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Post by lemondrop on Feb 23, 2018 17:20:58 GMT
My DS has decided that he is going to do Track & Field this season. For the first time. As a senior.
I went to the parent meeting last night, with the jaded senior parents and the fresh-faced freshman parents, talking about ride shares and fundraising. Deep sigh...
I love that he is trying something new but, man, our schedule just got crazy! Between track, his non-high school sport, all the senior activities and his part-time job, oh, and SCHOOL (!), he is a busy boy.
He is my younger child so I am heading into the empty nest zone, so I will enjoy the crazy.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 17:33:11 GMT
Good for him! Do you know what event he wants to compete in? Track is actually one of the few sports I don't mind watching as there's always so much going on. At any given time, there's runners, hurdlers, jumpers, pole vaulters, shot putters or discus throwers on the field. We usually just show up to watch our child's event and then leave as there is a bit of downtime for the athletes depending on the event they are participating in.
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Post by pattyraindrops on Feb 23, 2018 17:35:56 GMT
This is so similar to what I could have said. My youngest son is in track for the first time as a junior. Our parent meeting was on Wednesday.
I have not been real happy with 1 hour of class time (last hour of the day) in track and then 2-3 hours of practice everyday and Saturday and holiday practices.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 17:40:12 GMT
I have not been real happy with 1 hour of class time (last hour of the day) in track He misses one hour of classroom time each day during track season?  The only time my kids miss class is if they have a track meet. I can't imagine missing that much class time. |
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439 
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Feb 23, 2018 17:50:44 GMT
My senior is doing track for the third time. She doesn't do many running events because she has extremely flat feet and has issues with her ankles and hips if she runs too much. Instead, she does the jumping events. It's less intense but she still gets to be part of the team and be competitive and learn to how to improve herself. Track is great because it gives kids concrete goals to work toward. Our track team is good at encouraging the kids to celebrate personal bests and compete against themselves.
Enjoy these last crazy months!
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Post by lemondrop on Feb 23, 2018 17:56:20 GMT
Good for him! Do you know what event he wants to compete in? Track is actually one of the few sports I don't mind watching as there's always so much going on. At any given time, there's runners, hurdlers, jumpers, pole vaulters, shot putters or discus throwers on the field. We usually just show up to watch our child's event and then leave as there is a bit of downtime for the athletes depending on the event they are participating in. Ha! Thank you! He is doing shot put, discuss and sprints. I plan to show up when told, write a check to help with fundraising and donate some snacks. |
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Post by lemondrop on Feb 23, 2018 17:58:20 GMT
This is so similar to what I could have said. My youngest son is in track for the first time as a junior. Our parent meeting was on Wednesday. I have not been real happy with 1 hour of class time (last hour of the day) in track and then 2-3 hours of practice everyday and Saturday and holiday practices. Wow! My boy will not be missing any class time, other than the meets. And he needs to navigate his other sport/work/etc. Thankfully, we live very close to the school. |
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Post by lemondrop on Feb 23, 2018 17:58:51 GMT
My senior is doing track for the third time. She doesn't do many running events because she has extremely flat feet and has issues with her ankles and hips if she runs too much. Instead, she does the jumping events. It's less intense but she still gets to be part of the team and be competitive and learn to how to improve herself. Track is great because it gives kids concrete goals to work toward. Our track team is good at encouraging the kids to celebrate personal bests and compete against themselves. Enjoy these last crazy months! Thank you! And you, too! |
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Post by auntkelly on Feb 23, 2018 18:05:05 GMT
My DS has decided that he is going to do Track & Field this season. For the first time. As a senior. I went to the parent meeting last night, with the jaded senior parents and the fresh-faced freshman parents, talking about ride shares and fundraising. Deep sigh... I love that he is trying something new but, man, our schedule just got crazy! Between track, his non-high school sport, all the senior activities and his part-time job, oh, and SCHOOL (!), he is a busy boy. He is my younger child so I am heading into the empty nest zone, so I will enjoy the crazy. My kids never went out for track, so I don't know much about it. However, I think it's great that your son has the confidence to try a new sport his senior year. I hope he enjoys it! |
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Post by pattyraindrops on Feb 24, 2018 4:17:08 GMT
I have not been real happy with 1 hour of class time (last hour of the day) in track He misses one hour of classroom time each day during track season? The only time my kids miss class is if they have a track meet. I can't imagine missing that much class time. No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. |
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Post by kels99 on Feb 24, 2018 5:53:11 GMT
He misses one hour of classroom time each day during track season? The only time my kids miss class is if they have a track meet. I can't imagine missing that much class time. No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. Track is a class? Do all sports have a class associated with them? I've not heard of that before. What class does he take last period when it's not track season? My DS is trying out for soccer next week, but doesn't think he'll make it so his friends have convinced him to do track as a back-up plan. Their spiel was, "We talk and goof around a lot." LOL We'll see how it goes. |
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maryannscraps
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Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Feb 24, 2018 13:52:59 GMT
He misses one hour of classroom time each day during track season? The only time my kids miss class is if they have a track meet. I can't imagine missing that much class time. No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. Huh, I never heard of that. What do they do in track class? Our MS/HS finishes academic classes at 2:15, then teachers stay until 2:55 in their classrooms for after school help. Sports start at 3:00. I'm so glad my kids didn't pick up a sport senior year, LOL. We were so busy with all the extracurriculars they had already. Good luck to you -- and I hope your son really enjoys it. My niece started cross-country this fall (she's a freshman). She'd never run any sort of track before, and came in third on her first meet. Her coach said she wasn't working hard enough since she was smiling so much.  She loves it so much! She's in indoor track now, and ran 6:38 in her first timed mile. |
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Post by pattyraindrops on Feb 24, 2018 15:25:24 GMT
Track is a class? Do all sports have a class associated with them? I've not heard of that before. What class does he take last period when it's not track season? My DS is trying out for soccer next week, but doesn't think he'll make it so his friends have convinced him to do track as a back-up plan. Their spiel was, "We talk and goof around a lot." LOL We'll see how it goes. Yes, it is a class. I understand several of the sports also have their sport in their last class. Normally you have whatever the computer assigns you in. He just happened to have weightlifting last this semester and a week in his friends talked him in to switching and it was an easy switch so he did. There is a good chance the social nature of it caught him because he is an extrovert, but he always has to be moving, so if he thought he would be talking with friends while moving a lot that would certainly entice him. He still comes home and does pushups, situps, pullups,etc and then when he has nothing to do he goes out and shoots a basketball. We live on a somewhat busy neighbrood street so he often has people of all ages who will stop and play with him. They do the same things they do in practice after school. It's just like one very long class or practice. From the parents meeting I understand that some events have a much shorter practice than others and that the jumps, which he is doing, is one of the longer ones. I also understand that as the season goes on the practices naturally get shorter (because the kids get better). That is a good thing since things with start warming up here in Phoenix pretty quickly. |
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Post by bigbundt on Feb 24, 2018 18:25:57 GMT
No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. Huh, I never heard of that. What do they do in track class? Our MS/HS finishes academic classes at 2:15, then teachers stay until 2:55 in their classrooms for after school help. Sports start at 3:00. At my high school at a lot of the teams had their sport the last hour of the day. It also included cheer, dance, flags, and marching band. Doing it that way basically meant we were done an hour earlier than if we waited until after school let out. So we got out at 5 instead of 6, it allowed us time to do schoolwork or get involved in other extra curriculars. It basically replaced PE and fulfilled that requirement, got a grade and everything. I was on dance and we were graded on punctuality, wearing the correct practice uniform (including matching hair bows), and having the correct equipment (like poms). Our mid term and finals were a mix of written tests about team rules and technique. If a sport was a season, most of the athletes chose another sport the next semester or took weight lifting. |
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:32:53 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 21:19:49 GMT
So track is his gym requirement? And he gets to be on the team too? That sounds awesome. My DS started track in winter of his fzreshman year and has run three seasons each year since. He loves it! I’m thrilled he is in a sport he can use for a lifetime.
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sophikins
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Aug 30, 2014 15:12:27 GMT
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Post by sophikins on Feb 25, 2018 0:06:53 GMT
Here is really cool thing about Track: it is one of the only co-ed team sports that compete together. (Others that have male and females, like tennis and golf, usually compete separately) It's nice because all levels usually compete at the same meet. All three of my DD's did track, and one went on to 4 years of Div I collegiate Track. I have sat through my share of Track meets!
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by iowgirl on Feb 25, 2018 1:26:38 GMT
Ah... track... all 3 of my kids did 6 years of it. I live in the Midwest, so the weather can range from snow in March to scorching heat and sunburns in May. There will be a few meets where you are soaked to the bone - so always keep a big bag of extra clothes for you and some for your athlete to change in to after the meet. I would buy a bag of cheap 'no-show' socks and toss them on the bus for anyone that needed some dry socks for the ride home - don't return.. LOL. When I had a kids in middle school and high school, I often went to 3 meets a week. Fun... (It really was!)
And bring sunscreen, because you will get burnt too.
I always had the joy of having a high jumper and one that ran the 4x4 .. so I was there for the whole show! LOL I probably would have stayed no matter what, since I knew all the kids forever... but oh... those cold and rainy meets are not fun to sit through!
We had both co-ed and girls/boys meets separate. It just depended on how the meets were set up. And - if things go well - your season could go long and you might end up at the State meet! Ours was HUGE and lasted 3 days.
One thing to keep in mind - if you are planning a graduation party - check the Track schedule. Our track season ran after the Seniors got out of school and you had to make sure you didn't plan a party on the weekend of the State meet. Even if your kid didn't go - some of them did and usually the whole team went to cheer them on.
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maryannscraps
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Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Feb 26, 2018 22:51:16 GMT
He misses one hour of classroom time each day during track season? The only time my kids miss class is if they have a track meet. I can't imagine missing that much class time. No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. So your HS has PE class every day? That's so awesome and so important! The PE requirements in my kids' school had been shortened to the point of being almost nonexistent. I would have loved to have them moving around every day. |
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Post by monklady123 on Feb 26, 2018 23:52:40 GMT
My ds ran one season of track also. He was a football player and the coach told them that in the off season they had to come to conditioning every day or go out for another sport. So we had one season of crew, one of track, and one of lacrosse. omg...  Lacrosse was okay because they have time limits. But wow those crew and track meets seem to go on forever! Thankfully ds didn't seem to really care if we came to the meets/games since none of those were his "real sport" (his words). I went to the home lacrosse games because I enjoyed watching (although seriously...whose idea was it to arm a bunch of boys with STICKS??  ). I went to one crew meet because I was curious. And I went to two track meets because I felt obligated. Hours from hell.... We always went to every football game except for some of the very far away games, so I figured I had put in my Mother Time with that. lol |
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Post by dewryce on Feb 27, 2018 1:29:02 GMT
That's awesome, and if he likes it can easily continue into adulthood! For new runners my DH always recommends going to a real running store (not say, Nike) and having them help pick out a pair of good quality shoes that fit his feet, gait and can address any other issues he may have. It can help avoid problems and injury down the line. So worth it, but dang are they expensive!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2018 2:52:29 GMT
Congrats to your son! I think these activities are the good kind and sounds like you have a smart son.
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by MerryMom on Feb 27, 2018 5:29:14 GMT
Good for him! Do you know what event he wants to compete in? Track is actually one of the few sports I don't mind watching as there's always so much going on. At any given time, there's runners, hurdlers, jumpers, pole vaulters, shot putters or discus throwers on the field. We usually just show up to watch our child's event and then leave as there is a bit of downtime for the athletes depending on the event they are participating in. Ha! Thank you! He is doing shot put, discuss and sprints. I plan to show up when told, write a check to help with fundraising and donate some snacks. A thrower that sprints? Just kidding, veteran track Mom and track booster rep...Invest in good quality running shoes from a running shoe store. There are apps to track mileage as he should put only 300-400 miles on his shoes, then replace. They will still look almost brand now, but it’s the cushioning. Be prepared to spend around $100-$120 a pair. I would wait until he decides he really is a sprinter before I would buy Track spikes ( used only for races). Throwers need special shoes. Those can be ordered online. They can run between$80 to $120. I would start on the lower end. The shoes for running and thrower shoes are key: cheap or worn out shoes cause injury! Just be glad that your son isn’t a distance runner like mine: between XC and indoor track and outdoor track , we buy a new pair every six weeks. We spend about $1000 a year on shoes. Starting in March, he’ll run the 10K: 25 times around the track. 🏃🏻 |
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Post by dewryce on Feb 27, 2018 5:38:51 GMT
I feel your pain with the shoes MerryMom. DH was a marathon runner and is now transitioning into trianthlons. Fortunately, he's in the medical field and Brooks, which is the shoe that currently works best for him, offers a 40% discount. But it still hurts the pocketbooks, and that is without adding any other gear! |
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Post by lemondrop on Feb 27, 2018 14:56:29 GMT
Congrats to your son! I think these activities are the good kind and sounds like you have a smart son. Thank you  |
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Post by lemondrop on Feb 27, 2018 14:57:46 GMT
Ha! Thank you! He is doing shot put, discuss and sprints. I plan to show up when told, write a check to help with fundraising and donate some snacks. A thrower that sprints? Just kidding, veteran track Mom and track booster rep...Invest in good quality running shoes from a running shoe store. There are apps to track mileage as he should put only 300-400 miles on his shoes, then replace. They will still look almost brand now, but it’s the cushioning. Be prepared to spend around $120 a pair. I would wait until he decides he really is a sprinter before I would buy Track spikes ( used only for races). Throwers need special shoes. Those can be ordered online. They can run between$80 to $120. I would start on the lower end. The shoes for running and thrower shoes are key: cheap or worn out shoes cause injury! Just be glad that your son isn’t a distance runner like mine: between XC and indoor track and outdoor track , we buy a new pair every six weeks. We spend about $1000 a year on shoes. Starting in March, he’ll run the 10K: 25 times around the track. 🏃🏻 Thank you for the advice. Good luck to your boy! |
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Post by pattyraindrops on Feb 27, 2018 16:14:58 GMT
No, sorry. I didn't explain that well. His last class of the day is track and then they continue with practice after school lets out. So your HS has PE class every day? That's so awesome and so important! The PE requirements in my kids' school had been shortened to the point of being almost nonexistent. I would have loved to have them moving around every day. No. PE, of some kind, is required, but not 4 years worth. I think you need 1.5 credits? What starts to happen with many kids in sports is they end up taking a before school, summer school or online classes to make up credits. |
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Post by pattyraindrops on Mar 1, 2018 4:39:29 GMT
First meet ever today. That was frustrating! High jump on one end of the football field. Triple and long on the other end. I was constantly losing site of him so I only managed to see him doing the triple and maybe the long jump once. I've decided I need to plant a chip in him and then have an app that locates him by holding up your phone and an arrow appears over his head. He placed 4th in hiGH jump.  |
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Post by dewryce on Mar 1, 2018 5:13:43 GMT
First meet ever today. That was frustrating! High jump on one end of the football field. Triple and long on the other end. I was constantly losing site of him so I only managed to see him doing the triple and maybe the long jump once. I've decided I need to plant a chip in him and then have an app that locates him by holding up your phone and an arrow appears over his head. He placed 4th in hiGH jump. Some watches have GPS, but I don't know how exact they are for locations. When DH runs outside the house or gym there is a great app for his phone called RoadID which was amazing, I could tell exactly where he was within feet. Do the new watches use apps? Check out Garmin brand. |
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She loves it so much! She's in indoor track now, and ran 6:38 in her first timed mile. 
Lacrosse was okay because they have time limits. But wow those crew and track meets seem to go on forever! Thankfully ds didn't seem to really care if we came to the meets/games since none of those were his "real sport" (his words). I went to the home lacrosse games because I enjoyed watching (although seriously...whose idea was it to arm a bunch of boys with STICKS?? 
). I went to one crew meet because I was curious. And I went to two track meets because I felt obligated. Hours from hell.... 
