Rain, Rain, Go away, Come again another day!

This week's practice was sadly interrupted by rain! It made me so angry! Especially since I was sick last Tuesday! But there wasn't really anything I could do to prevent it.  I was hoping by 3 o'clock the rain would have been gone, but sadly the rain persisted. Because of the rain, I had to cancel practice. It would have been miserable for the team to run in the rain, especially since it was freezing outside. So, the only practice this week we had was on Thursday. Luckily, It was a fantastic practice, so it made up for the loss on Tuesday! :) 

The Thursday practice was very exciting! We went to the Deaf and Blind School again. The team got to practice the High Jump event!! It was incredible. Allen Gillespie and Adam Rollins were excellent at it, and cleared more than 5ft! I tried it a few times myself. I cleared it a few times, but overall I wasn't very good. The Deaf and Blind School coach taught us the technique, and a deaf girl demonstrated it for us. It was a lot more complicated technique than what I was expecting, but it was really fun. The team did surprisingly well at it, especially since it was all out first time. The team also ran two 800m races back to back.  It was very tiring, but it helped work the teams endurance and speed. The exercise helped the team pace themselves. The practice was fun and something the team had never done before, including myself! The team will now be going on a two week break, because of school trips (like Nicaragua) and Spring Break.  I made the team a practice sheet that they need to do over the break, so they do not get out of shape.  Listed below is what they team will be doing over the break...

Tuesday, March 22th- Run a fast paced ½-mile run

Thursday, March 24th- Run a medium paced 1-mile run  

Saturday, March 26^th- Sprint exercise (suicides/100m sprints)

Tuesday, March 29^th- Run a fast paced 1-mile run

Thursday, March 31^st- Run a fast paced ½-mile run

Saturday, April 2^nd- Sprint exercise (suicides/100m sprints)

Even though Tuesday was canceled unexpectedly, I still felt like it was a another very successful week of practice!

A Sick Week... Gone Good

So this week has been a mix of both the good and the bad. This is pretty much how the week went...

Tuesday: On Tuesday, I came to school with a very bad stomach ache with the hopes that the pain would go away.  It didn't.  The pain only got worse as the school day went on. By 4th period, I was in so much stomach pain, I had to go to the nurses office. The nurse sent me home, which meant I was unable to attend my Track Clubs practice. (I most likely had food poisoning) Luckily, I was able to talk to Mr. Tucker before I left school. He was thankfully very understanding and was able to still hold practice for the team! I'm really disappointed that I wasn't able to be at the practice. It made me very upset. But happily, the team still had a very beneficial practice.  The team on Tuesday did both agility exercises and three laps of the cat and mouse exercise. I am very thankful for Coach Tucker!!

Thursday: Once again, the team was blessed to travel to the Deaf and Blind School!  It was another amazing experience! The kids their are so sweet and are always very friendly to the team. It was nice to practice with another team who was willing to teach us the strategies and techniques of the races.  At the Deaf and Blind School, the team and I practiced the 200M race, 100M Dash, 1x100M relay, and the 400M race. We got to learn the strategies of starting off a race using starting blocks! (Exciting!) We also got to learn the technique of handing off the baton during a relay.  This practice was probably the most draining and tiring of all the practices. The team is learning more and more about the feel of running on a real track, and the running techniques that come along with it.  It was a great work-out, and it was fun to have a little friendly competition. I'm pretty sure the team (including myself) is going to be very sore tomorrow!

Overall, the most important thing I've learned this week is that Track is a large amount of pain, shoved into a small amount of time.  Kinda weird that I still love it so much!! :)

The Third Week of Practice

This week has yet again, been a very successful week of practice! We practiced at the School on Tuesday, and then at the Deaf and Blind School on Thursday. This is what the week looked like...

Tuesday: On Tuesday we practiced at Oakbrook.  We began practice with a warm up lap, and then by stretching.  Generally, this is how practice always begins.  Right after the warm ups, we did some agility exercises. These exercises include Karaoke, Knee Ups, and crunches. (This is also what we did last Thursday at practice). Then, the team ran three laps of Cat and Mouse. The team was really full of energy on Tuesday, but by the end of the practice they were exhausted.

Thursday- On Thursday the team practiced with the Deaf and Blind School. It was such a fantastic experience.  Running on a track gives a whole different experience than when running at the school. It really showed the team what a real track experience was like.  The Deaf and Blind School team was extremely kind, and they really opened up to us. The team was extremely talented, especially the girls team. The girls Deaf and Blind School team even won nationals! The practice consisted of a relay with four girls and four boys. The girls who participated were Monica Kristen, Lindsey, and Alex. The boys who participated were Adan, Allen, Jonathan, and Murphy. These participants had the opportunity to test their sprinting skills, while also encouraging team work. They had the opportunity to learn the techniques of relay races. Next, the team ran a 400m race, which is one full lap around the track. It was extremely intense.  It took a large amount of leg strength and endurance to keep up a good pace.   Everyone participated. Lastly, the team was able to observe field events. We had the opportunity to watch the High Jump event, and attempt to accomplish the long jump event. We observed different techniques for different events. The team really loved practicing at the Deaf and Blind School, and we were invited to come back next Thursday!! It fully allowed the team with a chance to experience the intensity and competition of a real track team.

This week, Mr. Hinds came up to me and told me that he is planning to pay coach Tucker for his time invested in the Track team. This is great news! :) I am also planning to have a meeting with Mr. Tucker to talk about the plans for me to lead practices on Tuesday and Mr. Tucker to lead them on Thursday.

The Second Week of Practice

This has been another very successful week of Track practice! The team is beginning to build a stronger endurance.  In just one week, I have already noticed a huge difference in the team's strength. They have already began to strengthen their legs.  This weeks practice was moved to Monday and Wednesday, so they would not conflict with Band practices. This is what the team practices involved…

Monday: On Monday I held practice all by myself. I was a little nervous at first. I was unsure if I was going to be able to control the team, but the practice surprisingly when better than expected. What we did was three different workouts. We first practiced the 100m dash. I made them race each other six times in a row. Next, we practiced by running one lap of "Cat and Mouse". This exercise involves both endurance and sprinting. Then we ran two "Magics". These are laps you run around the soccer field as fast as possible. After practice, the team was pretty exhausted.

Wednesday: On Wednesday the team ran four laps of  "Cat and Mouse", which is equivalent to about one mile. Then, after that running exercise, the team did agility exercises. The agility exercises involved the "mountain man" exercise, crouches, and knee ups. These agility exercises strengthened the leg and core muscles in the body, to give the team more power in their push-offs.

Something very excited has happed this week! The team has received an e-mail for the Deaf and Blind School. The e-mail received gave the Oakbrook Track team permission to come and practice with the Deaf and Blind School's Track team!  Most likely, the team will be practicing with the Deaf and Blind School next Thursday for 4:30-5:30. I am very excited about this opportunity for the team. It will allow the team to run on an actual Track and to feel the pressure of competition. We may even be able to try a few field events!! 

The first week of practice!

This week was the first official week of practice!! It was fantastic! On Tuesday around 12 students showed up. It was a really good first day of practice. On the first day, we trained by doing two different running exercises. The first exercise was running and training for the 100m dash. We have a lot of fast students on the team. I think we can definitely do really well at the meets we participate in! Next, we trained by running one mile. The students who participated in Cross Country did really well. The others students still did well too, but we all need to work on our endurance more, so they can all run a full 1-2 miles without having to stop.

Today around 15 students showed up! (including 6 girls!) :) We practiced endurance training and sprint training in the same exercise. They ran 1.5 miles, that involved both jogging and sprinting. The team did really well. Then, after that exercise, we did the "stair stepper" exercise, on the pavilion. This exercise helps strengthen the muscles in the legs so that the team can have a more powerful push off in each step.

I've really enjoyed the first week of practice! I’m surprised how many people showed up! The team is really determined and energetic about Track. It makes me really excited and happy to have others that love running like myself. :) I'm excited for next weeks practice also! I am doing practice by myself without Mr. Tucker on Monday! Pray for me!

Practices Plans

So the Friday meeting went extremely well! The meeting went even better than I was expecting! Around twenty students showed up at the meeting, and I am expecting around fifteen students on the first day of practice. :)

So next Tuesday is the big day! It is the first official practice day of the season! This week I have mostly been brainstorming different ideas for the practices. I am still trying to decide whether or not to make the first day of practice simple/easy or hard/challenging. Any suggestions? I don't want to scare off some team members of the team if the first day of practice is too hard, but I don't want anyone quit if they think the practice was too easy. I'm going to talk to Mr. Tucker and see what he thinks.

I was thinking about having a quick one mile run and then have a few sprint exercises for Tuesday, but I still haven't completely decided yet. I would also like to be able to do some strength training exercises. (potentially for the Thurs practice too). I also want to make the warm-up stretches intense, which should be easy for me to come up with, because I am constantly stretching for dance classes.

It's Almost Begun!

The Track season is almost here, and I am so excited!! The first official Track meeting is tomorrow. The meeting is for all the students who are interested in participating. The meeting is to give the students information about the upcoming season, and for me to see how big the team will be.  I am excited to see who will turn up at the meeting. I had to do many preparations this week for the meeting.  These preparations include getting medical forms, commitment forms, and information from the students.

I made an announcement in the Knightly News this week, informing Oakbrook of the Track meeting on Friday. An announcement at Chapel was also made this week about the team. Lastly, a reminder about the Track meeting after school tomorrow was also made.

I spoke with Mr. Hinds this week, and he is encouraging me to do some practices on my own, without Mr. Tucker's help, and to use Mr. Tucker more as an advisor to help plan/coordinate races.  I would like to do this, but I feel that I need a lot of Mr. Tucker's help still. I was thinking that I do one practice a week without Mr. Tucker, and another with him. I still need to talk to Ms. Tewksbury about this.

It has been confirmed this week by Mr. Tucker that the Oakbrook Track team can practice at the Deaf and Blind School or at Inman Highschool (Old Chapman Highschool). We will most likely practice at this location once every two weeks.