Can you believe I’ve never been to the race track? I’m kind of shocked myself. Considering the degenerative aspect of my competitive nature… yeah, never been to see the ponies, or the dogs for that matter. I guess this is something on my bucket list? To spend a day at the track, throwing some bets down on the horses; maybe when my son gets old enough? I don’t know. Not talking about that kind of track today though… My son’s first track and field meet was on Sunday. Let the next season begin!
He would be participating in the maximum 4 events in his first varsity meet. The varsity team is made up of 7th and 8th graders; the JV is from 4th-6th. This really didn’t click for me, that he’d be taking a step up this year, competing against older kids; he’s no stranger to that. Depending on the age cuts for all the sports he’s played over the years, sometimes he’s one of the oldest kids in his group, sometimes he’s one of the youngest; I don’t think it’s really something he thinks about… guess I could ask him… haha. His first event would be the 4×400 relay; his first event would bring his first medal of the day. The boys finished in 3rd place; it was a good start to the day. Next up was the individual 100m heat. There were multiple kids in this one; he finished 4th in his heat, which was not a good sign to make the finals. He didn’t make the finals; he was about a second off the cut. Next up was the individual 400m race; he had been improving his time during practice for this one, but… not today. He took a step a couple seconds back, which caused him to just miss medaling in this one. If there is one I’m pretty confident he will earn a medal in during the next 2 meets, it’s this one; the 100M may be tough, but he should be able to earn one in the 400M. The final race of the day for him, and for the meet overall, was the 4×100 relay. Like the first relay for the boys, this one would bring another medal; this time it was 6th place. Two medals on the day for the first varsity track meet; we’ll take it.
I actually participated in this one too. You know, figure I’m going to be there, might as well make myself useful. Yes, I was an official timer for the proceedings. I’ve done it plenty of times for swimming; this would be a first for a track meet. I got the quick 5 minute rundown, and was good to go. Look at the smoke not the sound of the start gun, pick a place to time (not a kid or a lane), and grab the kid after the event, and make sure he comes back to the finish line in his lane to officially report his time; got it! It was a long day, but it was cool.
There are only 3 meets in the whole season. With no track meet on Easter Sunday, the next one will be 2 weeks from now. Getting the first one out of the way, couple more practices under his belt, maybe eat something different on the day of (?)… we should be good. Can’t wait to watch the kid run again.
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