As some of you may know, I am a recreational Master’s Sprinter and real fan of track & field in general! With the track season almost ready to roll here in AZ (our weather definately permits it), I wanted to post both the youth and open/masters 2010 schedule (tentative) for those who might be interested in getting involved in track and field.
To me, the basic and foundational movements of running, jumping (you could add landing as well), and throwing, which are so paramount to success in several sports, are trained so superbly in the various track and field events. For children, these events serve a foundation for proper movement pattern development that can set them up for succes in sports and movement in general as they get older. The only other things I would add would be calisthenics (boyweight) type of exercises that come from disciplines such as gymnastics to get kids to improve their agility, balance, and coordination though various tumbling, summersaults, head/hand balancing, etc… Add some free weight work (Dumbells, Kettlebells, even barbells, medicince balls, sandbags, etc…) to this equation and you have an ultimate recipe for quality human movement and conditioning.
For adults, track and field can serve to maintain many of the movement qualites and attributes just mentioned for youth as these tend diminish and erode each decade after 30; especially if we don’t do anything about it. Use it or lose it always holds true when it comes to physical attributes!
I’m especially fond of sprints for aging adults as it stimulates much more muscle mass and even the hormonal system when compated to long slow-distance type of training. Keeping your ability to jump (become airborne) and sprint might be some of the most important things to maintain as we age! All right, enough rambling, here’s the schedule:
USA TRACK & FIELD, ARIZONA 2010
Adults TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE (Tentative)
January 16 Sat. Lumberjack Invitational Open 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ
January 23 Sat. Puma Indoor Invitational Open TBA Paradise Valley Community College
January 30 Sat Mountain T Invitational Open 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ
February 6 Sat Pima Indoor Invitational Open 12:00 P.M. Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
February 13 Sat PV Indoor Invitational Open 10:00 A.M. Paradise Valley Community College
February 14 Sun Arizona Indoor Classic Youth & Adult 8:00 A.M. Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ (Masters Western Region Indoor Championship)
February 20 Sat Grand Canyon State Games Adult only 8:00 A.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
March 6 Sat Bobcat Relays Youth & Adult 8:00A.M. Horizon High School
March 13 Sat Arizona Relays Open TBA Central Arizona Community College
March 19-20 Fri. Willie Williams Open University Of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
March 20 Sat Knights of Columbus Invitation Open TBA Glendale Community College, Glendale, AZ
March 19-21 Fri-Sun Masters Indoor Nationals Master only TBD
April 3 Sat Puma Outdoor Invitational Open TBA Paradise Valley Community College
April 9 Fri Mesa Classic Open 1:00P.M. Mesa Community College
April 10 Sat Sun Angel Classic Open TBA Arizona State University
April 24 Sat. Arizona Flames Invitational Adult only 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
May 22 Sat USATF Weight Throw Pentathlon Adult 8:00 A.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
May 29&30 Sat&Sun Arizona State Championships Youth & Adult 8:00 A.M. TBD
June 12 Sat. Masters Invitational Adult only 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa AZ
June 26 Sat Grand Canyon State Games HS & Adult 5:00 P.M. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
July Masters West Region Championship Adults TBA
July 22-25 Thur-Sun Masters Outdoor Nationals Masters only University of Sacramento, CA
September ?? Fri National Masters Weight & Superweight Championship
September ?? Sat National Masters Ultra-Weight Championship
Open = Meets that allow Masters athletes. Unless meet director approves
masters implements, you have to throw Open standard weights. Races are seeded
based on time. Opening heights are based on Open standards.
Youth & Adult = Both Youth and Adult compete, with youngest age going first
in heats(except hurdles).
For the youth 2010 schedule, go here. Also, here are the age division break downs:
Age Divisions – 2010 Season
| Youth Divisions | Birth Years | Age Range | Adult Divisions | Age Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub Bantam | 2002-2003 | 7-8 | Open | 19-29 |
| Bantam | 2000-2001 | 9-10 | Sub-Masters(30-39) | 30-34, 35-39 |
| Midget | 1998-1999 | 11-12 | Masters (40+) | 40-44, 45-49 |
| Youth | 1996-1997 | 13-14 | Seniors (50+) | 50-54, 55-59 |
| Intermediate | 1994-1995 | 15-16 | 40-44, 45-49 | |
| Young Men/Women | 1992-1993 | 17-18 | 60-64, 65-69, etc. |
Note: To enter the youth meets you must first be a member or USA Track & Field which you can find out more about on the Arizona Track and Field Site. There is then additional entry fees for each meet. For Masters only events or the college events that are open to masters competitors, check out the AZ Masters Track website to find out about entry.
If sprints are of interest to you, I of course am eager to help anyone learn from youth all the way to masters. Also, there are many various clubs to help people learn the various techniques of track and field, most of them geared around youth. There are however a few here in the PHX area that come to mind that focus on adults (open/masters) as well. My good friend Rawle Crichlow runs his own club called Feel The Heat which focuses on Youth thru Masters age competitors for mostly running/sprinting (Rawle is an accomplished Masters sprinter), jumping, and hurdling events. I have been involved with Rawle’s club for some time now and have performed massage therapy on several of his athletes over the years. For specific hurdles training, James Smith of the Arizona Flames track club is they guy to contact; he still competes in masters hurdles. For learning the various throwing events (shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw), I would have to defer people to my good friend and colleague David Bickel. Dave is an accomplished Masters Throws competitor with several National Champion titles over the years. He is the one I would see if you wish to learn the throws!
Recently, Patrick Ward and I have talked about starting our own speed/strength/health club that would involve particpation in various track and field events (and lifting events like powerlifting, etc…) so we’ll have to keep everyone posted to see if we can get enough demand to get that going; it would be very cool indeed!
If anyone is interested in private or small group (semi-private) speed/sprint training I would love to help get you going! It’s cool to be fast (relative to where you are now of course!) and strong. Life’s too short to be weak and slow!
Thanks for reading!
Keats
