A Great Day to Start the Season!

Dear Track & Field Families,

It looks like we have a nice evening forecasted, and we are very excited to welcome everyone to a new spring track & field season!

As previously announced, we are welcoming all of the kids tonight at 5:00pm, both the advanced and beginner/casual/busy kid programs. Normally we will not reschedule the beginner/casual/busy kid to a weeknight, and it is fine if you cannot attend this evening – we will welcome all of the new kids again on Saturday.

In this email:

• Tonight’s exact location
• Tonight’s check-in procedure
• Online Gear Store and details
• Some common questions answered

Tonight’s Location:

We will meet at Jack Curtis Stadium in Cooper River Park. If you haven’t been there, do not look for anything that looks like a stadium – there are some concrete bleachers that are hard to see from the road, and a cinder track. Instead look for the big playground next to LaScalas Restaurant. We will be just west of the playground and restaurant parking lot. You can park there, at a lot on the west side of the track, or on the street. The restaurant address is 5300 N Park Dr, Pennsauken, NJ 08109.

This is our main location, and where most practices will be held for now. We will announce any changes via email and Remind. You can always check our Google Calendar for locations of practices and meets.

Tonight’s Check-In Procedure:

Things will be a little more casual than if we had started on Saturday, as I know it might be hard for people to arrive before 5:00pm. If you can get there 15-20 minutes early it will help us check everyone in, but don’t stress about it. We will make sure we have complete info on each kid, give them a name tag*, and then do some ice-breakers with the kids. If you have questions, please wait until the end of the session. I will have a quick meeting with parents at 6:00 before you leave, and then I can answer any individual questions. ***After tonight it is fine to drop kids off at practice. We try to keep sessions to one hour, and will let you know if we thing we need a little more time on a given night.

*Name Tags: We are asking the kids to keep their name tags, and to wear them to every practice. With over 100 kids this is the only way we will learn all of their names. The tags are absurdly expensive, so we really do not want to replace them. It is okay if a kid forgets now and then. Ultimately, if you want us to know your child’s name, please help us out. 

Online Gear Store:

First, please note that you do not have to buy anything from the gear store. The one item you may want to buy is a uniform tank top or t-shirt (either is fine and it is up to what your child feels comfortable wearing). We provide uniforms in this way since we have so many families doing multiple programs, who already have their uniforms. The prices on everything are as low as possible, and we do not make money off of the gear sale. Our good friends at Sports Paradise in Medford really help us provide fun gear to the team. The gear store is now open, and will close on Wednesday, March 23rd. This short buying window allows us to process the orders so that the items arrive during the season. ***If you ordered gear from the store we did a few weeks ago, I will have your items tonight and Saturday.

Visit the Gear Store

Some Common Questions Answered:

Can kids miss practice or meets? Do we need to inform the coaches of absences?

The quick answer is obviously yes. There is no obligation to attend any practice session or meet. We appreciate being updated if a kid is missing due to illness or injury, because we will simply be worried about them if we don’t see them, but at the same time, please don’t feel that you have to inform us that they will miss practice. Unlike some sports, where a smaller group of athletes are all depending on each other as a unit, there is no obligation to attend any given practice or regular season meet. The only time that changes is if an athlete is on a relay team at a Junior Olympic meet during the summer.

Does my child need special clothing, equipment or shoes?

The quick answer is no, no and no. Comfort is key, and layers are a good idea in the late winter, early spring. We provide all equipment related to different events. The younger a kid is, the more they should just be wearing comfortable, flexible sneakers, without any extra bulk or support. Spiked shoes are not permitted at our regular season meets. We can talk to you about when it might be appropriate to start wearing spikes in competition.

How long are the meets?

This is a great question, and it makes sense that you would want to know. The meets that we attend during the regular season (to mid/late May) are designed to be relatively quick. The goal is 2 hours, but this completely depends on how many teams, and ultimately number of kids, are participating. A final league meet (not yet scheduled) would include all of the teams, and would be more like 3-4 hours. Track meets can be very long, depending on the set up. It is okay to arrive late or leave early, which for the kids’ sake, is better than not coming at all. There will be 4×100 relays at most meets, but other than that, kids compete as individuals, and there is no team scoring at this level.

***Please feel free to email me any questions at all. If I do not respond directly to you right away, then it is likely a common questions that I will include in an upcoming email update.