URGENT – Practice Cancelled Due To Bomb Scare
Due to bomb threat received today at Walnut High School, we are cancelling practice today (Thursday, Mar. 24). Though the incident has been declared clear, the school cancelled all sports activities and Coach Smotherman felt we should do so also as a precaution.
Off-schedule meets to consider for beginners
We had hoped to have results from last week’s Pacific Coast Shockwave meet to report in this week’s blog post, but didn’t want to hold up some very good news.
Two meets have been added to the schedule that are directed to young athletes new to the sport. These are part of a new USATF Future Stars initiative launching coast-to-coast, featuring 44 youth track meets around the country.
“We are pleased by the growth of USATF Future Stars Meets,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “By continuing to foster mid-level competitive opportunities outside the formal structure of USATF, we help develop a touchpoint for potential members, coaches and volunteers to enter the USATF family.”
Local Future Stars Meets will be held at Lynwood High School on April 16, and Riverside North High School on April 30. They are no-cost to participants and open to the public.
Free Spirit Condors will be participating in other regular scheduled meets on those dates, but parents looking for their kids to participate in less competitive meets might find one or both of these to be a fit.
Another alternate meet is one that is run by local city parks and recreation departments. More information about the SCMAF and Future Stars meets can be found by clicking on the event on our online schedule.
A bit about last week
While we don’t have official results from last week, we can report a very successful outing by our athletes. There were breakout performances in the 200m and 800m, as well as, an impressive victory by one of our newest athletes. We’ll update the Athlete Performance Logs on this site when meet results become available.
Newbies looking good on the track
A quick look at some of our rookie athletes a few weeks back. They are learning fast and coming into form:
2016 FSC Track Club season opens
Chino Pumas Meet is First Test
The Free Spirit Condors season opens this this Saturday at the Chino Puma’s All-Comers Meet, at Chino High School (see schedule for details). Some of our athletes have competed earlier but this event will be the best opening meet for the majority, according to the previous weeks of training.
This week, we intend to move practice from the grass field to the track, if available. Having strengthened their legs on a more forgiving surface, the track surface should not pose any issues. The athletes will appear much faster and, in fact, they will be. The harder track will absorb less energy on every stride. More energy is returned to propel our kids down the track. We will also teach track safety and explain what to expect when competing in a track and field meet.
Last Saturday, three of our kids got an early taste of competition at the LA Jet’s Relay Carnival at Pioneer High in Whittier. Our two newcomers chose to run in three events they had never before tried. Given their level of experience, they both fared very well. Of those running in events they had tried in earlier meets, three personal records (PRs) were set. Just as important, the coaches were able to observe running mechanics issues that will become focuses of attention in upcoming practices.
Individual results of each athlete is available at this website. In the “Parents” menu, select “Athlete Performance Logs.” To protect your child’s privacy, a password is required. Ask a coach for the password.
You can receive results, changes to practice schedule, flyers for upcoming events, and blog notices automatically by email. In the “Parents” menu, select “Sign Up for Club Emails.”
Finish line: Registration for the California State Summer Games opened. This event is held in San Diego in mid-July. It provides an Olympic-like track and field experience. It is an open competition that does not require qualifying. There are non-USATF track competitions that some our parents have involved their kids in, outside of our club. Both were great for kids wanting to run in a less competitive event. The LA84 meet has been cancelled this year due to construction at Mt. SAC Stadium but the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation (SCMAF), the association for city parks, holds qualifying and a championship meet locally. Track spikes are not allowed. These events are listed in the schedule.
Hello 2016
Here we go again.
Trying to watch kids run around a dark soccer field reminds us that this is the first stage of our 2016 track season. A lot of running styles, from the youngest with their arms and legs flying all over the place to pre-teens that are just beginning to mature physically.
Early on, the emphasis is the same for all — learn to run correctly. This has many aspects: eliminate inefficient movement that does not contribute to speed production; correct running posture to get the most from every stride; increase quickness, flexibility, and strength; train the central nervous system to optimize the coordination of recruited muscle groups. We’re very excited.We hope you are, too.
