Spring forward, Fall back
Ah, Spring is upon us. Blossoms begin to bloom, butterflies emerge and Condors prepare to soar.
We will be transitioning our team practices from the grass soccer fields to the stadium track. While the composition of the team will remain in flux as kids are still joining, the coaches are excited with what they’ve seen. Some of the newer, younger runners improved their running technique faster than anticipated. All of the runners will experience more speed in their workouts on the track. The grass served as a soft, forgiving surface where the youngsters could build strength in their running joints before moving to the track. What they will find this week is that the harder surface will return more energy; more speed.
We are anticipating that some Condors will compete in this weekend’s Chino Pumas track meet. This will be a great experience for first-timers and give coaches an opportunity to establish baseline metrics.
We encourage first-time parents to attend this week’s practices where we will be going over what you and your child should expect. We’ll go over safety and the “loud and scary” starter’s pistol. Managing everyone’s expectations will make for a more enjoyable experience. The objective next weekend will be for everyone to try their best, soar, regardless of outcome.
What a difference a week makes
One week since we’ve started, it’s surprising how quickly most kids are already showing improvement. While there are still lot of corrections that need to be worked on, both form and stamina are clearly better. Newcomers have been very coachable while returning Condors are starting to shake off some rust.
Like most years, attendance at practice has been spotty early on as veterans begin filtering back. Some are still wrapping up seasons in other youth sports such as basketball. New kids that show up at practice are beginning to sort themselves out as we allow them “drop in” on that day’s training. It will likely take a couple of weeks before we know which kids will be wearing our club colors and workouts become more specified towards the different track & field events.
For now, like any other sport, it’s fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
Continue ReadingNew page links to helpful training videos
New to this website is a new page called “Practice Notes.” There, you will find videos related to what we are going over in practice. To find this page, click on the “FAQs and Stats” menu button and look for “Practice Notes.”
Continue ReadingNew training starting — Join now!
Practices have kicked off for the 2015 season. Young runners are meeting 5:30p every Tuesday and Thursday at Walnut High School’s soccer field. Drop by and talk to Coach Smotherman or call us at the number listed on this website.
Continue ReadingCA indoor youth qualifier and Community meet Feb 7th
An all-comers track meet for youth to qualify for the California State Indoor Meet is scheduled this Saturday, February 7th, at Mission Viejo High School.
The top four finishers in each youth grade division (k-4, 5-6 and 7-8) for the running events and top three in the field events will qualify for the California State Indoor meet held on February 16th. Fully automatic timing will be provided.
Registration online is $10 due by Wednesday February 4 by 11:00 pm versus $17 at and on the day of the event.
Visit http://jointrackandfield.com for complete information and registration.
Continue Reading
