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What to Expect From Track and Field

You’ll have an opportunity to try a lot of different events.
Track has something for everyone. There are eight running events and six field events. There are also two relay races in dual meets, three in state meets and relay meets have even more. There are races for speed (100, 200, 400) and endurance (800, mile, two mile). There are races for people who like to attack obstacles (100M hurdles and 300M hurdles). If you have strong arms you can try the shot put, discus and javelin. If you have strong legs try the long jump, high jump or triple jump. If teamwork is your bag, learn to hand off and receive a baton and you might find yourself on a relay team. And the best part is you can do up to four events in most meets.

You’ll develop a higher level of fitness.
Track is about improving your body. Although certain skills must also be developed, strength, speed and endurance are constantly being increased. You come out of the season a better physical person than when you went in, which can also help you in other sports or endeavors. This makes track a great other-season sport because its benefits are transitional. Many athletes find out they like it so much that it becomes their primary sport.

You’ll develop many great friendships.
Track teams are usually among the largest in the school and the format favors socialization. The atmosphere is generally relaxed. Within your events you will develop strong common bonds with your teammates. Field events provide strong support groups and helping each other between attempts is important. Track workouts intersperse running with recovery times ideal for socialization (once you catch your breath). During long runs there is constant discussions about the days events. Not only is it easy to find friends from all grades its almost impossible not to.

You’ll learn new things about yourself.
You will surprise yourself. You may find your not as good at some things as you thought you were and turn around to find you have abilities you didn’t know you had. You get the chance to prove and improve yourself everyday. The stopwatch and tape measure always give you that objective evaluation. What a great way to find out what you’re really made of.

You’ll experience ups and downs.
Not everyday will turn out as you planned. Both team and personal disappointments are part of the territory. Sometimes you’ll feel like a failure and consider giving up – but instead you’ll probably just cry. And those low points do you good. You learn how to handle adversity. You regroup, redefine your goals, and work hard to correct whatever problem upset you.

Other days the level of exhilaration will be unlike any you’ve ever felt. You’ll be on top of the world. A personal best, the team winning in the final event, your best friend having a great day; these make it all seem worthwhile. Savor the moments. They come from your decision to be a doer, not a watcher.

What you put into it determines what you’ll get out of it.
This is true in all of life. But it’s a point that gets driven home to me every single year. I’ve been blessed to be able to coach exceptionally motivated people. Not only were they willing to do what was asked of them, but they always put more into it. They dedicated themselves to the sport and rose to levels even I couldn’t have predicted. The stories are endless:

Lynn Liberatore doing an extra run and 1500 pushups everyday.
PJ, and Ethan doing parachute workouts, researching diet and following self-designed weight training programs.
Karen Pearce staying late everyday just to get her lead leg down a split second faster.
Kelly Magnan showing up at 7AM for Saturday discus practice when she knew there would be more individual attention available.
And the dozens of athletes that hang around after practice just to hear the stories and pick the coaches’ brains.

I especially admire the others who didn’t find immediate success and hung in there anyway, finally achieving their goals senior year. The Russet Morrows, Meghan McKennas and Marc Lefebrves of the world who didn’t excel at first but through hard work rose to the top.

In all my years of coaching I can’t remember an athlete coming back after high school and saying “I wished I didn’t work as hard in track.” If you’re the one who wants to prove things to others and yourself – track is an ideal sport in which to do it.