How to Get Started in Track and Field

Bridget Snapp: After watching Usain Bolt, superhuman feats at the Olympics this year. There's no doubt your child is ready to set some track on field, world records of her own. Today on Clubhouse GAS, we're going to tell you how you can get started. We took this question to Doctor Lorraine Williams founder of Trackmom.com, a self professed website, for everything Track & Field. Focused on young athlete's ages 6-16, this site features, daily updates on nutrition, training method, the latest fashions, schedules and results from meets around the country and news where the Track & Field all stars. The first thing we ask this knowledgeable trackmom, was how to get your kids started. Lorraine Williams: In the northern Midwest and eastern part of the country, there is outdoor and indoor. Here in southern California, we don't truly have an indoor season, because we can run outside almost all the time. But as for the outdoor typically, you can join a team. They use the advertise, you can online and find all the teams that are listed for USA Track & Field; they're all in the site. There's also recreational parks and creation have a big, what we have here in southern California called the SCMAF meet and that's a great grassroots meet for children who have never been exposed to running before, but they like to run and they like to know more about it. Also, the biggest one in the nation grassroots I believe is the Hershey meet. It is all over the nation. It's absolutely free to any athlete that wants to participate and they have an area a regional and then a national final. Bridge Snapp: So now that you've decided to join a team, what would you look for? Lorraine Williams: I would tell any parents, a team is the way to go. But you need to find the team that fits your personality. I like to joke and say, teams are like churches and in southern California, there are so many churches. You just got to find the one that you want to go to. But you have to be able to know the culture of the team, the parents of the team, do they have like values. And I think for us, being able, to take two years and really get to know the parents and a lot of different teams was very helpful. So that when we decided on a team we really knew, where we're going and why we're choosing that team. Bridge Snapp: So for youth baseball, we know there are many different organizations like Little League and Cal Ripken. What about for Track & Field? Lorraine Williams: The two major organizations that Track & Field are involved with are the USA Track & Field and AAU. Now USA Track & Field have all divisions. So they have youth, they have a lead, and they also have masters and so there are different divisions, but they're all under the same big umbrella. AAU has Track & Field but AAU also has basketball, football, volleyball a lot of different sports under their umbrella. In terms of is AAU is one higher or better than the other. There's some debate about, that. But I believe that there is really no difference, because when you look at the times in the National rankings; all these children are very similar in time and performance standards. Bridge Snapp: So what do you look for in coach? Lorraine Williams: At this point, there is really no official training for youth coaches. So if you have a child or if you have a desire, you can go out and coach. Whether you know, what you're dong or you don't know, what you're doing. And often times, a lot of coaches think, that they know what they're doing and they may or may not. Every year from 6 years old to about 18, you see a lot of developmental and emotional changes in a youth athlete compared to when you get to college and above. So really special training should be considered, I think down the road or someone should put something, together that's very specific to the needs of our children. And if you understand, how a child is wired, then you'll give a little more grace when they're fooling around with their tennis shoes and doing other things, because that's where, they are developed mentally and learn how to overcome that with different strategies and techniques. I know that all the information is out there to work with our youth athletes, in a more professional like manner. But the fact of the matter, is that all of these coaches are volunteers. And because they are volunteers, they can only get so much time and they give a lot of time. Bridge Snapp: So how much hands on coaching, is your child going to need to be the next Usain Bolt? Lorraine Williams: I was just speaking to a professional coach, Coach here, yesterday and what he said was, that he doesn't believe that the children actually need all that hands on. Their experience really comes from the comradery of going to the track and running and practicing together. He believes that really Track & Field is way overblown in terms, of what the parents are looking for, because in youth sports in general, we see all these great youth athlete, we see great professional athletes and we look for our child to be one of those. And he would like to see it, pulled way back and may more of recreational funny event, which is probably never going to happen. Again, because youth sports is not wired that way anymore. There are grassroots like Hershey is still very basic, and very grassroots and very youth friendly. They have a lot of extra activities besides the actual running. And there's not a lot of training that goes into a Hershey meet. But at the junior Olympic level, these children are trained like professionals.