News for the Week of April 11th

Awards
Ribbons from the Relay meet are still waiting on results to be processed. As soon as we get them, we'll hand them out.

Practice Meet #4, Saturday April 16 at Granada HS

The final practice meet of the season is coming up Saturday in Livermore. Athletes and coaches should arrive by 8:30. First event is scheduled for 9:00 am.

Qualifying Meet, April 23 at Granada HS

Because of difficulty finding a venue for this meet, it is an afternoon affair. The meet is scheduled for 1:00 - 5:30 pm.

There are some stricter rules starting with the Qualifying meet. I'll recycle and re-send last year's post next week, but in short:

• First and second graders are promoted into third graders via CYO magic
• Field events will compete by grade and gender: no latecomers, listen for your call
• Relay teams members must be a single parish, gender, and grade
• Top 3 finishers in each grade and gender for a given event qualify to compete in the Sectional meet the following weekend

Athletes may attempt any events in which they are eligible -- no third-grade high jumpers, for example, but it can be a new event to the athlete, too.

Athletes cannot do more than three individual events: the usual 2 races and one field, or 2 field and one race. I have to scratch their results if they go over. Relays are unlimited, provided they follow the single parish/gender/grade rules.

Sectional and Diocese Meets

The Qualifying is the start of the process that picks the fastest of the fast to send to the Sectional meet on April 28th and 30th.

From the Sectional, the top finishers go on to compete at the Diocese meet May 6th and 7th.

"Top finishers" means the top three places overall in an event, plus an alternate. Alternates are not guaranteed to compete, but alternates in field events usually have better odds.

If your athlete is on a qualifying relay team but cannot make the Sectional meet: we are allowed to make substitutions on relay teams for another athlete of the same parish and gender.

So, athletes who missed Qualifying could still be called upon to substitute into a relay team. We've had cases where someone was not able to run at sectionals, and we brought in a substitute leg on the relays.

Once we complete the Qualifying meet, coaches who put a successful relay team forward will be very interested in the availability of athletes in their groups for the final two weekends of our season.

Track news for the week of April 12

Relay meet recap

Despite a wet start to the week, we ended in sunshine and fine weather at DVC for what may have been the shortest relay meet ever. Despite the small numbers, there were many exciting finishes and excellent effort on the track yesterday, with only a flaky PA system to contend with.

Thanks to the volunteers who navigated the unfamiliar shift arrangement. Our first experiment with Signup Genius was a success, at least from the coordinators' perspectives. I juggled far less email about signups, changes, and cancellations this week than usual.

Practices this week

Assuming cooperative weather, we're back on our normal practice locations:

• Tuesday, April 14 at Pleasant Hill Middle, 5:00-6:30pm
• Thursday, April 16 at College Park, 5:00-6:30pm

Awards

Ribbons from the March 28th meet went out last week, and should arrive at practice soon. I also have a handful of Seven Up Club awards to distribute. Athletes have two meets left to try to earn one of these exclusive, high-fashion accessories.

Practice Meet #4, Saturday April 18 at DVC

The final practice meet of the season is coming up Saturday at DVC.

Athletes need to compete in at least two practice meets to be eligible for the Qualifying Meet on the 25th. If you've only been to one practice meet so far, then you need to attend this one as well for Qualifying.

• Setup: 8:00am
• First Shift: 8:15am (note earlier time)
• First Event: 9:00am
• Away-side: 10:00am

The St. Isadore/St. Joan of Arc team from Danville/San Ramon is hosting this meet. Please give them all the courtesy, cooperation, and flexibility you can. I'll be attending a first communion ceremony that day, but know you're in good hands with the St. Isadore coordinators.

The jobs assigned to our team appear online here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b49aeab2aa3f94-meet

I'm playing around with the format on the site, since St. Isadore's likes to arrange the shifts differently.

All of the positions on this sheet need to be filled by CTK/SC/SS volunteers.

The signups forms lock down the day before the event so we can get schedules out to the teams.

Future Event Signups

While you're in the volunteering mood, you can also:

Sign up for the Qualifying Meet on April 25:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B49AEAB2AA3F94-2015

Claim a team job for next season:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B49AEAB2AA3F94-2016

RSVP for the end-of-season picnic:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B49AEAB2AA3F94-20151

All the team's signups are now linked from the top of our Schedule page:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.html

Qualifying Meet, April 25 at DVC

On the 25th, we'll be hosting a Qualifying Meet. This is the first honest-and-for-true "real" meet of the season, and as a consequence, we have the run the meet pretty tightly.

I'll recycle and re-send last year's post as we get closer, but in short:

• Attendance is required to be eligible for the Sectional meet on May 1 & 2
• First and second graders are promoted into third graders via CYO magic
• Events -- especially field events -- will close down by grade: no latecomers
• Relay teams members must be a single parish, gender, and grade
• Top overall finishers qualifies in each grade and gender's event

Athletes may attempt any events in which they are eligible -- no third-grade high jumpers, for example, but it can be a new event to the athlete, too.

Athletes cannot do more than three individual events: the usual 2 races and one field, or 2 field and one race. I have to scratch their results if they go over. Relays are unlimited, provided they follow the single parish/gender/grade rules.

Sectional and Diocese Meets

The Qualifying is the start of the process that picks the fastest of the fast to send to the Sectional meet on May 1 and 2.

From the Sectional, the top finishers go on to compete at the Diocese meet May 8 and 9.

"Top finishers" means the top three places overall in an event, plus an alternate. Alternates are not guaranteed to compete, but alternates in field events usually have better odds.

If your athlete is on a qualifying relay team but cannot make the Sectional meet: we are allowed to make substitutions on relay teams for another athlete of the same parish and gender.

So, athletes who missed Qualifying could still be called upon to substitute into a relay team. We've had cases where someone was not able to run at sectionals, and we brought in a substitute leg on the relays.

Once we complete the Qualifying meet, coaches who put a successful relay team forward will be very interested in the availability of athletes in their groups for the final two weekends of our season.

Track news for the week of April 13

Meet #4: the end of the practice meets

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

Practice resumes at the track on Tuesday the 22nd. If you're in town, come join us. College Park will be on break, so you will need to use the loop in front of the school for dropoff/pickup.

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.

Reminder: Meet #4 tomorrow at Ygnacio Valley High, 9am check-in time

Just a reminder that our final practice meet of the season is tomorrow at Ygnacio Valley High. Please look over the volunteer schedule posted on the site. We always welcome volunteers on the day of the meet.

http://ctktrack.org/2014_meet4.pdf

The YVH administration also wants to pass along that no athletes may be in the stadium before 9am tomorrow. We've been permitting early team warm-ups, but we've been politely-yet-firmly reminded that this is not OK.

So...

Setup crew and volunteer check-in: You're exceptional people already, so you -- and only you -- are allowed in early. I'll see you at 8:30 tomorrow on the track. We'll open the gate for you, no secret handshake required.

Your athletes may come in with you if they would be otherwise unattended, but they need to be super, super quiet. I recommend sitting on the field while setup takes place, and NOT jumping around the bleachers. The neighbors will appreciate it.

Coaches, athletes, and everybody else: Gates will open at 9am, and you may come in then. We're still going to try for a 9:30am start, so please help us out by checking in and getting positioned as quickly as possible. If you're not scheduled to work, please give priority in line to those who are, so we know what positions have openings.

Saturday is supposed to be our largest meet yet. Please be patient, be kind, and enjoy the nice weather we have on tap. See you then!

Track news for the week of April 6

Meet #3: what a difference a week makes!

It was nice not seeing Ygnacio Valley from under an umbrella. We had lovely weather and everything ran pretty smoothly. Thanks again for your time and your help. There's nothing like a day in a downpour to help us appreciate the sunshine.

Results, ribbons, and rewards

Ribbons for meets #1 and #2 have been handed out at practice, as have personal best awards for those two meets. Ribbons for the relay meet are out for sorting now, and will appear at a future practice. I'm working on getting the relay meet's results online. Our mixed-parish/mixed-gender approach plays havoc with Athletic.net.

If your athlete is missing a ribbon, have them check with their coaches first. If it's still missing, please email me the athlete's name, the meet date and the event ("Long Jump", "50 meters", etc.) and I'll handcraft an artisanal replacement from my stash of extras. Ribbons are given for the top three places in the heat.

The first of this season's "Seven Up Club" awards should be coming soon, too. Athletes who attempt seven or more different individual events in a season earn a patch of awesomeness. There's two meets left to try to earn this award.

Volunteer confusion and changes

We had a lot of confusion this past week about shifts, and which meet we were running, and in some cases, where the meet was being held.

All of this information is on the team web site, and this should be your first stop to settle questions of when-and-where:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.shtml

The current volunteer assignments are linked from there when they're assigned. You don't need to wait for your reminder call to check them out. I'll put up a note on Twitter when we have the next assignments online.

If you need to cancel, please let Gina know early in the week so she can remove your name from the schedule. By Thursday night, we should have a nearly-final list.

Meet-day volunteers are welcome and encouraged as always. Thanks to everyone for pitching in when we need you to help the meets run smoothly.

Meet #4: April 12 at Ygnacio Valley High

This coming Saturday is our last meet before Easter. It's deja vu all over again as we return to the hospitality of Ygnacio Valley. This looks to be our largest meet yet this season, and is the last of the "practice" meets. Things get a little more serious at the qualifying meet on the 26th.

Practice this week: Tues, Wed, Thurs

We have our final bonus Wednesday this week:

• Tuesday, April 8 meet on the blacktop at 5pm in case lacrosse has a home game.
• Wednesday, April 9 meet in the bleachers at 5:00
• Thursday, April 10 meet in the bleachers at 5:00

Thanks to all of you for your patience as we try to coexist with the high school teams.

Easter week

CYO activities stop for Easter weekend, starting on Holy Thursday, the 17th. There is no practice on the 17th, and no meet on the 19th. We'll start practice back up on Tuesday the 22nd.

College Park will be on spring break that week and the large parking lot will be gated shut. You may use the loop in front of the school for practice.

If you're away on spring break, we'll miss you, but have a good vacation, and don't eat too much candy because...

Qualifying meet, April 26 at Ygnacio Valley High

...the championships are coming. The qualifying meet is the first "serious" meet of the season, and we have a number of changes that we make at that meet, mostly related to relay teams and placement in races. I'll write these up for your Easter break reading.

Athletes should be thinking about what events they want to compete in at the qualifying. The limit of three individual events is enforced at the qualifying meet, so choose carefully.

Whether the qualifying meet turns out to be the final one of the season for your athlete, or the start a championship attempt, please remember that having fun is the main goal, always. Support your athlete and celebrate their accomplishments no matter how they place in their events.