Cross-Country is Coming

CYO cross-country season is starting up. We don't have many details yet about meet locations or practices, but I've put a page up on our web site that we'll update in time.

http://www.ctktrack.org/cc.shtml

End-of-Season Business

* Awards

I've put up a page on the web site listing all the special team awards that were handed out at our picnic. You can see the full list here:

http://ctktrack.org/awards.shtml

I also have a backlog of ribbons from the final meets, plus certificates for athletes who participated in the Sectional meet, and even a couple of medals. Some of these awards were handed to classmates or friends, but I still have quite a bit leftover for the following athletes:

Agna Placiakis
Aiden Hanken
Alexandra Dudziak
Alexis Nunes
Alyssa Gaigalas
Andrea Berger
Annie Vasquez
Ash Murthy
Avery Avina
Blake Maxon
Bradley Freitas
Caden Carpenter
Carely Campenchano
Carson Nagel-Holmes
Charley Stoudt
David Jang
Domas Placiakis
Dominick Konstan
Emerelga Delos Reyes
Emma Swanson
Gavin Williams
Grace Shughrou
Harmony Soffer
Ibis Pond
Isabella Scarpulla
Isabella Triana
Isabelle Ariana
Isabelle Rivas
Jackson Simmons
Jacquelin Amaya
Jeff DeBoer
Joey Ormeod
Jonathan Jang
Julia Tarter
Kamaria Soffer
Kosta Konstan
Kyle Crossman
Leander Legaspi
Madison Hartung
Michelle Kerfs
Pauline Akcam
Riley Sweet
Ryan Koeppe
Samuel Andersen
William Koeppe

If your athlete shows up on either list, please let me know and we can set their awards out on my front porch for you to pick up. I live in Pleasant Hill, in the Gregory Gardens area.

* Parent Business

I have deposited the checks from the few families who were unable to meet their volunteer commitments this year. I already notified you by email if you were on this list, and I know there were some extenuating circumstances in a couple of cases. Expect those checks to clear soon.

For everyone else, I have shredded your deposits. You can mark it appropriately in your register. I've also deposited any outstanding checks for YVHS student rentals and coach gifts. If anything does not resolve the way you expect it to, please let me know right away by email and we'll sort it out.

We have five families win a (new) drawing for a uniform next year. I've notified them by email, but they are:

• Husion
• Freitas
• Wallahan
• Nunes
• Ormerod

Track News for June 3, 2012

* Picnic

I think everyone had a good time on Saturday, basking in the sun and wind of the Martinez marina. Thanks to everyone who attended, and to the Armand family for securing the space, bringing drinks and supplies, and firing up the grills.

I still have handfuls of ribbons left over from the last meets of the season, plus some certificates and awards that we gave out at the picnic. I'll get a list up on the team web site this week.

We also had a drawing for a free uniform (shirt + sweatshirt) for next year, and I know that many of the winners weren't present. I'll get email out to all of you soon. You don't have to do anything to claim it beyond signing up next year. :-)

* Cross Country

CYO cross country season starts in August. I'll send a notice to this season's mailing list about it. Coaches Alice Burns & Kathleen Strange run that program, and we'll have information about practices and meets on the web site as we get closer to the start date.

* Summer

If you already miss track, and August seems too far away, you can always sign up for the Firecracker 5K that's run as part of the Pleasant Hill 4th of July celebrations. The run helps to support your choice of local schools, and you're sure to see a lot of familiar faces. Details are on the committee's web site:

http://www.phjuly4.com/WEBPAGES/5K_Info.html

* Next Season

We're always looking for assistant coaches to help out with our practice groups: if you like to run, or did track in school, or have a good loud voice and are a crowd-control ninja, please consider being an assistant next season. If you assisted this year, how about being a primary coach?

Signups for the 2013 season will be in January, and I'll send pestering reminders to this mailing list when I set the dates. Please tell your friends about track! Our team is open to all athletes living in our three parish areas, whether or not they are Catholic. I'm always happy to answer questions about eligibility or the team in general. Just send me an email:

info@ctktrack.org

* Final Thanks

One last word of thanks: to all the families, to the primary coaches and assistants, and especially to all the athletes who participated this season. It's been a genuine pleasure being your coordinator this year. I hope to see you again next year. (Except for the eighth graders: go to high school and be awesome! You've got a great start.)

Thanks everyone, and have a relaxing summer.

Track News for May 27, 2012

* Picnic
Our end-of-season picnic is this coming Saturday June 2 at Waterfront Park in Martinez. The picnic starts at 11:30, and we'll be setting up around 11:00 if you'd like to help. We'll have grills going and drinks provided: you bring something to cook for your family for lunch, and something to share with the other families. You're welcome to bring chairs, blankets, frisbees, soccer balls, kites, etc.. This is a pretty informal gathering.

We'll be recognizing a number of athletes with awards, handing out all the remaining ribbons, saying goodbye to our eighth graders, thanking our coaches, and trying very hard to reunite all the items in our Lost & Found with their original owners, or with new owners at the end of the picnic. It's a good time for all.

* Summer

CYO slows down for the summer, but don't forget about track...

The Summer Olympics are being held in London this year, so get your Tivo ready to record the track & field events. You'll see some events you recognize, and some new ones besides.

Cross-country starts up in mid-August: we'll talk about this at the picnic, too, but if you enjoyed track, and are maybe a little tired of soccer, why not come out for cross country? Practice is usually at Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez, and meets are on Friday evenings at local parks. It's a smaller, much more low-key program than track & field, and you'll see a lot of familiar faces. Plus: Popsicles on hot days. What's not to love about Popsicles?

* Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks (again) for all the help, support, and effort that each of you put in this season. Just being able to get an athlete to and from practice is often a challenge, to say nothing of working for a few hours at a meet. This was my first season acting as coordinator for our team, and I can honestly say that I couldn't have done it without all of your help.

Track News for May 13, 2012

* Diocese Meet

Friday and Saturday marked the end of our competitive season with the Oakland diocese championships in Union City and Livermore. We had athletes from our team competing in nearly every event at the meet. Everyone did quite well: I saw a lot of medals and ribbons and heard about a lot of PRs being set.

Awards for the running events were passed out on the track after the races. Field event awards took much longer, and I stuck around until the very end of the meet to pick them up. I've got a heap to get to the coaches, and we'll bring them to the picnic.

* More Awards

Even if you didn't go to the diocese meet, our sorters have ribbons from the qualifying meet and some personal bests that they need to get back to me. I have the remaining awards from the sectional meet, and once he results come out I know we have some personal bests from this weekend, too. Athletes: make some room in your ribbon box. There will be some special team awards handed out at the picnic: the coaches and I are getting together soon to plan all of these out. And of course, our super-helpful family drawing for those who went above and beyond their volunteer assignments.

* Picnic

Saturday, June 2 at Waterfront Park in Martinez, 11:30-3:30ish: we'll set up around 11 and love extra help.

You should bring:

• Something to grill for your family & barbeque tools (tongs, spatula)
• Something to share with everyone else: salads, fruit, chips & dip, dessert -- whatever you like
• Yourselves! Athletes and their families are welcome

The team will provide drinks and get the grills going. We'll hand out awards by the score, and try to reunite athletes with their belongings as the massive Lost & Found bin appears. Items left unclaimed at the end of the picnic are free to take, and anything left after that goes to charity.

I'll send a reminder email when we get closer.

* Thank You

The CYO Track & Field program is volunteer-run, and completely depends on the participation of the athletes' families to exist. We wouldn't have awards, photos, or meets without your help. And without the coaches, we wouldn't have a team at all. Thank you to everyone for making our team such a huge success this year and in every year.

Diocese meet information

* 800m/1600m tonight

Both the 800m and 1600m events are running tonight at James Logan High School in Union City starting at 6pm. Please give yourselves ample time to get there.

Athletes do not need stickers for the diocese meet. It's still nice to let a coach know that you made it.

* Parade and other events tomorrow

The rest of the meet is back at Granada High in Livermore on Saturday. First shift volunteers need to be signed in and ready to work at 8am, and I recommend that everyone else try to get there early to deal with parking and seating. There will be a small admission charge for everyone except athletes in uniform, and coaches/coordinators with badges. Remember to allow extra time for the spike-check at the gate, too, if you have a pair of running shoes with spikes.

Coaches, there's an 8am meeting on the field (see the program link below.)

We open the meet with the team parade, and we have an amazing new banner to show off. I'm very excited about it. Our team historically leads the parade onto the track, so don't be late!

Immediately after the parade and opening speeches (sorry) the events will open. I recommend printing off a copy of the event order from the Oakland CYO site:

http://www.oakdiocese.org/youth-and-young-adults/cyo/track-field/resolveuid/efc53e25-119d-4b5c-bc3a-ee3ed48bc353

This is also linked from the front page of our team web site.

Again, athletes do not need stickers for the diocese meet. The layout is the same as last week: the clerk area is next to the snack shack, and all athletes and alternates should report to the clerk when their grade and event is called. We won't know if alternates get to compete until the clerks take them onto the track.

* Weather watch

The forecast for Livermore for tomorrow looks sunny and hot. Please pack lots of water, sunblock, floppy hats -- whatever it takes. Athletes: please make it a point to find shady spots tomorrow between your events, and stay hydrated. Spectators, that applies to you, too. If you're bringing some form of shade technology for the stands, show up extra early to stake out a spot in the top rows.

* Video feed

Granada High has a live stream of video over the Internet if you have family who can't make it to the meet.

http://www.livestream.com/granadahighschoolstadium

Almost as good as being there! It's hard to see athlete's faces, but if you know the current event, you can usually pick out our red, blue, or yellow shirts on the track. (I text lane numbers to the grandparents so they know who to cheer for.) Track in the 21st century!

* For all the athletes

HAVE FUN! No matter what the results look like, if you had a good time this season, then you've won.

“Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”
                                                              -- Jesse Owens

Plum District discount coupon for DLS summer sport camps

I know I've mentioned it before, but De La Salle high school in Concord runs week-long sports camps, and devotes a couple of weeks to track and field. It's open to athletes who will be in grades 4-9 in the fall.

There's a coupon offer on Plum District right now that can save you some money on their sports camps. Here's a link right to the coupon:

http://www.plumdistrict.com/moms/discount/san-francisco-east-bay/activities-deals/de-la-salle-87-105-for-summer-sports-camps-at-de-la-salle-up-to-a-175-value-NiAMbA

More information about the camps is on the DLS web site:

http://www.dlshs.org/athletics/summer/index.aspx

My own kids have attended this camp over the past few years and have enjoyed it.