GREMLINS TEAM PAGE (8U)

Hi 8U Families!

Tomorrows meet vs Newbury Park is at Buena H.S. The meet starts at 3pm, but we are going to get long jump started early. Please arrive at 2:15pm and check in at the Gremlin tent.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hi 8U Families,

I wanted to send out a message about the rest of the season.

Most athletes have at least 2 meets left: the first being our last regular meet this Saturday 4/16 at Buena High School and the second being the Conference JV Finals West also at Buena on Saturday 4/23.

Following the Conference JV Finals there are two additional meets, which are Varsity and Co-Conference. Athletes need to qualify for these meets in order to participate. Varsity finals is Saturday, 4/30.

Below is a description of the JV finals and the Varsity finals meets.

JV finals: April 23 at Buena High School

The JV finals are open to all athletes. In order to participate in an event in the JV finals the athlete needs to:

1) have participated in that event at least once during the regular season (except for relays, an athlete need not have competed in a relay during the regular season to compete in a relay at JV.

2) have NOT qualified for that event in the Varsity Finals. If an athlete qualifies for an event at the Varsity Finals, they can NOT participate in that event at the JV finals. Also, the same event limit applies (maximum of 4 events- a maximum of 3 running events plus long jump).

Varsity Finals April 30 at Moorpark

For each event in each age/gender group, the top athletes in the conference qualify for the Varsity meet. For sprints and field events (100m, 200m, 400m, and long jump), the top 9 athletes qualify. For the distance events (800 and 1600), the top 12 athletes qualify. If there is a tie for the last slot, they then look at the athletes’ next best mark. The last opportunity to qualify for the Varsity Finals is this Saturday April 16^th. You cannot qualify for Varsity at the JV meet.

Athletic.net keeps track of the top athletes for the conference. The link for athletic.net is:

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Division/Top.aspx?DivID=129725

Each club gets to send 1 relay team per age/gender group for each relay. This means that the 8U team will have one girls and one boys 4×100 team. A relay team member need not have run on any relay or competed with the other members of any relay prior to the Varsity Finals meet. I plan to ask 6 people total for each relay team so that we have two alternates in case someone gets sick or cannot participate for some reason.

There is no event limit at the Varsity Finals; an athlete can compete in all of the events for which they qualify. If an athlete is unavailable/doesn’t want to participate in the Varsity Finals, the athletes spot will not be filled by the next fastest athlete.

Co-Conference Championships May 14:

Co-Conference is a championship meet between our league (VCYTC) and a neighboring league (SYTFC). Qualification at co-conference is based on the results from the Varsity Finals. For laned events and field events, the top 5 athletes from VCYTC and the top 4 SCYTFC qualify. For non-laned running events, the top 8 from each conference qualify. If an athlete is not available to participate, they will take the next best athlete. The location of the co-conference championships is still not certain, but there is a good chance it will be at Rio Mesa High School.

Practice:

We will have practice like normal for all 8U athletes next week in preparation for the JV meet. Following the JV meet, most athletes will have completed their season and will no longer have practice. We will look forward to celebrating a great season with them at the team picnic on Sunday, May 15 at 12 pm at Buena High School.

Athletes who qualify for Varsity or are part of the relay team will continue to practice. This will continue if they advance to the Co-Conference Meet. It will be important that our relay teams commit to practice and competing in the meets to avoid having to scratch the day of the meet.

I look forward to closing out the season strong and having fun with these upcoming meets.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hi Gremlin Families,

this is a reminder that tomorrow, April 12, is picture day for the Tigres Gremlins. Please remember to have your athletes wear their uniforms to practice for the picture.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hi Tigres Families!

Hi 8U Families:

Some quick reminders for you all today:

1. NO 8U Practice today
2. We will have 8U practice on Thursday. Your child will have the opportunity to sign up for events at this Saturday’s meet then.
3. If you will be missing practice but attending the meet, please email me your child’s event selection- 8U@venturatigres.org. Please do this by Thursday night at the latest (and even sooner if possible)- thank you.
4. To see times from the last meet, please visit: https://venturatigres.org/liveresults/

Only 2 more regular season meets to go! Hope your kids are having fun and continue to give it their all as we head towards the end of the 2022 season.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hi 8U Families!

Your kids have all been working really hard and showing lots of improvement. I have been impressed at how much they have grown over the past 8 weeks. I am looking forward to seeing how they all compete in our next few meetings. A few notes:

1. Tomorrow April 2nd is our meet at Oxnard H.S. which starts at 8:30 am. Please have your athletes there by 8:00. During the meet please try to listen for the calls for the events and direct your kid to the team tent in the stands when their event is called. If your kid is signed up for a relay, please check in as soon as you arrive at the track. Finally, don’t for get to pack water, snacks and sunscreen.
2. Next week we will NOT have practice on Tuesday April 5th, but we WILL have practice on Thursday April 7th.
3. Please check out the league website at https://www.vcytc.org/ . The website has Top 20 for each age group in each event. At the end of the season if your athlete is top 9 in the 100, 200, 400 or long jump or  top 12 in the 800 or 1600 they will qualify for the Conference Championship Meet. Tigres will also have one 4×100 relay team competing for the boys and the girls in the Conference Championship.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hi 8U Families,

Last week at T.O. was a great way to kick off our racing season. Despite the late start, the kids did great and had lots of fun. They have also been working hard at practice and the coaches can’t wait to see their improvement as the season progresses.

Our first daylight meet at Moorpark tomorrow, officially beginning at 8:30. Please arrive no later than 8:00 at the 8U tent. Nearly all athletes are participating in the 4×100 or the long jump and we will need to check them in and warm them up right away. Please remind your athlete to get their bib sticker from the coaches first thing after arrival.

The meet is located at:

Moorpark High School Track; 4500 Tierra Rejada Road;  Moorpark, California United States 93021

Please prepare for it to be cold in the early morning and warmer as the day progresses. Bring and use sunblock and water. Also, please sent the kids down to their events with their sweatshirts, hats, water, and anything else that they might need while they wait for their events (exception is food and flavored drinks like Gatorade, which are not allowed on the track). Last week we experienced long wait times after events were called and we don’t want the kids to be stuck without anything that they might need.

I am looking forward to a great meet tomorrow!
Coach Mike

805-320-3421

8U Tigres Families,

Tomorrow’s meet will be held at Thousand Oaks High School School at 2323 N Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. Events start at 4:00pm, but please arrive at 3:15pm so that we can get the kids checked in and hand out their bibs.

We will set up our home base in the stands. Canopy tents are not allowed in the stands so when you get there please look for the 8U coaches. During the meet please try to stay close to our home base when your child’s events are up so that the coaches can find them and bring them to the starters tent.

It is impossible to say for sure how long the meet will go. Individual events have no starting time after the official 4 PM start – they are run in order and the start times will depend on the completion of the prior event. Be ready for hours and hours of cheering and fun!

Prepare for the cold! The temperature is expected to drop into the low 50s as the night progresses. Bring blankets, jackets and hats for those of you in the stands as well as sweatpants and jackets for the athletes. The meet will overlap with dinnertime, but only water is allowed on the field. Try to have your athlete eat only light foods (off the field) until after their events; while we don’t want them to be hungry, they also won’t want to run on a full stomach. Bars and fruit are good snacks until they are finished running all of their events.

If you signed up for a relay, but are unable to make it, please let me know ASAP so that we can adjust the teams.

I am looking forward to a great meet and seeing the kids compete.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

8U Families,

Tomorrow’s practice on March 10th will be held at Arroyo Verde.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hello 8U Tigres Families,

It was a great practice meet, and I am very proud of all our athletes who participated on Saturday. All the kids were trying their best, and I think they had a lot of fun. Thank you to all the volunteers who showed up and got their first taste at what it takes to run an event at the meet. Finally, thank you to all the assistant coaches who made sure the kids were ready and at the starting line (or jumping pit) so that they could compete. I am grateful for everyone involved.

IMPORTANT NOTICES:

• Practice this week (3/8 and 3/10)  will be held at Ventura High School 4:30 to 5:45
• Next week’s meet starts at 4:00 pm at Thousand Oaks High School please arrive at 3:30 pm. 
• Track meets typically run 5 to 6 hours. If you want your child to be finished on the earlier side, I suggest signing them up for events that are closer to the start of the meet. The 200m is the last event of the day that 8U athletes can run in. See the order of events here: https://www.venturatigres.org/order-of-events/

Things were a little hectic at the start of Saturday, and there were definitely a few lessons learned. Thank you for your patience as we get back into the swing of things. We will keep looking for ways to improve as the season goes on. A couple of notes:

1. When you first get to the track, please find the coaches at the 8U popup tent and get your child’s race bib (i.e. sticker). At this point the coaches will make note of their attendance, which will be important as we are looking for the kids during each event.
2. This past Saturday went pretty fast because each age group only did a limited number of events. As a result, the 8U were brought down on the field and stayed there for a long time because once their first event was finished, they were already getting ready for the next. This made it difficult to go back into the stands to get sweatshirts and water. In the upcoming meets when we are competing against another club, everything will take longer. There will be much more time in between events and opportunities for the kids to come up into the stands between events. In fact, the kids will normally spend a lot of time in the stands waiting for their next event.
3. In the upcoming meets, the coaches will have the names of the kids running each event. When that event is called, the coaches will go into the stands to the 8U tent and find the kids who are running. Please be aware of what events your kids are participating in and bring them to the team parents (i.e. this is a volunteer role) when you hear the calls for the events. It also helps to sit near the team tent if you can. For home meets, if you are volunteering and your child is in the stands alone, please have them sit by the team parent.
4. Finally, one of the most challenging aspects of coaching Tigres is managing the relay teams. If your child is signed up, and you are going to be late or your child is going to miss the meet, it is very important to give me a heads up. You can text me at 805-320-3421. We will also send a confirmation text the night before to those signed up for the relay to ensure your child still plans to attend the meet.

Thank you again for your support! As you probably noticed, it takes a village to make a successful track meet and track season.

Coach Mike