question about middle school track and field

[luvflorida]

My DD13 begins track and field on Monday. This is the first time she has been interested in participating in a school sport. Can someone tell me what the specific events are? Also, what kind of sneakers does she need? There was a meeting at the middle school yesterday for the students who had signed up, but I guess these questions didn't come up. Thanks for any info.

 

[pumba]

my granddaughter did 7th and 8th grade track and loved it.....this is her Freshmen year at high school and is so excited about this again.....She did two types of sprints and then a relay with five others and then her most favorite thing to do is Pole vaulting....she just started that in her 8th grade.....she actually got her name on a plaque for a record.....well actually it was because she was the first to ever make it over for her school......

 

[TalkisCheap]

I'm in 7th grade and I did track with my middle school last year, and for the past 4 years I have belonged to a summer track club, and I am totally obsessed with track and field because it is my favorite sport.

Events(at my middle school) are -

The shot put
The discus
High Jump
Long Jump
100 m
200 m
400 m
1500 m
4x400 m relay

I have heard that some schools have 4x1600 m relays and my summer league has the 3000 m. I can describe the events more in detail if you want...just ask. And as for shoes, it depends. If your DD is a sprinter, spikes are the best if she's fast. If she's interested in running longer distances, or isn't that fast at shorter distances, regular running shoes are fine. I would recommend Asics(sp?) because they're my favorites. Also, if she chooses to do the long jump, she may want, if she has regular sneakers, to use those for long jumping because jumping into the sand is tough on running shoes which are pretty expensive, so saving them only for running is best to keep them in good condition.

I wish your DD the best of luck in the upcoming season, and I hope she loves track like I do. I also start Monday, and I am bouncing off walls !!


-Caroline

 

[TalkisCheap]

sorry to post again so soon, but I didn't even notice you're both from maine too!! Wow, that's such a coincidence we're all from maine and all posting on the track and field thread! I'm from southern maine too...hey maybe I'll compete against DD!!


-Caroline

 

[jimmalru80]

We are from New Jersey and I'm sure the events vary, but middle school track meets are basically the same basic things. You have a hurdles race, sprints including 100, 200 and 400 meters, distance events including 800 and 1600 meters and two relays, 4X100 and 4X400. The field events are divided between the jumps, (long and high; sometimes triple), and field events (shot put, and discus). This is a great sport to get involved in early as it can't help but improve your performance should you decide to try other sports (soccer, b'ball, etc.) later on. And, it is the one sport where politics, whether within the team, parents, etc. are really thrown out the window. I've seen instances where a parent believes their child should be competing before/ahead of someone else, and that is not the case here for a myriad of reasons. In track and field, the stopwatch or tape does not lie. If you can run fast, or jump high, you will get your shot. Good luck and enjoy the meets. They are fun!! As far as footwear is concerned, have them run in something light and comfortable to start. If they get serious, it's time to consult with someone who knows the sport. They can make sure your student athlete gets the best match of person/event available.

 

[pumba]

pole vaulting......she just loves this.....her first time doing it was in seventh grade and no one had signed up for it and her coach asked for a volunteer for the last big meet of the season...so she tried a few trial runs and did okey.....her eighth grade she did it and just loves it....she sprained her wrist this winter snowboarding at Lost Valley and she has had to get some strength back into it.....she is a freshman and they started training and practice three weeks ago.....

 

[TalkisCheap]

Pumba, they really let the middle schoolers pole vault?? Wow, my coaches would never ever let any of us pole vault...something about an old school rule or something at ours?? Probably someone got hurt and blamed the track program...

Oh yeah! I can't believe I forgot the 100 hurtles and the triple jump! I have yet to master the triple jump, but this will be my second year trying to perfect it...it's quite challenging to not foot fault. The high jump is my undisputed favorite..it's wicked awesome. The long jump is also fun, the 400, then the 1500, the 800, shot put, and the 3000(in summer) round out my favorite events in order. You should really encourage your daughter to try the high jump, everyone I know who has ever tried it, has fallen in love with the event. I must say though, that it takes a lot of practice so it isn't something she'll master right off the bat, so she shouldn't get discouraged if she can't go out and jump as high as another girl...and it will take a while for her to jump as high as she would like. I'm still trying to get 4'2 under my belt, and move forward, but I'm having somewhat of a hard time when it comes to that height.

-Caroline

 

[luvflorida]

Thanks for all the info. My daughter has several pairs of Pumas, so I'm hoping they will be okay to start out with.

How is it determined who competes in which events? Since this will be her first time, she doesn't really know what she'll be good at or enjoy. She's a little afraid of trying to clear the hurdles because she is small for her age. I just want her to go out and have fun and not worry about how she does compared with other athletes.

 

[TalkisCheap]

With my program, you tell the coach what events you want to compete in. Our program starts Monday, then we have all next week, spring break, and then the last week in april is the week of our first meet. I suggest starting off easy. Does your DD have any running expirience? Does she know if she is better at sprinting or long distance? My advice to her is to practice at as many things as she can, and try different things each practice. She won't know what is her real 'calling' unless she tries everything.

The hurdles are scary even for me, and I'm not exactly short(5'5ish) My sister is not much taller than me(junior) and she runs indoor track. She did the hurdles, and she clipped a hurdle and went down hard. She was outside and fell on pavement, and the top layer of skin on her knee/leg was ripped off, leaving now a sizable scar. She was scared off from doing the hurdles for now, as was I!

So, just tell DD to try lots of things, decide what she wants to do, and this is just a building year for her. Each meet, try something different, till she really finds that perfect mix of events she's best at. Next year, if she chooses to do it again, it will be much easier since she'll know what to expect, and whats shes good at. If she really enjoys it, most southern maine rec programs have a summer track league which really helped me build my skills and fall in love with the sport. So, if she enjoys this season, I definatly recommend a summer league and I hope she has great success!!!!


-Caroline

 

[mudnuri]

I ran track in middle school....some of the events are different for middle than they are for high school around here...

In middle we had
100 hurdles
400 hurdles
100, 400, 800 and 1600
400 relay
1600 relay

long jump
high jump
shot, and discus

In high school, they had the above and add
3000
javelin
vault

for the person whose daughter had a relay with 5 other girls- what relay was that? I've only seen a relay with 4 total runners, never 6?

My daughters run in summer track that I run through the Rec Dept...we do the 100 sprint, a 200, and then a 4x100 relay..plus the long jump...this is open to kids 5 and up, and they have a blast!

Some middle schools wont allow spikes- so make sure you ask first. Ours wont....the best thing to do with shoes is to bring her to a shoe store that specializes in fitting shoes, and has knowledgabel staff members, that can help you decide whats the best shoe for what she's doing. I had different shoes depending on what event I was doing...my 100 hurdle shoes were different than my 1600 shoes.

Brandy

 

[Regina]

My DD was a cheerleading, discus throwing, shotputting kind of gal in both middle and high school.

I hope that your DD enjoys it as much as mine did.