Miah Webb ALLYSON FELIX and Lauren Williams Adidas Track Classic
As you have probably already read, this was another great weekend of track and field for we So Cal Track fans, Youth and Pro alike
Darvis “Doc” Patton
The Pasadena Running Roses Meet seemed a little long Saturday the 100 finals didn’t go off until after 5 almost 6. We had left to get to the Adidas Classic.Sunday was much better ending at around 3-ish for all evens scheduled. Over all nice meet and nice hosts. Volunteers were Pasadena is one of my favorite south land cities and I lived there for over 15 years before moving with Henry to the South Bay Area after we married. Any way,my Lauren ran the 400m again this week and PR’ed with a 1:01.71 as she learns to embrace this new race for her.
WHY???
You can tell the season is coming to a close when many parents have chosen not to come to certain events on time or show at all. This is fine ( I suppose) except what message are you sending your kids when you don’t honor your commitment to your team. Coaches pre-register children and pay for these kids to be a part of the meet.When they no show ,late show, it wastes the very little resources the team has at their disposal to help the team participate fully in the meets and other events on schedule for the team in the year.
I have heard quotes from some coaches as high as over 100 dollars on lost registration fees due to no show or to late to get in. Some athletes only run on a relay and if some team members no show or , so late without a call letting the coach know they will be there the other athletes and parent suffer the consequences.
Parents remember..WE WOULD ALL BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE IF NOT TRACK ON A WEEKEND.
I am kinda sick of hearing whining about choices you have control over.Don’t want to be there, Don’t Commit..Period. Enhance your child athletic experience some other way you and he can enjoy. Stop making us all feel bad for your choice.
So I can only surmise the answer to my one word question Why? Selfishness.Plain and simply.
Thanks for the continued suppport
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The Most Visited Post This Past Week
Clarence,I am very sorry for your bad experience.Here are a few things I have learned along the way.
You can’t trust what anyone says about how fast a meet is being run. There is no good gage. Misinformation abounds.. : – ) Anyway… Being to staging in plenty time like you were is always best.
If your child is new toTrack and Field or younger in age absolutely go with him to staging to make sure things go well .
Ask the person in charge directly are they ready for boys or girls yet.Many times they call both just to get a move on BUT it rarely works. Many teams do this not just PRR and it is unfortunate but it happens ALOT. You will have to learn to get over it like the rest of us (LOL) We hate early calls but it happens almost all the time.
Know for sure in the future at a National meet 1st call is VERY important and you can never ignore it but just figure out what is going on for your piece of mind and his too.
As he becomes more familar with the rountine of the meet he will be able to beter gage for himself what is going on.
I once took Lauren to the staging saw her in line went back to the stadium seating and never saw her run..Yep I was freaking out wondering where my child was as the boys began to run.
I finally found her in tears from a mean woman who blamed a miscommunication on these three kids and long story short they ran a race just for the 3 that were left over,and she ended up winning the finals later .She was 7 ,things happen to little ones we have to remember they are little still even though they look like big kids running.
I am glad your day went better and his too on Sunday.
Ladies and Gentlemen THIS IS YOUTH T&F
I was at the Pasadena Running Roses meet on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a negative experience and a learning experience for me and my son. On Saturday, he was scheduled to run in the Bantam 400 meters dash. We got there in plenty of time for him to properly warm up. I heard from others that the meet was running behind schedule due to misinformation about the length of track spikes that could be used on the track, and the way the 100 meter dash was being conducted.
I delivered him to the staging area when I heard first call for Bantam Girls and Bantam Boys. That was a huge mistake and one that I will never make again. Instead of processing the boys with the girls, they only dealt with the girls. I come back 40 minutes later to the staging area to check on him when I saw Lauren Rain Williams was walking with her group to the start line. My 9 year old (5/4/00) son is sitting down on the ground, Sun hitting his face, crying and telling me he does not want to run because the support staff has yelled at him and he suddenly feels like he is going to throw up. He had a case of melt down in the staging area and it could have easily been prevented if the support personnel had been more sensitive to a 9 year old boy wanting to check in and get his number. I made a decision to pull him from the race because he was not emotionally ready to handle the demands of the race and the competition. No running on this day for my son. I would have called it a wasted day, except I made a point of letting him cool off while we watched Lauren blaze around the track in 1:01.71 in her 400 meter race. There is a buzz in the air when Lauren runs. All the kids know who she is and most of the adults are hip to her talent.
My message to the Pasadena Running Roses is don’t call for kids if you are not ready to process them. Always be gentle and patient with children who just want to have fun and run. You don’t want parents and coaches to come into the staging area, but you have to care for our children like a parent when we entrust them to you.
Sunday was a better day. My son competed in the Long Jump and the 800 Meters. Not as many kids. Meet was run more efficiently on Sunday and we had no problems in the staging area. I made sure he did not get to the staging area until second call. The Running Roses had different calls for boys and girls. I waited in the stands looking down on the staging area to make sure things went smoothly for him. They did and by the end of his 800 meter race he was a happy camper.