Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

42 - Track

42

Track

Monday & Tuesday, April 3 & 4

Kevin addressed the other teachers before the daily physical education period. It was warm, clear, sunny, and dry. Perfect for outdoor exercise. "Hey, everyone. Thanks for helping us prepare for the track and field meet. Here are your rosters with the names of those who will compete in which events. We'll continue to rotate classes daily, with all practicing everything, helping each kid improve no matter what. But you will see that at the top of the team sheet are the names of kids competing in two events. They're listed first since we'll want them to practice both each day. So if you would please test them ASAP, so they can also make it to their second site during our fifteen minutes daily, that would be helpful. Thanks so much for your support. Any questions?"

No. They had done this every year. With teachers, I can trust that if they have questions, they won't hesitate to ask them. With kids, sometimes they hold back. This is an awesome staff.

The district track meet was on Saturday, April 22, three weeks away. If any kids placed among the top finishers, they would also qualify for the state meet on the 29th. Maybe Valerie will get another chance?

At lunch, Kevin would continue to alternate between coaching softball and working with the track team. The cafeteria now allowed all kids to eat anytime, so Kevin coached both boys and girls in running and field events the first half of lunch, then worked with all kids on hitting and fielding softballs the second half-hour.

He started with sprints, teaching them to think. "On your mark, get set, go!" Kevin took off running at "go", but the kids left after he said it. "Now stop. Did I cheat?"

They said no, he hadn't cheated.

"Okay, first lesson. Guess when officials will say 'go'. Don't wait till after they do to start."

"Next, everyone stands like you're on stilts. Keep your knees straight, as if you have a cast on your whole leg. On your mark, get set, go!"

They hobbled forward, laughing.

"Bend your knees while you wait. You can't start without bending your knees. Do it before the race."

They nodded and would remember.

He ran several races, keeping track of their times. The fifty and 600-yard races were the two individual running events, but he also had them run 110 yards. Kevin had to select the four fastest kids for quarter-mile relays. At this age, a 110-yard segment was long, so they needed a little pacing practice. "Runners, take your mark, get set, go!" The kids guessed the start and bent their knees. Good. Progress. But it was like the first day of cross country. No sense of how long the race was. When they first ran the relay segment, the kids were out of breath too soon and slowed way down, almost walking by the end. Kevin got them to aim for twenty seconds to run the full 110 yards and put cones at spots for intermediate targets. He would gradually reduce the time.

For the 600-yard race, he did the same thing he had done for cross country, running them around the softball bases, so he could teach them pacing. He didn't even bother with a test. They would go too fast. So he broke it down. Sixty feet per base, twenty yards. So one lap equaled 80 yards, so they needed 7.5 laps for 600 yards. Kevin knew his best kids could break two minutes, but he would begin slowly. Five seconds per base, for a pace of two minutes and thirty seconds to run the whole thing. For several, this was a stretch and pushed them to the max. But Valerie and some others would need faster goals. He had three weeks. That was enough time. It was a lot better psychologically to give them an easier target and then increase their speed. That was his plan.