Howard County Jr. Striders Spring Track - 2008

      The rain stopped and practice went well on Monday April 28 except for the very light crowd. Ribbons from the first two meets (Brunswick and Middletown) were handed out to those that were there. The ribbons will be with Coach Phil at the meet this Sunday in Walkersville and at practice Monday May 5, at the meet on Saturday May 10 (Coach Phil's birthday) at Meade, at practice on Monday May 12, Thursday May 15 and Monday May 19 (our last practice, team picture day, pizza party and awards ceremony). There will be a results link added to the web site and if you placed in the top 6 and won a ribbon your place will be noted with your time/performance. If you do not have a Junior Strider singlet please get one from Coach Phil at one of the dates listed above so that we can all have our uniforms for the team picture.

      There are three meets left for the spring track program. We hope every Junior Strider gets to race at least once. The ones that have raced appear to be having a great time at the meets regardless of ability. For the competitive ones and ones that want to race more, specifically competing at the Junior Olympic events in June and July, should consider signing up for the Summer Track program. The Summer Track Program is only for Junior Striders that are going to compete at the Junior Olympic events so check out the registration form.

      Fifty one Junior Striders competed at the first track meet of the year on Sunday April 13 and represented the club well! Those who went got to see how crazy but fun that it is. They do take several hours (the meet started at 1pm and wasn't over until after 5pm) so chairs, food, books, ipods, sun tan lotion, jackets, etc. are all needed to stay comfortable. Results of the Junior Strider performances will be posted here on our web site soon.

      We are adjusting the practice groups today (Monday April 14) and the list of the new practice groups with the results of the 800 meter time trial from April 10 is on the web site now.

      The full schedule for the spring track program has now been posted.

      I need to know who is going to the next track meet at Catoctin High on Sunday April 20. I will have the line-up sheet taped to the concession stand again so write on it or please email me (coachlang@hotmail.com), thanks! The meet sheet is up on our web site. The location is about an hour away. I am willing to get your $5 registration fee for the meet from you at practice Monday and Thursday and sign your kids up at the meet Sunday so you could arrive later if your kids won't be in the 3000 meter run or the 800 meter run. That will help you not having to be there for a couple hours before your child gets to race. However there are no set times for when events will start. It depends on how many runners are there to compete in the different events. For example it took over an hour for them to run all the kids in the 100 meter run on April 13 because there were so many kids running that event. I can help you guess on time but it really would just be a guess.

      I hope all the kids want to race sometime this spring. We all need to be challenged.

      I hope everyone enjoyed the first day of Junior Striders this spring. We had 100 kids out there! The kids might be a little sore today but as the season goes it will get easier and they will feel better and better. The coaches and club thank you for allowing your kids to participate in the program. We know running isn't for everyone so hopefully most of the kids will like it, work hard and be proud to wear the Junior Striders singlet as competitors.

      I do have several items I want to cover.

      I love the fact that so many parents are running while practice is going on and if you are a runner I hope you will join the Striders as well. We do have a space issue with so many kids joining the program and really are hoping the parents can run around the school campus but not on the track while practice is going on. We are very concerned about the safety of the kids and honestly there are simply too many people on the track during practice. We are probably going to take one of the kids groups off the track at times as well. Please keep running though!

      This Sunday (4/6/08) at 2pm by the pool next to Jeffers Hill Elementary the Striders will be holding one of their weekly races and this week it is the Junior Strider benefit race so all the proceeds will go towards the program. There are three different distances to chose from, a 2 mile, a 10k or a 15k. If your child can run 2 miles we would love you to bring them to the race. If you can run 2 miles or a 10k or 15k we would like to encourage you to come even if you child can't. The races are low key and only cost $1.

      Our first youth track meet is Sunday April 13 at Brunswick High School in Frederick County starting around 1pm. They will have a couple relay events and the 100, 400, 1500, long jump, high jump and shot put and of course the 50 yard dash for the kids 6 and under. These meets typically cost $5. I will have a sign up sheet at practice Thursday and next week so please let me know if your children plan to go. I know car pooling and taking turns taking a few other kids on the team makes life a little easier so at the practices please talk amongst yourselves about that kind of thing.

      We will have a 800 meter run time trial either this Thursday or next Monday for the two older kids practice groups and I believe we will split them up into three groups since we have so many runners this spring. This will allow us to put the kids into groups based on their ability and all should benefit better that way. We will not have the younger kids (born in 2000 or after) run the time trial and we will keep them in their group unless they are advanced. I hope you will support the coaches as they formulate the practice groups.

      Thanks again for allowing us to work with your kids and please have them in athletic attire (I saw a couple pairs of casual pants yesterday) that makes sense with the weather and please consider getting running shoes for the kids in 3rd grade and up and certainly the kids who will compete. Again Feet First in the Wilde Lake Village Center and Road Runner Sports in the shopping center at Rt. 108 and Rt. 175 are the best choices and they will give you a 10% discount for being a member of the Striders and your child is now a member of the Striders! A water or sports drink bottle is a good idea also but remember there will be 100 of them so be creative.

      Practice rain or shine at 5:30 to 7pm at Oakland Mills High every Monday and Thursday!