Christ the King CYO Track & Field
Parent Information Page
Team Structure
We divide our athletes into "primary practice groups" or just "primary groups." Each group has a primary coach, and one or more assistants. See the coaches page for the current season's primary groups and coach roster.
All coaches are fingerprinted, complete a diocese mandated safety program and a certification seminar. Only certified coaches and assistants are permitted to supervise our athletes during practices or meets. Don't worry: we'll give your kids back to you.
Communication
If you need to contact your coaching team, please see the coaches page for their contact details. You may also send me a note at info@ctktrack.org or catch up with me at practices or meets. I love tricky questions.
Always check the main page of the web site for weather updates, or go right to Twitter and check our @ctktrack account. You should be receiving email from me: if not, please let me know so I can update our records and put you on the mailing list. All past mailings are archived on the team news blog.
Equipment
Every athlete on the team who plans to participate in a meet needs to have a t-shirt for the appropriate parish. Parish determination is based on your address, or if the athlete attends school or religious education in one of our three team parishes.
Simple black athletic shorts make up the other half of the uniform. Leftover shorts from soccer season are fine. For cold meets, it is perfectly acceptable to wear running pants or other warm clothes. Many athletes wear a form-fitting layer underneath their team shirt to help keep warm. This, too, is fine. Cold muscles are more prone to injury: keep warm!
Athletes should wear good running shoes to practice and to meets. Shoes should fit comfortably, and not slide or slip when laced. A good shoe does not require a "break-in" period: they should be flexible and supportive right from the box.
Typically, local retailers are willing to offer a discount if you mention that you are involved with the local track team. Feel free to ask me if there are any offers for the current season.
Athletes are not required to have "track shoes" or "spikes," no matter how much they say otherwise. I don't recommend them for younger athletes (say, under 5th grade.) The advantage is mostly psychological, and there is a high tendency among younger athletes to send teammates to the first aid station.
- The spikes are allowed to be 1/4" pyramid or smaller. No needle spikes or Christmas-tree or any other design is permitted on any of our track surfaces. 1/8" pyramid are fine. Your local shoe retailer can help you here.
- If your athlete has a pair of track shoes, they will not be needed at practice unless the coach says otherwise.
- Track shoes are never permitted in the shot put area.
- Because they are used so little, the team often has a few pairs of gently-worn track shoes that can be loaned out. We also accept old pairs that your kids have outgrown, if you want to pass them along to someone else.
Practices
We practice at College Park High School track in Pleasant Hill, located just across the street from DVC. The track is past the baseball field area.
Parents and athletes should read and understand the team guidelines.
Practices start at 5pm. If you arrive early, please walk around the track and wait in the stands. Other teams (including the high school!) practice here, so don't assume that practice is under way if you see people running. Wait in the stands for athletes to be dismissed into their primary groups.
Parents are welcome to stay and observe from the stands. Please stay off the track and field areas during practice times.
A well-prepared athlete will come to practice:
- Having first gone to the bathroom at home
- Dressed appropriately for the season and weather
- With a reusable water bottle, labeled with their name
Workouts are scheduled in advance: as the season progresses and practices go later, some workouts may involve doing a trail run. If you would like to accompany these groups as crowd control, please let me know in advance. Maybe you'd like to be an assistant coach next year?
After practice, please come down to the track area to pick up your athlete. Don't cross onto the track or field while practice is under way. If you are waiting in your car, you may hear me blow a whistle that signals the final cool-down lap. Do not let your athletes go to/from the parking lot unsupervised.
Coaches form relay teams based on athlete performance, attitude, and involvement. A fast runner that regularly misses practice may lose her spot on a relay team to a slower runner that comes to practice and tries hard.
We try to hold special field-event practices before the meet season gets under way. See the team schedule page for information about any clinics for the current season.
Philosophy
Take a few moments to read over the CYO Code of Conduct (PDF) with your athletes. Always remember that we are a recreational league: we are here to encourage our athletes to have fun, to foster an interest in running, and to try their best, even if their best doesn't win the race.
We save all meet results, and for regular meets (not the Mini Meet) we recognize when an athlete has set a personal best in an event with a special ribbon given at practice. This is specific to our team, and acknowledges that growth is more important than always finishing first.
The best advice for any parent in the track program is to keep your perspective. This is a diocese-run, children's recreational track league. You will meet many other parents from many other parishes, in the stands or while doing your volunteer time. We are all here to support our kids as they have fun with their "track friends." Be respectful of families, athletes, coaches, and officials whether they are from our team or another parish you've never heard of before. "Do unto others" should always be in your mind whether you are working or just watching a meet.
Parent Involvement
Timeliness is key here. Be on time for practice drop-off and pick-up, show up on time for the meets and your volunteer shifts. It takes roughly 100 volunteers to handle a single meet, and if you're on time, we don't need to embarrass your kids by calling your name over the loudspeaker system.
If you cannot complete a volunteer shift, you are responsible for finding a replacement for your job. Contact the volunteer coordinator as far in advance as you can to work this out. Please do not contact your coaches: they do not handle volunteer jobs.
Meets
If you are brand new to track, see the How a Meet Works page.
Our very first meet is the Mini Meet. See the team schedule page for the current season's Mini Meet time and location.
As we are a large team, we typically (but not always) act as the "host" team for a meet. That means that we are responsible for most of the volunteer jobs, and that the location is typically in the Concord/Pleasant Hill area. The team schedule page has meet locations and times as soon as they are available. See the directions page for driving directions. You are responsible for getting athletes to/from a meet. Meets are not "drop-off." A responsible adult needs to be present for all participating athletes.
Athletes may either run in two inidividual track events and do one field event, or do two field events and one individual track event. They should participate in as many relays as they can manage. Coaches determine all relay teams based on athlete performance, participation, and attitude. If you are unhappy with your athlete's placement (or non-placement) on a relay team, I'll be happy to talk with you about coaching opportunities for next season.
Meet events typically last about 5 hours from start to finish. The meets tend to thin out considerably as athletes complete their events and parents finish their shifts. If you are working a second-shift job, try encouraging your athletes to run in some of the later events (200m, 800m, Sprint Medley or 4x400m relays.) There are often fewer athletes participating, and this increases the odds of earning a ribbon.
Athletes should stay hydrated at meets, and find shade on hot days. Do not eat a heavy meal right before a race. Light snacking is fine. Your stomach will thank you.
A well-prepared family will come to a meet:
- At least 1/2 hour before the meet start time
- Dressed appropriately for the season and weather
- With a reusable water bottle, labeled with the athlete's name
- With appropriate sun protection (hats, sunscreen)
- With appropriate bottom protection (stadium cushion or blanket)
- With healthy snacks for all: fruit, popcorn, pretzels, cheese
Results from all the meets are placed online at athletic.net as soon as we're able to process all the data.