Saturday was the last of our "practice" meets this season. It was a big meet, with the usual assortment of big-meet issues, but we had glorious weather and a lot of happy kids.
Now we're coming up on the close of the season, but first...
Easter break
All CYO activities stop this coming weekend starting on Holy Thursday and continuing through Easter Sunday. No matter how you celebrate spring, please enjoy yourselves, and enjoy having your Saturday morning back. I'm planning some extreme sleeping-in, followed by too many jellybeans.
Practice this week: Tuesday only
We have just one practice this week, on Tuesday:
- Tuesday, April 15: meet on the blacktop at 5pm: watch out for foul balls!
- Thursday, April 17: no practice
- Saturday, April 19: no meet
Qualifying Meet, April 26 at Ygnacio Valley High
After Easter, we'll start preparing for the qualifying meet on the 26th. There are a number of differences at this meet from the ones we've held so far. In fact, there's so many of them that I've written them up online. Lucky you!
http://ctktrack.blogspot.com/2014/04/qualifying-meet-rules.html
Please read through them when you have some time to spare, especially concerning how we place the top athletes. I know it's a lot to read, and I'm happy to answer questions.
Volunteer Schedule for Qualifying
We'll be able to get the volunteer schedule out as soon as we know where all the parish teams will be running that weekend.
An afternoon soccer game is scheduled at YVH on the 26th, so we may need to take some shortcuts to make sure the meet completes on time. This will be a challenge, but I think we're up to it.
Life After Qualifying
Sectionals and Diocese
Athletes that place will move on to the Sectional meet, starting with the 1600m event on Friday night, May 2 at DVC. The rest of the events will be on Saturday at Granada High in Livermore.
Athletes that place at Sectionals go on to compete at the Diocese championships the weekend after. It's another Friday/Saturday meet, and details for both weekends are on the schedule page:
http://ctktrack.org/schedule.shtml
The Diocese meet is usually live-streamed on the Internet, so it's a great way for out-of-town relations to see the meet.
Last practice May 8
No matter how your athletes perform at the next meets, Tuesday/Thursday practice will continue at College Park until the final meet. Practice is always open to everyone on the team, regardless of qualifying status.
Team picnic May 31
Our final event of the season is the team potluck picnic. It's Saturday, May 31 at Pleasant Hill Park, next to the new teen center. Fun and food for all, lost-and-found reunions, and some special end-of-season awards from the coaches, too. Please plan to attend!
CYO cross country
CYO has a cross-country program, starting in August and running through early fall. Coach Matt Milton heads this program up. If you're looking for a break from AYSO soccer, why not check out cross country? Practices and meets are held in area parks, and it's a very low-key program. It's also one of CYO's fastest-growing sports.
Call for coaches
A number of our senior coaches are making a well-earned exit from CYO as their own children age out of the program and head on to high school. I know I've approached a few of you this season about joining up next year in a coaching role. If you ran track Back In the Day or are a runner now, the team would be grateful for your time, your expertise, and your commanding Mom and Dad Voices. It's a great way to be involved with your kids, and to share something that you love to do with them.
Athlete trivia quiz time: Two of our coaches ran for an area CYO team. Can you name the coaches and the team they ran for?
Keep perspective!
Now and in the weeks to come, please remember my CYO mantra: keep perspective.
The championship meets can be exiting or even stressful, but in the end, we're trying to provide a fun, fair chance for athletes to show off their skills. They've had a nice long practice season in all sorts of weather, and are prepared.
You can be prepared, too. Applaud for everyone. Console the athletes that fell short of their goals. Be kind to families from our team and from other parishes. Be especially kind and cooperative with the coaches, coordinators, and other volunteers. We're all working for the same goal.
Bring snacks to enjoy in the stands, find shade, be comfortable, and enjoy your day out.
Every child you see is the most important person on the track to someone in the stadium. Athletes will be nervous, boisterous, scared, rowdy, and excited... probably all at once. Keep perspective! They're just kids. Help them have fun by having fun ourselves.
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