Parents’ Guide to Summit Youth Running Track and Field

Welcome! We’re very excited your Son or Daughter has joined the Summit Youth Running Tigers Track and Field.

It’s going to be a great season!

What is Track & Field?

Track and Field is a team sport consisting of 9 individual events and 3 relay events at the youth level of competition. There are 4 Field events, 5 individual races, & 3 relays.  The order of events is listed here

 Field Events – Long Jump, Standing Long jump, High jump, Shot Put, Discus

100 Meter Dash

4 x 200 Meter Relay (4 runners each run 200 meters for a total of 800m)

1600 Meter Run

4 x 100 Meter Relay

400 Meter Dash

200 Meter Hurdles

800 Meter Run

200 Meter Dash

4 x 400 Meter Relay

 How to Buy Running Shoes and Running Apparel

If possible, go to a store that deals primarily with running footwear and apparel such as Second Sole, Vertical Runner, or Ritchie Sporting.  These stores have experienced runners who have competed at every level and who are experienced at measuring and evaluating your son/daughter for the proper pair of running shoes.  They offer the best Running Essentials as well.

If you need a list of stores that deal with this type of footwear and apparel, please contact one of the coaches.
- The best way to prolong the life and function of a new pair of running shoes is to wear them for running only, not as school shoes or for PE class.
It is not necessary to purchase special running apparel. Loose fitting T-shirts, tech shirts, athletic pants or sweatpants, sweatshirt, wind breaker jacket, winter hat, winter gloves, running tights, and shorts are adequate for daily training.  Your athlete will be issued a team shirt for Meets. It is important that shoes be selected for their function, no court style shoes such as, basketball or tennis shoes.  Racing spikes are not mandatory but can be used for those who want to pursue Track and field more seriously.  Please use a duffel bag or backpack to store your athlete's meet and practice items.  Please label ALL items. 

If you decide to get your running shoes and apparel at a local running store listed above, please mention you are part of Summit Youth Running Track and Field.  They will give you our team DISCOUNT!!

 What it takes to be successful

More than anything else, success in Track and Field takes time…time to learn; time to train; time to sleep, rest and recover; after school time; weekend time; time away from family and friends; and time away from other interests. With the academic responsibilities of being a student-athlete, most student-athletes are busy all the time. We try to achieve a balance between all things while aspiring to do well in Track and Field

- How can you help your son or daughter?

As your aspiring young runner begins the first week of training, you may wonder what to expect and how you can assist him or her as a parent in terms of recovery, eating, sleeping, and mental attitude.
As a rule, we don’t recommend you change any aspect of your normal routine of home responsibilities, family meal planning, bedtime, and social guidelines.

A normal consequence at the beginning to of the season, is muscle soreness, which will soon go away. If your son or daughter has not competed in sports before, this may persist up to 2 weeks. They should communicate this to us so we can adjust their training. Any athlete engaged in intensive training and competition can be subject to injury. We can prevent most injuries when our runners tell us about their aches and pains before they become disabling. Please speak to us directly, so we can then address the situation and recommend appropriate treatment or referral.   
A nutritious, well balanced diet is essential for an athlete. Especially on race days, fatty and fried foods, milk based products, and carbonated or acidic drinks should be avoided. Small portions of easily digested food eaten at least 3 hours before competition are best, but water intake should never be limited especially, the day before and prior to meet/race day.  Most athletes feel best when they race a little hungry. Over the course of a season, you should see your runners gradually starting to eat more carbohydrates.  If your athlete complains they are thirsty, they are already dehydrated. 
Please reach out to our coaching staff if you have any questions regarding nutrition and hydration.

Track & Field Vocabulary

·       2-Command start: Runners take your mark, followed by the gun.

·       3-Command start: Runners to your mark, set, followed by the gun.

·       False start: Leaving the starting line before the gun sounds

·       Lanes: A section of the track where an athlete starts or runs his entire race

·       Staggered Start: A staggered start is used in running events where each participant or relay team must run the entire race in the same lane. Because the distance covered from start to finish in lanes 2 through 8 increases with the circumference of the turns, the participants in lanes 2 through 8 start the race ahead of the athlete in lane 1. The amount of the head start is determined by the lane and the number of turns in the race.

·       Waterfall Start: A waterfall start is typically used for the 1600M and 3200M runs. The athletes in lanes 1 and 2 begin on the normal starting line. Those athletes in lanes 3 through 8 are afforded a 2 to 5 meter start advantage.

·       Relays: A single race where each of 4 team members runs an equal and specific distance. There are 3 relay events in a standard track meet.

These are:

4x100M – Each athlete runs 100 meters

4x200M – Each athlete runs 200 meters

4x400M – Each athlete runs 400 meters

·       Heats: A heat is a grouping of athletes with similar times competing in the same running event.

·       Pace: Running speed over a particular distance

·       Surge: A tactical increase in pace during the race

·       Kick: A burst of speed at the finish of the race

·       Personal Record (PR): Best ever performance on a given course.

·       Racing Spikes: Special, lightweight shoes designed for racing, rather than daily training.

·       Training Flats: Running shoes designed for long wear in daily training

·       Warm Up: A running and stretching routine that gradually warms up the body for intense running.
Dynamic Stretches:  are controlled movements that prepare your muscles, ligaments and other soft tissues for performance and safety.
They are used as part of your warm-up routine before any athletic event.

·       Cool Down: A jogging/walking routine that allows the muscles to purge themselves of lactates and the body to gradually lower its temperature to normal.
Static stretches: are those in which you stand, sit or lie still and hold a single position for period of time, up to about 10- 45 seconds. 
They  are used as part of your cool-down routine to help prevent injury

·       Workout: A daily training session
Staging Area: event location/meeting place prior to the start of the event (Race director will announce: 1st call, 2nd call, last call)

How Track and Field is scored

The only meet that will be scored will be the Championship Meet at the end of the season.  Points are scored by placing in the top 8 places for each age division as follows:

1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place 5th place 6th place 7th place 8th place

10 points 8 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

The points are totaled as the meet progresses. After all events are completed, the team with the most points wins.

Preparing to watch your first track meet

1. When you arrive at the meet, locate the Summit Youth Running Tigers Track and Field team camp/tent, check your runner in, and verify what events he/she are entered in. There will be a board at our camp that lists all runners entries, order of events, as well as any special instructions.
2. We usually start with a quick team meeting and then complete a warm up/dynamic stretches as a team. 
- Due to the length of meet additional warm up will likely be required for individual events.
3. Each event will have a coach and parent volunteers assigned to the event to coordinate warm up, getting to the start etc. 
- This can be very hectic for our coaches with so much going on at one time. Please help by keeping an eye on the event schedule, when your runner’s race is approaching, and ensuring they check up with the assigned coach.

4. Each event will have many heats and are mostly run by age groups.
- For most meets, this is coordinated prior to the official start of the meet.  Therefore, it’s critical for the meet to run smoothly bu insuring our runners are at the staging area for their event and stay there until their heat is to start.

 5. Athlete's focus:  please do not expect the full attention of your son or daughter once we get to the meet. All athletes will need time to warm up, be briefed by their coaches, and prepare for the race with their teammates.  (Many parents are initially surprised at the seriousness their son and daughter shows prior to and during a race. The intensity of competition may reveal a side of your young athlete’s personality you haven’t seen before) 
6. Parent Involvement: During the race, you can move from point to point around the track (usually outside of the fence) to cheer the runners as they pass.
- You will not be allowed to be on the track during competition unless you are a Summit Youth Running Track and Field assigned parent volunteer. 
- Rules also forbid running alongside a competitor to pace or encourage him or her.
- At the finish of the race, the runners will stay in place at the finish until their time is recorded and the official releases them.
- It’s OK to greet them at the end their event but they will need to turn a place card into their coach ASAP so their scores can be tabulated.
7. Meet and Post Meet Expectations:  Our runners have other responsibilities after the race. We expect them to jog and cool-down as a team and actively support their teammates who have yet to race.
- Some runners are more spent than others after a race. Typical symptoms of their effort and fatigue are breathlessness, general weakness, rubbery legs, glassy eyes, salivating, and sometimes nausea.
 - A mistake parents sometimes make is to take their sons or daughters off by themselves to try and take care of them. Please do not do this! - Our coaches are experienced in dealing with these symptoms, trained in first-aid, and responsible for their care. To aid recovery, water is the best thing to drink immediately after a race.
- Expect the possibility of some disappointment by your athlete after the race if his or her team did not win, and/or if he or she failed to achieve their goals.
- Athletes may need some emotional space afterward from both you and their coaches.
- Later on, they will need verbal support.
- We ask that our runners not leave right away after their race is over, unless they have a pressing commitment.  We often have information to provide afterwards and again, we want everyone to stay and support their teammates.

Parent Involvement

The Summit Youth Running Track and Field program is very blessed with wonderful parent involvement. This program is a lot of fun to be around. Please make the time to be with our team and make yourself known to the athletes, coaches and other parents. For those who have truly been involved over the years, have always walked away raving about their son/daughter's experience in our program.  We care about yours and that of your son/daughter's thoughts, comments, and concerns.  Please feel free to reach out the coaches at anytime. Without parent support, our Track and Field program would not be able to do all the things that need to be done each season. Parental support is an important contribution to having a successful season!