Outdoor season is here!

We had a GREAT turnout for our season starter meeting! It is exciting to see so many kids interested in track. The following is some important info from that meeting.

The Track Season will start with after school practices on Monday Feb. 10th. That is just 26 days before our first meet!
Monday, Feb. 10th (3:10pm – 4:30pm) won’t be much more that collected all of the necessary forms required to participate in AHSAA sports and answering more specific questions that parents and athletes may have.

Practice will begin in earnest, Tuesday, Feb. 11th – Thursday, Feb. 13: from 3:30 – 5:00pm.
Please keep temperatures in mind this upcoming week (dress warmly in layers).

We must emphasize, ALL forms from the eligibility packet must be completed and submitted before student-athletes will be allowed to participate in workouts.

Coach Jones will collect eligibility packets through Friday afternoon, Feb. 14th. After this date, no paperwork will be accepted for the 2013 – 2014 Outdoor Track season.

Some points that were brought up at the meeting –

Forms you will need
Varsity vs. JV
Which Event?
Practices
Track Fees
Transportation

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Middle School is considered 7th, 8th and 9th grades and is sometimes referred to as “JV” or “Junior Varsity”. Any 7th, 8th or 9th grade student who is good enough, may ALSO participate on the VARSITY squad!

While the Middle School Track Meets DO NOT include the Javelin event, 7th – 9th graders may STILL TRAIN in this event. The best Sparkman Athletes in these events will be allowed to compete for the team at Varsity Meets if they can have competitive throws!

ANYONE who wants to try ANY event should make that known to the coaches. They will be happy to let you train for the events you think that you want to compete in.
After watching you train for a few weeks though, they will be even happier to recommend which events you may be more naturally suited for. They have a great many years of experience in Track & Field so you would be wise to take their advise to heart.

 

PARTICIPATION FORMS –

To compete in Alabama HighSchool athletics events there are a bunch of forms you have to fill out. These include

• A Physical Evaluation Form that must be signed by a doctor,
• A “Concussion Information” Sheet that the athlete and parent must read and sign,
• “State of Alabama Department of Education Health Assessment Record” that must be filled out and signed by a parent and school nurse,
• A “Madison County Board of Education Extracurricular Participation Permission/Waiver” that must be filled out and signed by a parent.
• An AHSAA Participation Agreement, Consent, and Release” form that must be filled out and signed by the parent AND student.
• A printout of the certificate the athlete has received by taking the on-line “Star Sportsmanship Test”. This is found at http://www.starsportsmanship.com/kc2005/star.php at that site click on “student sign in” then use the code “star00526” (Those are zeros). Then take the test. If you mess up, then try again. You can take the test again and again until you pass.
• and finally, a “Madison County Out-of-County/Overnight Field Trip Medical Release Form” that not only has to be filled out and signed by the Parent … but you have to find (and usually pay) a “Notary Public” to sign it as well! Note: DO NOT SIGN this form until you are in front of the Notary as they are NOT supposed to sign your form unless they SEE you sign your name. Good times.

TEAM PRACTICES –
These are held after school at the Sparkman High School stadium facility (located behind the school). Junior Varsity (considered 7,8 and 9th grades) work out with the Varsity.
Practice starts at 3:30 and (in the spring) will tend to go until 6pm or so. Right now they may end sooner due to darkness. Practices are held rain or shine, hot or cold. Practices are only called off if the school system announces that all after school activities are canceled.

PLEASE BE AWARE – sometimes the school will make this call VERY late in the day so if you are the parent of an athlete you should keep an eye on the weather and be ready to call the school for an update if things look threatening.

All team members are expected to make EVERY practice but we understand that life is complicated. The key is to communicate with us if you have to miss a practice or have conflicts. Simply not showing up indicates that you don’t wish to be on the team.

Keep in mind, practices are more than just a chance to make yourself better … every sprint you run, every lap you make, every drill you do is another chance to “try out” in front of the coaches for a spot in the next meet.

TRACK FEES –

Coach Jones has decided that it will be best to collect fees next week due to the AHSAA eligibility process. Once she has verify that those “in-coming student-athletes” are eligible (entered into AHSAA C2C program successfully), she can then accept your respective fees. The process of confirming students’ eligibility begins with the collection of the required eligibility documents.

Outdoor Track and Field Fees (Please remember that separate checks must be written to each group).

Sparkman High School $ 75.00

Sparkman Track Booster Club $ 75.00

Total $150.00

Outdoor Track and Field Fees for 2013-14 Cross Country Team Members

Sparkman High School $ 50.00

Sparkman Track Booster Club $ 50.00

Total $100.00

These fees cover uniforms and meet entry fees and coaches fees. Meet fees have become rather expensive over the years with many meets charge a fee PER athlete. To enter a full team for both girls and boys can cost $500! Considering that the track team has no budget we will have to rely on participant fees and future fund-raising events.

BUS TRANSPORTATION –
Right now, having a “Team Bus” to get our athletes to the meets is just a dream. Even to use a county School bus & driver, the track team would actually have to hire them. This would be over $100 on TOP of the entry fees and as mentioned above, … the team has no budget.
We are looking into trying to get buses for some of our more distant meets but at this point that is still wishful thinking. If enough parents were interesting in paying extra money on a “per event” basis perhaps we could get a team bus for that event but this yet to be organized.

In the meantime, MMS parents/students: Mrs. Kathleen Tomaino has graciously agreed to coordinate carpool arrangements again for those students at MMS to attend practice in the afternoons. Mrs. Tomaino can be reached via email: KATHLEEN.A.TOMAINO@saic.com