Spring Track & Field: Program Details, Gear Store Closes Monday, Coach Craig’s Training Blog

Dear SJTFC Families,

On this most wintry of days, I would like to remind everyone that spring is right around the corner! Some people rely on the groundhog to tell them spring coming, and when, but  your track club his here to assure you that this will, indeed, end. In the meantime, happy shoveling.

Also in the meantime, be sure to order any club gear you want to have by the start of spring track & field. The store is open until midnight on Monday. Click here to go to the Gear Store!

And a quick shout-out to the Winter Running group for getting out there in the darkest and coldest days! Coach Jill and Coach Jake are doing an awesome job, and the kids have been really committed. The kids competed in the first event of the Winter Race Series last week, a 1-mile, with about 30 other participants. It was chilly, but a beautiful, sunny day. 

And, the main reason for this email is to announce some more concrete plans for the spring program.

You can skip to the program overview below, but here is some specific info about our locations and relationship with Camden County.

As you should all know by now, we have been working with the Camden County Parks Department, and this is working out to be a really great relationship. The goal of the parks department is to get people out and enjoying the county parks and facilities, and we do that. Whether it’s through our youth programs or the events we have been hosting like the Winter Race Series (with more to come!) we are not only making great use of county facilities, but the county is also helping us reach out to more residents of our community, in turn helping us achieve our mission. 

As part of this relationship, we now have access to the newest, state-of-the-art track and field facility in the region at Rutgers University-Camden, where we will hold some Saturday practices, as well as any meets we host. We have also established with the county that our primary practice facility is Jack Curtis Stadium at Cooper River Park, however, that location is set to be renovated starting in March. This is actually great news, as we will soon have a 4-lane synthetic track, as well as long jump and high jump areas, and storage. As a result of this renovation, we will be holding our Monday and Wednesday evening practices at a local high school. This arrangement is currently being worked out, so I will hold off from sharing the exact location, but it is within a 3-mile radius of Cooper River.  

You can see the specific details of the spring track & field program on both our website and registration form, but here are the basic facts:

Spring Track & Field Program Overview: 

Ages: 1st Grade and Up

2022 Program: March 14th to May 16th

During the spring season we will offer two options; a beginner/casual/busy kid program that meets on Sunday afternoons, and an advanced program that meets on two additional weekday evenings. All sessions are 1 hour in length. 

Practice Days and Times:

Monday and Wednesday evenings: 5:00pm

Saturday morning: times will vary depending on whether we have practice or a meet. Practices will be at 9:00am  

Locations:

Rutgers University-Camden: We will use this beautiful new facility on some Saturdays for practice and any meets that we host. Times will vary, as we have to work around the Rutgers varsity athletic schedule.

Cooper River Park: Our primary practice location. However, this facility is slated to be renovated this spring, so we will temporarily be using a local high school track.

Fees:

We employ a tiered fee structure in order make our club as accessible as possible. You are free to select any of the three fees listed for each program level. The standard fee is the average amount we need to collect to sustain the club and make this program a success. The supporter fee is offered as an option if you would like to help subsidize the reduce fee, as well as our no fee option for families in need.

Beginner/Casual/Busy Kid Program: $100/$125/$150

Advanced Program: $150/$175/$200

Register for Spring Track & Field

Go to the Gear Store (closes midnight Monday)

Winter Race Series

Coach Craig’s Training Blog

To be clear, I am really not one to share all my personal trials and tribulations of trying to continue to be an athlete in my 50s, but for a few different reasons I have been blogging about my current training plan, and I invite you to follow along if it sounds at all interesting. I write about my very slow, and in my mind, logical approach to going from 0 to 55 (literally, zero miles of running to hopes of finishing the Batona 55-miler in November), and I end up sharing stories about anything under the sun. It’s a mix of explaining my comprehensive training plan, a bit of science, some philosophy, and hopefully some humor. This week’s post somehow included a true story about a day spent swimming with sea turtles! I am doing this partly for my own accountability and follow-through on the plan, but it would be cool to have someone reading along now and then. Maybe you’re following your own plan, and want some company, or could use some motivation. Comments on posts are welcome!

Follow the blog

Thank you, and stay safe!

Coach Craig