Bantam Parents 10U

Our first practice on Wednesday was a great success! It was great to see all the new and returning runners. I hope you all had fun, and if it was hard, don’t be discouraged—it gets easier as we get conditioned!  Just a reminder, make sure your kid’s shoes are tied tight and that they bring water to practice.

Most of our athletes are new to running. Remind them that starting slow, “pacing” many not feel as fun at first, but it will allow them to run farther before they get tired. This will make running for longer intervals or distances more enjoyable for your child. Kids have two paces: lightning fast and walking. Watch a kids “fun run” race or observe any elementary school gym class and you’ll see what I mean. If they have any questions or concerns, tell them to talk to a coach. We will help and encourage them as much as possible.

Next week specialty practices will start on Tuesday and Thursday.

Due to VUSD being on vacation Monday, we won’t be able to practice at Buena High School. However, to keep us running and because our first meet is on March 1st, we will be holding an unofficial and optional workout on Monday at Arroyo Verde Park from 4:30 to 5:30 PM for anyone interested. We’ll meet by the first bathrooms on the left as you enter the park.

Also, a reminder that it’s important for all athletes to have good running shoes and water!

Hope to see you there!

Coach Mike

805-390-6867

Hello, 10U Bantam Families

Welcome to the 2025 track season!

Coaching staff:

Mike Chapman – Head Coach

Charne Huff

Christian Contreras

Christine Webber

George Keiaho

Janine Jackson

Jeff Evans

Joe Stewart

Marcell Brickey

Nate Jenkins

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.

Questions and information:

The most efficient way to communicate with me is through email on the website. I am also available for questions after practice. I will email regularly, especially once the meets begin in March. You can text me as well.

Practice:

10U will have team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30-6:00 at the Buena High School track.

Track is all weather rated, so we will practice rain or shine!

Parents are welcome to stay and watch, but only athletes and coaches are allowed on the field. Please be on time for pickup; a coach must stay with your athlete until you arrive.

Athletes will work with specialty coaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Preparation for practice:

Please have your athlete dressed and ready to go. They will need a bag to carry their belongings:

1. Sweatshirt and bottoms
2. Small towel
3. Water bottle (NO food/Gatorade on the track – water only)
4. Good Running Shoes!

PLEASE label everything!!

Attendance:

We understand that other sports, illnesses, and injuries may conflict with practice. You do not need to email me if your athlete does not attend practice, but I would appreciate knowing if they are injured and if they are not going to attend a meet. Please do not send them to practice if they are injured.

Meets:

10U athletes can participate in these events:

Field – Long Jump, High Jump, and Shot Put

Relay – 4X100 and the 4X400

Distance – 1600, and 800

Sprints – 100, 200, and 400

10U Athletes can participate in 4 events at each meet with a maximum of 3 running events.  The 4X100 counts toward their running event total, but the 4X400 is free. (Meaning the 4X400 does not count against their 4 events)

Some athletes know what events they are interested in, while others are still deciding. We will encourage them to try everything until they decide which events they like the most. Event sign-ups will be on Mondays and Wednesdays on the field.

Setting up the relay teams for the 4X100 and the 4X400 takes time. Once your athlete selects the relay, they commit to three other team athletes. Relay teams will be created based on times and attendance. Sometimes, we cannot build a full relay team due to numbers, but we will do our best to ensure 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 8:00 – 3:00ish. The order of events is also on the website, and it does not change. All meets will run in that order.

We look forward to greeting former and new athletes on Today!!

See you soon,

Mike Chapman

805-390-6867

Good morning parents!

Thanks everyone who came out to the picnic to celebrate the athlete’s amazing accomplishments this year.  I did in fact forgot to recognize Kayla Weber for qualifying for Varsity, congratulations Kayla!

For anyone who missed the picnic, we will be at Buena High School track from 5-6pm this Wednesday, May 22, so you can collect awards, team photo, and your gift.  

Thank you everyone: coaches, parents, and athletes, for an amazing season.  See you next year!

If anyone has any questions, please do feel free to text me directly.

Warmly, Coach Ellie

805-832-1421

CONGRATULATIONS to all our athletes!

Junior Varsity was a huge success.  So. Many. PRs!  Smiles through races and pits and across finish lines.  It was a great way to wrap the season for most of our athletes. 

For our athletes moving on to Varsity this weekend, we will have practice as usual this week: Monday and Wednesday for running events and Tuesday and Thursday for specialties.   

As most of you know by now, I was wrong about the 4×400: it does NOT count toward event maximums at JV and Varsity; it DOES count toward max events at Co-Conference. 

If your athlete is done and still wants to cheer on some friends, do please come to the Varsity meet this Saturday! If not, we will see you at the end of year picnic, details on the Tigres’ home page.  I will have awards to hand out, so please do make every effort to come.  

The Varsity meet will be held this Saturday, May 4th, at Camarillo Adolfo High School.  Same start time, 830 am, with arrival at 745 am.  I anticipate this meet to move quickly and smoothly.  One big change from previous meets: Coaches are not allowed on the infield AT ALL.  I am going to go over this at practice tonight.  I am encouraging our athletes to congregate under our tents in the stands and proceed to the field a little before 1st call for their event in order to warm up, we will give them direction on that.  Given that we are not allowed on the field, it is especially crucial for the 4×100 teams and the high jumpers to arrive at 745 am.  

Thank you for reading.   A huge thank you to the entire coaching staff!  These parents were invested in every athlete’s development and made the season so very rewarding for everyone.  

Amazing Bantam parents,

We are now officially in the post-season and I hope your tell your athletes every day how awesome they are.  I can’t believe we are already here. Some important info as we move forward:

Wednesday, April 24th– Our last regular team practice

Saturday, April 27th – JV meet – all athletes can compete in this meet. Most of our athletes’ seasons will end at this date.

•  We will do signups for this meet on Monday night.  They will look a little different, as athletes will be limited to only the events in which they participated in during the previous 6 regular season meets.  They will be locked out of their Varsity events to ensure we don’t double book them and thus disqualify them.
• Meet will be back at Thousand Oaks High School track, beginning at 830 am, arrival at 745 am.  Plan for a longer than usual day as there will be athletes from all 8 teams in our conference. 
  
  
• We will build the 4×400 relay teams for BOTH JV and Varsity based on sign ups and interest level shown when we do sign ups tomorrow night.  If your athlete has a new found love for the 4×400, please be sure to have them sign up.  What is different about post-season is that now the 4×400 DOES count toward event maximums (4 events, max 3 running, max 2 field)

Week of April 29th – Practice is for Varsity athletes only

Saturday, May 4th– Varsity meet – athletes must qualify for this meet

• Meet will be at Camarillo High School.  This meet will likely be about the same length as our other meets.
• 4×100 relay teams are set.  We are going to build the 4×400 relay teams as above.
• if you anticipate your athlete moving on to Varsity and Super Varsity but know of any potential conflicts for May 4th or 11th, please let me know immediately.  We need to know by Wednesday April 24th so that if your athlete doesn’t want to or can’t compete in Varsity, it opens a spot for someone down on the list.  We must have this info BEFORE JV, so that an athlete who has a chance at Varsity doesn’t compete in JV and thus lose their chance.
  
  

Week of May 6th – Practice is for Super Varsity athletes only

Saturday, May 11th– Super Varsity meet – athletes must qualify for this meet, from the Varsity meet. More information later on criteria. 

Sunday, May 19th – Tigres picnic – details already sent out through Tigres organization regarding our assigned potluck items (Drinks) and timing.  

I know this time of year can be confusing, so please feel free to ask any questions. It’s an exciting time and every single athlete has done a great job this year.  

Thanks for all of your support!

Warmly, Coach Ellie

805-832-1421

Hello Bantam parents!!  I hope you and your athletes had a wonderful spring break.  Here is some information as we finish out our season (it seemed to happen SO fast for me!):

• Due to a home meet at Buena, there is NO PRACTICE this Wednesday, April 10th
• Athletes will need to sign up for this weekend’s events on Monday (or Tuesday if they are going to specialty practice)
• Our meet this weekend (4/13) is at Camarillo High School. The 7:45 arrival time is the same as our usual. Especially for 4×100 runners.

A big thank you to all the athletes and parents who braved the rain and got EVERY athlete to Moorpark on time and ready to go!!

Our season is moving along quickly, and there are only 2 regular season meets (4/13 and 4/20) left before we move into the championship season:

• The JV Meet on 4/27 (this meet is open to all athletes), 
• Varsity on 5/4 (athletes must qualify during our regular season) 
• Super Varsity on 5/11 (athletes qualify through the Varsity Meet).

   

Most of our athletes’ last meet will be on 4/27. 

To qualify for the Varsity Meet on May 4th, an athlete needs to be in the Top 9 for the 100, 200, 400, and field events and in the Top 12 for the 800, 1600, and 3200. Their placement after the last meet is finished on April 20th will determine their Varsity status. This is the top for the entire VCYTC League, and therefore making the Varsity meet is a HUGE accomplishment! 

We would like to see as many of our athletes qualify as possible, so please take a look at the Top 20 lists (below) and see where the best opportunities for each athlete may lie. If qualifying for the Championship meet is a goal of theirs, athletes may want to narrow down their focus when choosing events to compete in over the next 2 meets.

Bantams Girls

Bantams Boys

We will also take top relay teams for the 4×100 and 4×400. 

Please note that the above lists will change after the results from this weekend’s meet become finalized on athletic.net and will continue to change as the season progresses.

I know there will be many questions, especially for new Tigres families, so please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Warmly, Coach Ellie

805-832-1421

Hello Parents!

Please plan for a wet and rainy day tomorrow, meets are rain or shine.  I will have my pop up so at least a few athletes can shelter under there.

It is VERY important for the following athletes to be on the field and ready to warm up with their 4×100 relay teams BY 7:45.  I know, it’s early.  

• Charlotte Wilkinson
• Esther Baum
• Ila Mansfield
• Lillian Willis
• Taya Taulawakeiaho
• Vivian Redmond
• Evelyn Kuebler
• Eden Rouss
• Allycen Hernandez
• Cali Ambrosio
• isabel Herman
• Zoey Darrow
• Isla Tarrant
• Olivia Vera
• Romy Kohs
• Maci Azer
• Hailey Figueroa
• Marina Brickey
• Cruz Griffith
• Gabriel Hernandez
• Collin Briggs
• Samuel Svoboda
• Asher Adaya
• Joachim Kuebler
• Joseph Duran
• Julian Lucero

I will be assembling the relay teams tonight.  If you know you will not make it by 745 am, please do let me know before 7 pm so I can plan accordingly and not break any hearts tomorrow (and save my coaching staff’s sanity).  Thank you!!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Your athletes are doing amazing things and I am proud of single one of them. A few notes for the week:

1. No practice on Wednesday this week due to Buena HS track meet. You can see what the training assignment would be for Wednesday on the training link and help them do it. Or you can come see what a high school meet looks like and inspire them. Or take the day to chill, whatever works for your athlete and your family!

2. As such, our goal is to have all sign ups completed on Monday, tomorrow. Please take a moment and talk with your athlete today about what they want to do and if your family schedule permits them participating in their selected events. Which leads me to…

3. 4x 100 relay: We have such huge interest in this event and I couldn’t be happier about that! We ran 6 girls teams and 3 boys teams and we had some great sports who stepped up to take absentee places, which saved the day for everyone. We as coaches cry right along aside your athletes when they don’t get to run because someone didn’t show up. As you can imagine, coordinating 36 athletes and matching their speeds, running abilities and desires with 27 handoffs is. a. challenge. We get that sicknesses happen, often at 2 am before a meet. Lol. However, if you know that your family absolutely will not be able to make it to the meet by 8 am AT THE LATEST, if you know you are traveling, etc. PLEASE have your child refrain from signing up for the 4×100 relay. We need your athletes on the field by 8 am to get warmed up, to get with their relay group and practice hand offs because often, that is the first time they are practicing with that person. Heck, it may even be the first time they are running the race, and that is ok too!

4. EVERY other event in meets is fluid, and often decisions get made on track meet day to change it up, and I am great with that.

5. Specialty practices are Tuesday and Thursday this week, as scheduled, 4:30-6:00 pm, divided into two sessions.  I believe specialty coaches require at least two practices to sign off on meet participation.  All are welcome, through the whole season.  We work relays on both days, long jump only on Thursday.  

Thank you so much for reading and sharing your kids with us. I am inspired by their energy, joy, determination, resiliency and their enthusiasm every time I am out there with them. Have a great day!

Stay safe and dry. Come to specials tomorrow for clearance for high jump or shotput. I will be reaching out if your athlete hasn’t signed up for events yet.

Hello parents! Looking forward to our first practice meet on Saturday! 

1. Correction: Saturdays practice meet does NOT count toward Golden Baton. Plenty of opportunities this season to earn it though!
2. Singlets and black shorts MUST be worn to participate. Uniform sales will be Saturday morning 730-745 am. 
3. Encourage your athletes to layer, mornings are chilly.  Leggings under shorts can be any color. One athlete wore a Spider-Man costume under his uniform all season last year.
4. Please have your athletes arrive at 745 am at our usual meeting spot with water bottles and smiles. Snacks and other drinks must be kept in the stands.

We look forward to having fun in a low-stress, learn the ropes environment before our first competitive meet next Saturday, March 9, which we are hosting. 

See you soon!