National Championships Around the Corner… Which One Will You Choose?
April 29, 2008
Not sure were the Williams family will show up this year yet but for sure we will be at one of these great events.
The AAU National Championships are as of this writing 2 months 23 days and 23 hours away. USATF is about a week earlier….
Here is all the information you need to begin planning your JO experience.
AAU Olds-Marshall Track, Eastern Michigan University
Track & Field:
Check-In / Packet Pick-Up: July 25 - August 1, 2008
Competition: July 28 - August 2, 2008
2008 Track & Field Schedule (tentative) 
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USATF National Junior Olympics 2008 Burke High School Omaha,Nebraska
USATF National Junior Olympic Outdoor Track & Field Championships
News
Schedule & Results
Photo Galleries
Entry Lists
Assoc./Regional Results
Meet History
Tickets
Athlete Information
Officials Information
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It is never to early to start planing with gas going up and airfares the same.For my family, a Junior Olympic experience costs anywhere from 2,500.00-4,000 for ten days and 3 events. This cost isn’t a 5 star hotel just the basic(very)basic.
Let’s look at the cost line by line
Airfare 2 adults and 1 child 900.00 (WestCoast L.A.)
Hotel for 8 days 120.00/night 960.00
Car 8 days 350.00
Car Gas 150.00
Food for 8 days 3 meals/day 300.00-600.00/week
Souvenirs/Tee-shirts 200.00-300.00 depending on your taste (we don’t do fast food much) Snacks 150.00
Emergency items 150.00 (lost spikes,socks,medicnes etc. slickers for the rain)
(last year this cost was over 300.00 including a doctor’s visit and a hair re-braid before the finals)
Grand Total for me is around $3,260 That equals 1086.66 each if she brings home three.
As you can see ,it really takes a lot of planning to get it right and at the lowest price possible.In the past we were unattached, therefore the entire trip was on us.This year possibly airfare will be covered for Lauren. Every little bit helps.
Until Next Time
Predicting the 4X100 Meter Relay Time
April 28, 2008
With the Texas Relays and Penn Relays just behind us I got to thinking about relays and Quiet Fire’s Girl’s bantam team relay potential this season. Coach Henry has taught them to hand off amazing well so it’s just a matter of running like there’s no tomorrow……..
At Speedendurance.com. , my friend Jimson Lee has a cool way of Predicting 4×100 meter Relay Potential which leads to the question , Just how do you predict a 4×100 meter Relay time?
He says, add up the best 4 times of each athlete, subtract 1 sec (due to acceleration) for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th leg, and add 0.1 sec for each of the 3 exchanges. That’s the lead-off leg, 3 x 100m fly times, and 3 perfect exchanges.
Simply add the 4 open 100 meter times and subtract 2.7 seconds. All this assumes one thing: perfect passes and the baton makes it all around the track!
Don’t forget that for each exchange you can gain up to 5 feet (or 2 arms length) in “free distance” with your outstretched arms.
I estimate our bantam girl 4×100 team can run a potential 55.13 with the current PR’s. Only time will tell.
Relay members of the Quiet Fire Bantam girls and Bantam boys 4X100 relay with Coach Henry , Andre and Michael.
Until Next Time
So What Do We Tell Our Children (Again)?
April 27, 2008
I have been home for about 1 hour from the Quiet Fire Invitational Meet and I was thinking about what I wanted to talk about. Lot’s of things crowd my mind but what stood out the most were the recent accusations regarding Maurice Greene and illegal steroid use. I know, I know this isn’t a youth track topic or is it?
Well from where I sit it definitely is. Why? You may ask .Well, because our children work very hard week in and week out,some for the fun of it exclusively.(It appears that many midget and up youth athletes love to socialize at the track. Many for the combination of fun and competitive excellence ….possibly a future college experience running.For an elite youth athlete perhaps the hope of Olympic Gold and a professional sport career in track and field.
Where every your child’s dreams take him, I am sure we would all agree that the road seems to be getting more and more tainted (as if it couldn’t get any worse ) with accusations and admissions of drug use for performance enhancement….. I feel the best I can hope for my Lauren right now is that all this stuff gets cleaned out,times slow down a bit with out drugs on board, the powers that be crack serious down on offenders and 8-10 years from now my child can chose, possibly if it is her desire and she can still compete competitively as she does right now , move forward with out having to feel the pressure of steroid use to excel to an elite track athlete level.
I often times have very mixed feeling about our sport of track and field. I do all that I can for Lauren to excel but in the end will it be for not,will our sport survive the waves of accusations and cold hard facts??
In a recent article in the New York Times Duff Wilson writes..
Recent interviews with The New York Times, Mr. Heredia (an identifies source in the indictment) described how and with whom he worked, sharing copies of records that appear to link him to many of the best sprinters of the last decade. Those records include e-mail exchanges of doping regimens, canceled checks, telephone recordings, shipping records, laboratory readings of blood and urine samples, and Justice Department documents.
Among his clients, Mr. Heredia identified 12 athletes who had won a combined 26 Olympic medals and 21 world championships. Four of the 12 athletes, including Ms. Jones, had been named and barred from competition for illicit drug use. Eight of the 12 — notably, the sprinter Maurice Greene — have never been previously linked to performance-enhancing drugs. “ Many report that Maurice will be “outed next month .
I guess there is never a good time to air out dirty laundry.I hope these stories aren’t true but it isn’t looking good… Note that Greene’s coach, John Smith, has previously been associated with doping,. Lastly Michael Johnson Weighs In On Greene. He has a lot to say,as you can imagine.
After a hard day of volunteering in the hot 97 degree day, my child’s performance good ,not great but good.Stating as we walk through the door MOM!! I am hungry. I love track and field, so I guess I’ll take all of it ,the good and the Aweful, and get ready to watch Lauren run again next week. What else can I do ? I am a TrackMom
Variety Keeps It Fun And Interesting Too!
April 25, 2008
Training during the track season for is often hard on our young athletes .Variety and change of paste keep it interesting and keeps them guessing.Below are links to some drills and excercises that promise to give your youth training program a needed change of paste.
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1.”Side A Skips” A variation on the classic A skip exercise in which the athlete moves laterally by pushing off the side of their foot. This can be used for enhancing foot strength, changing up foot contact positions, and strengthening the hip musculature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdW46QVGes
2. Heel Walking. This is an exercise that is used to strengthen the muscles surrounding the foot, ankle and lower leg. It can be useful in preventing shin splints.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWRekYDp0Y
3. Jumping Exercises.This is a sample of jumping exercises I use with Lauren sometimes,she loves seeing just how far she can jump.It is use to develop explosive power in the lower extremities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBSAcErhC8g
Until Next Time,
TrackMom
The Pretator That Lurks Within…. A Sad Reminder
April 23, 2008
Did you know that the USATF So Cal Region15 has a policy in place that every Coach and Volunteer that comes in contact with a child has to be screened. If a complaint is registered against a club for a person who has not been screened they will not have protection under the USATF Region.
Southern California Association
I am certain many of the volunteers that come in contact with my child and yours have not been screened.
Below is a cautionary tale of what just might happen when we has parents let our guard down. This ultimately let’s our children down. See article regarding Vernon “Smitty” Smith in
Performance Improvement With Your Mind
April 22, 2008
The Jump….Photograph courtesy of Coach Alexander Hill LSI Northern California
As many of you know I am working on finishing a book soon and from time to time I share a little bit of the content to show you what you are in store for. As the season progresses and you watch your youth athlete grow and develop in his or her skill set, you will likely see room for growth a development in the area of psychological balance and focus development. I have an entire chapter devoted to this subject just for our youth athletes. Here is a special, easy to do exercise to encourage and develop focus and confidence in the heat of the competition.
Below is a chapter excerpt on this very subject from the e-book called “Nurturing the Youth Track Athlete, Everything You Thought You Knew but Didn’t Have a Clue.
Psychologist Jeff Simons has described one of the best ways to organize the last 20-30 seconds before competition in what has become known as the “Quick Set Routine”
This three-phase routine is designed to provide a quick focus that can be used just before competition or as a means of refocusing quickly following a distraction. It is minimal in content, which appeals to many athletes, and involves a physical, emotional and focus cue. An example for a sprinter could be:
- Close eyes, clear your mind and maintain deep rhythmical breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth (physical cue)
- Imagine a previous race win, see yourself crossing the line first and recreate those feelings (emotional cue)
- Return your focus to the sprint start, thinking of blasting off on the ‘B’ of the bang (focus cue).
No matter how much you plan things often occur at the competition sites that are out of your control and your youth athlete’s control. Such events have the potential to impact on your athlete’s emotional state, distracting them from their goals and pushing them you out of the optimal state of preparedness. It is important to remember that things can only distract you if they let them. They do not have to negatively influence their mood if you can help them learn to let them go and refocus.
Don’t discount at an early age some youth athletes have already learned how to intimidate their opponent. When Lauren was 6 years old in her first championship at the California State Games a young girl 7 1/2 or 8 told her ”No 6 year old is going to beat me” Well, Lauren got to thinking about this and although she ran her best she finished 2nd for the silver. Later confided that the girl made her a little scared. Fast forward we were at the 2008 Phoenix Invitational and that same girl was there. But this time Lauren had gained confidence and we had taught her many strategies for focus and determination so when she saw this girl again they were able to play and laugh. Lauren had no worries.( I must admit that the following year Lauren was ranked first in the Nation and the athlete was in a higher division and didn’t equal her time, I believe Lauren’s talent and skill helped her overcome some of that intimidation as well.)
The moral of that story it is never to early to inform your youth athlete about different personalities and intimidation strategies on the track.It happens and only get more intense as the years go on.
I always ask Lauren what were the girls talking about in the staging area? Where people friendly or mean? What did you say to the girls if they were mean? If they were nice. I have heard many different takes on this time before the race and what one should do. In the end the athlete must learn to focus on the immediate task ahead.
Girls more so than boys have a tendency to sometime want to pal up and not beat their “new” friend. This happened once to Lauren while racing her cousin at a local summer all-comers meet.Her cousin said as they were running the 400m “Lauren wait for me and Lauren did for a while then she continued on.It was kind of funny, but if it were a real meet it wouldn’t have been. Don’t underestimate what very young (under9) girls or boys and what they will do before and after the gun fires.
Some opponents are actively seeking to unsettle, and by reacting to their comments or behaviours your youth athlete may be falling into their trap and giving them the psychological edge. By engaging in this psychological duel they may the risk of disrupting their emotional state, becoming over aroused and suffering a decline in performance. Reacting emotionally often means that they make the athlete discard their carefully laid plans and operate a strategy of retreat. Self control is best regained by not reacting to provocation. There are many other potential distractions for the athlete, including the actions of friends or family, coaches or team mates, environmental conditions, memories, delays and irrelevant thoughts.
All of these can detract from the preparation and plan. It is helpful to teach your youth athlete so be ready to clear their mind and refocus as necessary. Learning any physical skill takes time, effort and practice. Psychological skills are no different in this respect, so don’t expect miraculous overnight changes in your performance. If your youth athleteis a serious athlete, it is best to work with them yourelf as the parent or coach devise routines and mental plans. Once you are happy with the plan you have created, they can be introduced first to practice situations and latter to competition. Repetion is the mother of skill it is also the mother or focus mastery.You must repetedly remind your youth athlete of the goals of the season not just winning. A medal isn’t necesarily the goal a great time,doing their best is. It is a process not a destination.They have many years ahead if this will be there chosen sport through High School, College and maybe Pro’s. Lay a great foundation they can reflect on with a smile and much pride in accomplishment.
References
1. The Sport Psychologist, vol 2, pp 105-130,1988
2. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vo/17, pp65-69 ?.
3.Athletic-insight: the online journal of sport psychology, vol 3 (3)
4. In Pursuit of Excellence, Terry Orlick, Human Kinetics, 2000
5. Track and Field Quarterly, vol 92 (1), 1992
Runner Take Your Marks……
April 21, 2008
As the Olympics near, our favorite sport is gearing up the best athletes in the world some of them started right in our youth age group back yard….. There are many track and field sites on the web. Here are a few of my favorite post from one them. Get in the mood it’s Track & Field Olympic Season.
Thanks to the “Track Evangelist”, Jay Hicks Check him out
PreraceJitters.com
News & Views on the Fast Life!
TrackMom
A fun look at the importance of Track and Field in the lives of “True Track Fans”
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PreraceJitters.com speaks with one of the nation’s leading experts in the biomechanics of sports performance
”All of research and all of the years of application have shown us that if an athlete is to be successful at the level that we are seeking to achieve, no area of performance can be ignored. Since it has become evident that the development of explosive strength and the proper mechanics to deliver the power are the two most critical factors in sprint performance, ignoring either will guarantee that the athlete will not achieve their performance potential.” Dr.Ralph Mann
Q & A: Dr. Ralph Mann–Track Expert on Being A Blur!
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Now this is a way to inspire a youth athlete …….
11 Greatest Olympic Track Performances in the Last 100 years
Americans Just Don’t Get It…
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6 Reasons Why Track And Field Is Really So Different (TrackMom’s personal take on track&field)
- Track Athletes love the relays but hate to give up an individual gold for the collective gold (why would they?)
- Track Fans watch all of Track and Field Youth, High School, College and Elite sometimes not even knowing whose in the race; they know they can get the scoop on the race while waiting. They travel far distances, cheer great performances not just “a favorite team”
- Track Athletes don’t get the proper respect or pay for their amazing accomplishments, but many are getting paid to run professionally and signing deals everyday Bianca Knight Waiting For Shoe To Drop
- Track Fans understand track and field isn’t a team sport. All others need to.
- Track fans want to watch track and field events in their entirety no just 30 minutes of highlights before a golfing tournament.
- Track fans wonder why poker has it’s own cable channel and we don’t
Until Next Time,
TrackMom
California State Games
April 20, 2008
The 2008 California State Games Registration is Open!
This is the 20th Anniversary of the California State Games and we have alot of exciting plans for this July. You won’t want to miss the Games this year!
2008 Sports include: Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Gymnastics, Jr. Lifeguards, Judo, Roller Skating, Skateboarding, Soccer, Softball, Surfing, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Track & Field, Water Polo, Weightlifting, & Wrestling.
All sports are now open for Registration. You have to participate in a Qualifying event to compete in Basketball, Skateboarding and Softball. The first Basketball Regional Tournaments are being held April 12-13, so don’t miss out! Sign up early!!
Opening Ceremonies will be held at Qualcomm Stadium, home of several Super Bowls and the San Diego Chargers on Friday evening, July 11, 2008. Being our 20th Anniversary year, we have invited professional and Olympic athletes to join us that have played in the CA State Games when they were younger! We have lots of great entertainment also!
We look forward to seeing you in July!
Suit Improves Times To World Record Highs
April 19, 2008
Can you image what a tracksuit might look like to improve times so dramatically? I think it’s called naked skin.
I though this article was very intesting. This is proof positive, track and field isn’t the only sport interested in a “Speed Suit”
Track Mom
| 3 world records fall on 1st night of short-course swim worlds, new Speedo suit plays big role. |
| By ANDREW DAMPF, AP Sports Writer April 9, 2008MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Three world records, nine swimmers and eight Speedo LZR Racer swimsuits.The short-course world championships started with a bang Wednesday. The decision by swimming’s world governing body, FINA, not to ban the new high-tech Speedo suits resulted in another heap of records in the pool.Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe started things off by setting the world record in the 400-meter individual medley. Then the U.S. team of Ryan Lochte, Bryan Lundquist, Nathan Adrian and Doug Van Wie broke the record in the men’s 400 freestyle relay in the first time the four had raced together.”It’s a great way to start things off for team USA,” said Lochte, who failed to qualify for the 100 breaststroke final. “Hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling the rest of the meet.”And then the Dutch team of Inge Dekker, Fernke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis and Ranomi Kromowidjojo established a new mark in the women’s 800 freestyle relay.”Wow. The previous record wasn’t that good, but it’s pretty good now and will be hard to beat,” said Netherlands coach Jacco Verhaeren.The records were set in the final three races of the night, and eight of the nine swimmers involved wore the new Speedo suit. Only Van Wie, who used a TYR brand suit, did not wear a Speedo LZR.The LZR now has been worn for 21 of the 22 world records set since it was introduced in February. FINA announced last weekend that it would not ban the contentious suit because it has seen no scientific proof it gives swimmers an unfair advantage, despite critics who say it is overly buoyant. Italian national swim team coach Alberto Castagnetti has said wearing the suit is “technological doping.” In the medley, Coventry timed 4 minutes, 26.52 seconds. Yana Klochkova of Ukraine set the previous world mark of 4:27.83 in 2002. Briton Hannah Miley was second in 4:27.27 and Mireia Belmonte of Spain took bronze in 4:27.55, both also ahead of Klochkova’s old mark. The U.S. men’s record in the 400 relay was set with a time of 3:08.44. Sweden set the previous mark of 3:09.57 in 2000. The Netherlands finished second in 3:09.18 — also ahead of the previous mark — and Sweden was third in 3:10.04. The Dutch women finished in 7:38.90 in the 800 free relay. China had set the previous mark of 7:46.30 at the 2002 short-course worlds in Moscow. The next three finishers — Britain, Australia and the United States — all also broke the old mark. The men’s 200 freestyle final also was held Wednesday, and it turned into a duel between Australian swimmers Kenrick Monk and Kirk Palmer. Palmer led at 100 meters but Monk won in 1:43.46, beating his teammate by 0.04 seconds for his first individual world title. Also, Mary Descenza set a championship record by swimming 2:04.27 to win the women’s 200 butterfly final. Jessica Schipper’s previous mark of 2:05.11 was set at the last short-course worlds, in Shanghai in 2006.
Updated on Wednesday, Apr 9, 2008 5:47 pm, EDT |
Sprinting and the Nervous System
April 18, 2008
Greetings from TrackMom, today I will turn the post over to Coach Henry to address a question regarding the nervous system and your youth sprinter.
Question: I am hearing a lot about Sprinting and the Nervous System can you explain the connection?
The Nervous System has a limited capacity to recover from certain types of training activity. Most coaches understand this when planning training and especially when the adjacent competitions lead to championships. Sometimes in the days after certain types of training an athlete is unable to run with as fast a cadence as usual, often also accompanied by lower maximum power output. It is in this situation that an athlete is said to be “flat”.
Young athletes have nervous systems that are very limited in their capacity. Because of this young athletes will be unable to sustain maximum cadences or maximum power for very far at all. Some respected authorities state this may be as short as 3 seconds and maximally 5 seconds. In training they may be able to do about 3-6 experiences of maximum speed in a session at the most before they are flat. The time to recover after nervous system flattening sessions will likely be at least 72hrs. This makes it only possible to train for maximum speed once a week if the athlete is racing that week or twice a week if they are not racing.
Steve Bennett Author of, “Training Kids for Speed” States that training to minimize the effects of neural fatigue by improving its capacity could involve a range activities:
Focusing on acceleration over 20m with total volume of sprints up to 200m
- Focusing on maximum speed development over 40-50m with total volume up to about 300m. It is very important that proper mechanics be used and reinforced. They don’t all have to be at maximum effort.
- Multiple jumping and throwing.
- Short hill runs of 30m.
The most important thing to recognize is that athletes cannot develop more maximum speed by attempting training at maximum speeds when neurally fatigued. They simply would be practicing bad habits and an inferior motor pattern. They would also be prolonging the period of flatness. Racing requires Nervous System freshness for optimum performance.
The best way to find out athletes tolerance to training and times required for recovery is to monitor it carefully. Avoid doing any maximum speed work in the 4 days prior to important races. Racing in more than 3 events is always a compromise because of nervous system fatigue.eg. If young athletes compete on a given day in a 100m, 200m, 400m and they will almost certainly have significant nervous system fatigue for at least 4 days.
Coach Henry Williams
“Lauren’s Dad”
