2017 Middle School Track and Field
Vail Christian Academy/St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School
Parent Information
Hi Team,
We are so excited about our track and field season! Last year was AMAZING! We are going to
have a BLAST…again!
First day of practice is Monday, March 27th.
The track fee is $50 and can be turned into the front desk at St. Clare. Please
make a check payable to St. Clare and in the memo line please write your
child’s name/track.
If your child has not participated in a school sport before, please fill out the
“Sports Enrollment Packet” at the St. Clare front desk. This will have to be
completed and turned back in before a track athlete will be able to attend
practice.
Also, please have your child bring the questionnaire in this packet to me at the
first practice.
• PRACTICES: Practices will start each day (Monday through Friday) at 3:15 pm at St.
Clare and will wrap up promptly at 4:30 pm. On occasion we will take the field event
athletes to Battle Mountain High School after 4:30 pm for specialized training. Every
Sunday I will send out an email noting the days that we will take the field event athletes
to Battle Mountain. On those days the field event athletes will be picked up from Battle
Mountain at the time noted in the Sunday email.
• The week of April 17-21- we will have practice every day at Battle Mountain. Both
drop off and pick up will be at Battle Mountain this week.
• ALL ATHLETES: We LOVE dual-sport athletes!!!!! I want all athletes to be on our
team. So, if your athlete is part of another current team (lacrosse, ski, basketball, etc…),
the athlete will only need to attend two track practices each week (as long as he or she is
practicing in the other sport on the other days). They will also need to participate in the
District Prelims (5/9) and District Finals (5/11).
• NUTRITION: We have lots of hungry and growing kiddos. Have your child take a small
snack with him or her to school in the morning, so that your child can have it before the
start of practice, if needed. Examples…small bag of pretzels, an apple, a banana, or a
Kind Bar.
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• WATER: Every child needs to bring a water bottle with him or her to every practice.
• INJURIES: I am not a proponent of “NO PAIN NO GAIN” when it comes to sports
injuries. Shin splints and knee tendonitis are common running injuries. I encourage all of
my runners to let me know when something is hurting. If we catch it early and rest
it…the injury almost always goes away on its own in just a matter of days.
• CLOTHING: We are going to be practicing outside, as much as possible. Please have
your child check the weather before he or she leaves for school, so that your child is
dressed appropriately on the colder days.
• SHOES: Have your child in a good pair of running shoes, if possible. This will help him
or her avoid running injuries.
• UPDATES: I will send out an email every Sunday letting the parents know the week’s
practice/meet schedule.
PRE-SEASON: I have attached a SUGGESTED pre-season practice schedule.
We will only have a week or so of practice before our first meet. This schedule
is intended for an athlete that is not currently participating in a sport. We see
more running injuries (especially shin splints) when a runner goes from very
little running to a lot for him or her at the start of a track season. These
workouts should be SUPER low key and fun. For example… Encourage your
child to stay after school and run with a friend or take the family dog around
the block. Absolutely no pre-season workouts are required, but even if your
child is able to get one or two of these runs in during a week…that is still
going to give some protection from injury during those first few weeks of
practice.
CHARACTER COUNTS: Last year our team exhibited incredible character! - not that I
am biased at all. The kids know I expect a few things of them at the meets:
To give their very best effort, every time
To wish their opponents good luck before races
To congratulate their opponents after races
To cheer for and encourage all teammates
To celebrate their victories respectfully
Track Meets:
The following guidelines will apply to the athletes before, during, and after the meets:
• Athletes must arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the meet.
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• Please have your child check-in with the coach upon arrival
• We will sit together as a team during the meets, so we are always prepared for our events.
• Together, we will all be cheering for each other during every event (unless an athlete is
warming up for and upcoming event).
• If an athlete, who is on a relay, does not arrive at least 30 minutes before a meet, the
athlete will forfeit his or her spot on the relay for that meet. Because relays require so
much practice and timing coordination, we will have to insert another athlete, who is
present for the pre-race, on-site practice.
• Please notify Coach Jen when the athlete is leaving the meet.
• Runners can run in either spikes or their training shoes at the meets.
• I time all practices and keep a log of every athlete and their times/places during the
season. When it comes to relays, I run the top four fastest kids in each distance.
School Track Records:
We have School Track Records. I will hand out the sheet with those times before the first meet.
The kids love knowing those records and have a ton of fun trying to break them at the meets.
Coaching Staff:
Jen Sticksel - head coach
Sarah Millett – assistant and hurdles coach
Sheryl Engleby – assistant and long/ high jump coach
Scott Sticksel – assistant coach
Kristen “Corky” Osborne – assistant coach
Sara Carlton – assistant coach
TBD - shot put and discus coach
Coach Jen’s contact information:
Feel free to contact me any time!
Jen Sticksel, 806-433-3338 (cell)
[email protected]
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Suggested Pre-Season Conditioning Workouts
Sprinters, Hurdlers, and Field Event Athletes:
Monday - run 5 minutes... then walk briskly for 5 minutes… run for 5
more minutes (15 minutes total)… finish with 10 push-ups and 20 sit-ups
Tuesday - run 10 straight minutes (pick a pace that is easy enough to
make the entire 10 minutes without walking)
Wednesday - run 5 minutes… then walk briskly for 5 minutes… run for
5 more minutes (15 minutes total)… finish with 10 push-ups and 20 sit-ups
Thursday - run 10 straight minutes (pick a pace that is easy enough to
make the entire 10 minutes without walking)
Friday - walk 2 minutes… run 6 minutes… walk 2 minutes (10 minutes
total)… then finish with 4 pick-up strides (about 40 to 50 meters - start off
slowly, then build until last few steps are an all out full sprint… walk back
after each for recovery).
*All running should be done at an easy, comfortable pace.
Distance (400, 800, and 1600 meter runners):
Monday - run 7 minutes… walk 3 minutes… run 7 minutes… walk 3
minutes (20 minutes total… make run pace easy enough to run entire 7
minutes without walking)… finish with 10 push-ups and 20 sit-ups
Tuesday - run 10 minutes… walk 5 (15 minutes total)
Wednesday - repeat Monday - run 7 minutes... walk 3 minutes… run 7
minutes… walk 3 minutes (20 minutes total)… finish with 10 push-ups and
20 sit-ups
Thursday - repeat Tuesday - run 10 minutes and walk 5 minutes
Friday - run 12 minutes… walk 5 minutes… run 3 minutes (20 minutes
total)… finish with 4 pick-up strides (about 40 to 50 meters -start off
slowly, then build until last few steps are an all out sprint… walk back after
each for recovery)
*All running should be done at easy comfortable pace.
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2017 Track and Field Peaks League Meet Schedule
Tuesday 4/4 Homestake Peak 4:45 start(arrive at 4:15)
Tri: 100meters, 400meters, 800meters, 4x100 relay, shot put, long jump
HPS, EVMS, ST.C (HPS running)
Monday 4/10
Gypsum Creek Invitational(arrival time TBA) 100meter hurdles, 100 meters, 200 meters, 1600 meters, medley relay (100, 100,200, 400), shot put, long jump Thursday 4/13 Homestake Peak-­‐‑4:45 start(arrive at 4:15) Tri: 100m hurdles, 200 meters, 1600 meters, 4x200 relay, discus, high jump BCMS, SMS, St.C, ECCA, LC (BCMS running) Saturday 5/6
Eagle Valley Middle School Invitational (arrival time TBA)
Tuesday 5/9-­‐‑ League Championships Battle Mountain 3pm (arrive at 2:30)
Thursday 5/11-­‐‑League Championships Battle Mountain 3pm(arrive at 2:30)
Alternate dates Tuesday 5/16
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2017 Middle School Track and Field
Vail Christian Academy/St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School
Contact Information
(Please return to Coach Jen at practice by the end of the first week of practice)
Student Athlete’s Name_____________________________
(Nick Name_____________)
Grade (__________)
School__________________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s Name__________________________
Relationship_______________
E-mail_________________________________
Phone____________________________
Tell me about your child
Is there anything I should know regarding any physical constraints or
limitations?____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Please circle all events in which your child has interest or would like to try:
100m
200m
400m
800m
1600m
4 x 100m relay
4 x 200m relay
discus
high jump
shot put
100m hurdles
long jump
What other information would you like for me to know about your child?
Many thanks,
Coach Jen
Jen Sticksel, 806-433-3338 (cell)
[email protected]
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