Hello parents,
I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to the coaches and volunteers. It was chaotic at times but everyone kept a smile on their face and we had a successful practice meet.
Hopefully you all enjoyed the meet as much as your athletes and coaches did. It was great to finally see them on the track after all of the practice they put in. The practice meet was also a great opportunity to shake off performance jitters and learn the ins and out of a meet. Please keep in mind that this weekends meet was shortened and does not reflect the length of an actual meet. A few of you spoke to me regarding participation in all events. It is OK to choose events that work with your schedule. If your athlete has a hard time getting ready in the morning perhaps long jump or relay wouldn’t be ideal events to sign up for. Or if the day was getting too long you might want to think about not signing up for the 200. The only requirement is that they cannot participate in more than 3 running and 1 field. I just ask that you inform me if your athlete will be late or decides to opt out of an event they were signed up for. As you witnessed yesterday we coaches are busy as soon as we get to the track. Events are called quickly and time is wasted when looking for an athlete that left before completing signed up events.
Something that needs to be addressed are the behavioral issues arising. I understand transitioning to a new sport and rules takes time. However, it is many of the returning athletes that are being blatantly disrespectful. I have given the athletes multiple warnings and am now resorting to having them sit out at practice and speaking with the parents. This weekend we actually had a couple of physical altercations. That will be the first and last. I have 58 athletes on my roster and expect all of them to keep their hands to themselves. There will be no pushing, pulling, shoving, or hitting. If this happens during practice the athlete will be asked to leave. If this happens again during a meet I will pull the athlete from the event. This is something I take very seriously. Please speak to your athlete about listening to the coaches and not harming team members. I want maximum participation for all athletes. I want them to end up loving the sport of running as much as I do. Thank you!
Coach Michelle