Sunday, April 28, 2013

Track news for the week of April 28

  • Qualifying meet complete

That's it, everyone!  The Qualifying meet was the end of our regular meet schedule, and the start of the championships. I think things went amazingly smoothly. We had a few nervous stomachs, and one shoulder injury that I'm going to follow up on. Thanks to all the parents who jumped in to calm the nerves of the athletes. It's somebody's kid out there, and they needed -- and received -- comfort and aid.

However, let's not talk about how a 4th grade girl humiliated me during the 4x400 relay, OK?

  • Thank you!

I know many of you are done with track after this past Saturday, so I want to extend a big thank you from me and from the coaches for giving us the chance to work with your children this season. Thank you for hauling them to practice and getting them to meets. Thank you for giving up your Saturdays to volunteer and for sticking around for extra shifts. Thank you for supporting Ygnacio Valley High, and thank you for putting up with these long newsletters! CYO track simply could not happen without your participation.

  • Volunteers for the season

Now that the regular season is complete, I'm adding up the family volunteer time, and comparing the shifts worked to the number of shifts our team was responsible for this season. If your family fell short, I'll be sending an email to you about cashing the deposit check you left with the team at signups.

  • Practice

Practice is open to everyone, no matter what. The coaches get lonely after the qualifying meet, so come on out to practice! Don't make us finish the Starbursts by ourselves.

Lacrosse will bump us to the grassy field yet again on Tuesday the 30th, and then we should be back on the track on Thursday the 2nd.

  • Team Picnic, Saturday June 1 at Pleasant Hill Park, 11:30-3:30ish

Our team picnic and awards ceremony at Pleasant Hill Park is Saturday, June 1. The whole family is
welcome to attend. It's potluck style, so bring something for yourself to cook and something to share. The team will provide sodas and water and we'll have the charcoal grills warmed up and ready to go.

This is a chance for the coaches to see the athletes one last time before summer and to pass out unclaimed ribbons. We'll recognize our helpful parents, thank the coaches, and hand out special team awards to some of the athletes. The plentiful lost & found collection will be on display for your rummaging pleasure, too. It's fun for all!

http://ctktrack.org/picnic_site.png

No matter how your season worked out, bring the family to the picnic if you can.

  • Did my athlete qualify?

The results from Saturday's meet are reviewed very carefully. I'm attending a meeting on Monday that determines the entrants for the Sectional meet. Once all the team coordinators have gone through the results, we'll publish them online. I know it's hard to wait for these results since they may impact your plans for the next week or two.

There will be fewer ribbons from the qualifying meet since we place overall in the events. Personal bests will be awarded as usual once I have time to scrub through all the results.

Qualifiers for the 1600m event will run on Friday evening at DVC, and all other events will be held on Saturday at Granada High School in Livermore. If your athlete did well and you're going to miss the Sectional meet: please tell me right away. If a qualifier can't make it, we'll move an alternate into their place before the meet. You'll be making another child somewhere in the league very happy.

  • What about alternates?

Fourth place in most events is considered "alternate." They are fill-in athletes in case a qualifier isn't present at the event to compete. There's never a guarantee that an alternate will participate.

If your athlete is an alternate, I generally recommend going to the meet if you can, because, hey, you never know. Alternates in individual running events tend to have better odds than relay teams, since coaches can swap around athletes into relays as needed.

Always be prompt to the meet, have the alternate check in with the clerk, and stay put until their event is held. Alternates usually get placed into competition only at the very last moment so you won't know if they're competing until the race is lined up.

  • Sectional 1600m on Friday May 3 at DVC, 6pm

The 1600m event is held Friday evening at DVC at 6pm. Please show up early enough to get signed in and warmed up. This is a pretty low-key evening, with only the families of qualifiers, coaches, and myself in attendance. There's going to be a bit of sitting around, so athletes need to keep warm while they wait for their race.

  • Sectional meet on Saturday May 4 at Granada, 8:30am

All other events will be held on Saturday at Granada High School in Livermore, with the first event starting promptly 8:30am. That means arriving no later than 8:00am, and honestly, I'd be there sooner than that. Parking fills up quickly at Granada.

The track at Livermore is notorious for its variable climate. It can be windy and freezing, or still and boiling, often on the same day. Pack appropriately, and always keep your athletes warm and hydrated.

I'll talk about the Sectional meet more after we get the qualifying results online.

  • Volunteers at the Sectional meet

Families with qualifying athletes should expect a special email about working at the Sectional meet. To the best of my knowledge, our team is handling the softball throw event and the head clerk position on Saturday. The latter is pretty easy since we're working from a pre-set list of athletes.

Families enlisted into working should show up to the meet nice and early as there's usually a special sign-in process. Lucky you!

Volunteer time done at this meet and the Diocese count as bonus shifts towards your family's overall helpfulness for the season. We'll see how this all shakes out when I have the list of qualifiers.

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