Hello 8U families!
Your 8U coaching staff is really looking forward to our first practice today at 5:30.
Goals for the season:
1. Safety
2. Fun and an appreciation for the benefits of sports and exercise
3. Good Sportsmanship
4. Developing your athlete’s abilities and helping them to achieve their goals
5. Making friends
Questions and information:
The most efficient way to communicate with me is through the website (email: 8U@venturatigres.org). I am also available for questions after practice, and I will keep our website updated on a regular basis, especially once the meets begin. You can text me as well: 805-794-7985.
Practice:
8U (also known as “Gremlins”) will practice Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:30-6:45pm. Practice begins promptly at 5:30 at the Buena High School track. Please have your athlete there a few minutes early to get signed in. Our warm-ups are equally important to the workout, and we need your athlete to be there on time.
Parents are welcomed to stay and watch in the stands, but only athletes and coaches are allowed on the field. At the end of practice, we will keep our Gremlins on the field until they get a visual on their ride home. There will still be runners on the track when our practice is over so please be mindful of the runner traffic before you call them over to you. We will be teaching our athletes track safety as well.
Sign in and out:
Sign in and out sheets will be on the fence at the track. Please remember to sign in and out! If you do not sign out, be prepared for a phone call from me checking on whether or not you have your athlete with you. Please be on time for pickup; a coach must stay with your athlete until you arrive.
Preparation for practice:
Please have your athlete dressed and ready to go. Our athletes LOVE their Tigres gear, which means many of them have the same water bottles, bags, and sweatshirts. PLEASE label everything!! If they need a snack before practice, please have it be something easy to digest. They are only allowed water in their water bottles on the track.
Attendance:
We understand that other sports, illness, and injury may conflict with practice. You do not need to email me if your athlete will not attend practice, but I would appreciate knowing if they are injured as well as if they are not going to attend a meet.
Meets:
Gremlins will have the option to participate in the following events:
Field – Long Jump (this is the only field event available for Gremlins)
Relay – 4X100 (this is the only relay available for Gremlins)
Distance – 800 and 1600
Sprints – 100, 200, and 400
Athletes can participate in 4 events at each meet with a maximum of 3 running events plus the long jump. Some athletes will already know what events they are interested in, while others are still deciding. We are going to encourage them to try everything until they decide which events they like the most. Event signups will be on the sign-in/out clipboard on the fence at the track.
Setting up the relay teams for the 4X100 takes time. Once you select the relay, your athlete is making a commitment to three other athletes on the team. Relay teams will be created based upon times and attendance. There may be times that I cannot build a full relay team due to numbers, but I will do my best to make certain it is a fair process.
I will send out more information regarding meets as the dates come closer, but for your future planning, the meet schedule on the website is accurate and meets typically go from 8:00am – 2:30pm or so. The uniforms (singlet & shorts), will be available at a future practice closer to the first meet. All your child needs now is running shoes (no spikes at this age).
We look forward to greeting former and new athletes soon!!
Thanks,
Coach Chris
805-794-7985
8U@venturatigres.org