We are so excited for Saturday’s practice meet, where our athletes can finally compete (even if it is against only Tigres). The team has been working hard in practice, and Saturday is the first chance to see the payoff!
A few quick logistical things:
- Please have athletes meet in the end zone near the gate at 7:45 sharp. Please do your best to be on time, as we will cover important information for the athletes.
- Please be sure to wear your uniform and bring extra warm clothes. If you have not had a chance to pick up a uniform, they will be available Saturday morning before 7:45. However, there will be a tiny window on Saturday morning, so please do your best to be on time.
- Please bring sunscreen (maybe wishful thinking?) and water. No food or drinks (other than water) are allowed on the field.
For parents and athletes, the purpose of this meet is to “practice” for our regular season meets. Athletes will be exposed to listening for event calls, warming up for events, and the staging process. One of the goals of the Y&I team is to prepare our athletes for high school. While the younger ages heavily rely on their coaches and parents on meet days, we expect our athletes to manage themselves and rely on their teammates much more. We expect the veteran Tigres to show leadership and help the new Tigres athletes navigate meet day activities (of course, we coaches will be there to lean on as well). Many of the new Tigres might feel a bit nervous about not having competed in a track meet – it’s OK. After Saturday, they’ll be experts!
For parents, this meet is to train our volunteers in their positions so the meet runs smoothly when we host another team. Things will NOT run smoothly; there will be delays and possibly a lot of standing around, feeling unneeded. Please be patient! Once we have a real meet, we’ll look like a finely tuned machine (fingers crossed).
The events our Youth/Intermediate team will be allowed to compete in are a subset of a typical meet. Our athlete’s options are:
- Hurdles
- 1600
- 400
- 200
- 4×400
- High Jump
Please note that athletes must be cleared before they are allowed to participate in the Hurdles and High Jump due to safety. Please ask if you would like to understand the clearing process, but this happens at a specialty practice where those events are offered.
For the practice meet, athletes can compete in 2 running events and the High Jump (if they are cleared). They aren’t required to do 2 running events but can not do more than 2 running events. The exception to this is the 4×400, which is always free.
A significant area of focus for our team is sportsmanship. We are asking our athletes to work on congratulating competitors by shaking hands after races, saying thank you to volunteers, being helpful teammates, etc. Please watch for your athletes showing sportsmanship and reinforce this at home.
We can’t wait to get our season started on Saturday!!!
If you have any questions, please email youth@venturatigres.org or call/text 805-766-7171
Coach Kristin