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/