to get to the stands. Don't cut across the field during games or other teams' practices. And look both ways before stepping onto the track--a good rule for volunteers and spectators as well as athletes.

During lacrosse practice, we get to add dodge ball to our list of skills. Please make sure your athletes keep their eyes open for the occasional missed pass.

Uniforms

...have been ordered. We'll let you know when they come in and are ready to be picked up.

Track not working out?

Hopefully things are starting to get a little smoother for your athletes. The first few practices can be chaotic until the groups settle in.

Sometimes track isn't a good fit, though, and that's OK. You may drop from the program with a full refund if you notify me via email by February 28. Your deposit check will be shredded, and we'll remove you from the volunteer sheets.

Starting March 1, the fees refund drops to 50%, with the deposit check shredded.

Dropping on or after our first meet on March 12 means a forfeit of both your fees and deposit.

Uniform costs are refunded at 100% or 50% as above, provided you haven't picked them up yet. Once handed to you, the uniforms and sweatshirts are yours to keep.

Don't just vanish. Let me know if you need to withdraw an athlete from the team so we can update our records and handle any refunds you're entitled to.

Upcoming Event: "War Path" Invitational, March 5

It's hard to believe, but we're halfway through February already. That means our first event is coming up.

Ygnacio Valley High School holds a special all-comers track meet each year to help raise funds for their track team and for new equipment. Provided we have good weather, we'll attend this meet as a team again this year. The team will pay the admission fee for our registered athletes and coaches.

I highly encourage everyone to come out if they can. It's a very low-key event, with no volunteer requirements. It gives everyone a chance to see how meets work. Think of it like a special Saturday practice.

We don't need our uniforms for this meet since it's not a CYO function. Regular running clothes are fine.

I'll send more reminders as we get closer to the event.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Track news for early February

Practices continue Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00 until dusk (~5:50).

Weather Watch


If the forecast calls for rain, I will post any cancellation of practice by 4:00pm on the team Twitter account (@ctktrack). Those tweets appear on the front page of our web site, too. If there is no tweet, practice is on!

Sharing at College Park


Although we have permits for practice, the stadium belongs to College Park, and we sometimes need to wait patiently for high school games to complete, or will practice at the same time as other teams. College Park track team will be starting up soon, too, which include some CYO alums.

New Family Meeting


If there is enough interest, we will schedule a family information meeting at Christ the King in Pleasant Hill. This would be a brief presentation of things to know about how the season works, how meets work, and how the various meet jobs work. Please email info@ctktrack.org if you'd like to come to such a meeting.

Late Signups Still Accepted


We're still taking signups at practice and we're still collecting missing birth certificates, concussion forms, payments, and deposits. If you haven't received an email reminder, then you probably don't owe anything.