GREMLINS TEAM PAGE (8U)

Hello 8U Tigres Families!

It has been a great three weeks of practice! Thank you all for getting the kids out there. We are very impressed with the effort that they have put forth. Also, thank you for your diligence signing kids in and out- please keep up the good work.

Meet Info: The practice meet is this Saturday, March 5th at the Buena Track. The event options are limited for this meet since the primary focus is training the volunteers. For this meet only, 8U will be able to participate in 2 running events and one field event. Our running choices for this meet are: 4X100 relay, 400, 100. The only field event for 8U athletes is the Long Jump.

Parents, please help your 8U child with the following for all meets:

• They should know what events they signed up to run (we will try to make sure they are at the right events, but it is their responsibility to know what they are running).
• After their race they should get off the field and go back to the 8U tent in the stands – this is their home base – this is where we look for them when it is time to stage for an event and walk them back on the track – if they aren’t there, we cannot go looking for them.

The order of running events for 8U is:

• 4×100
• 400
• 100

Field events will include:

• Long Jump (8U usually go first at 8:30am so be on time!).

Arrival time: 8:00 sharp in the 8U tent in the stands to get race bibs and organize relays as needed

Start time: 8:30am 

Finish: No guarantees, but this meet usually ends between 1200-100 pm. However, do not leave your volunteer position until you are done.

Sign Ups: Sign-ups will be on the clipboards at practice starting Tuesday March 1^st. If your child in not going to attend the meet, please have him/her draw a line through his/her name. Please do not email me after Friday at noon to add your child to the roster for the meet.  If your child signs up for a relay, please make sure they have attended practice to work on this skill. If we don’t have a multiple of 4, we may be unable to run everyone in a relay – please know I will do my best to give everyone a chance. Additionally, if your child signs up for a relay their other 3 teammates are counting on them to show up – if they can’t make it at the last minute, please let me know ASAP.

Volunteer Duties to be assigned during the week of February 28^th: One of the goals of the practice meet is for volunteers to learn how to perform their duties and for the whole group to see what it takes to run a meet smoothly. Each family will receive notification by email or phone call during the week of February 28 with your volunteer assignment for our practice meet on March 5 as well as our other home meets for the season.  If you have not received notification about your volunteer responsibilities by the Thursday prior to a home meet, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Jeremy Patelzick at tigres.ventura@gmail.com

Go 8U Girls and Boys!

Coach Mike

805-320-3421

Hello 8U Parents and Athletes,

This Monday (2/6) there is a parent meeting, and Tuesday (2/7) is the first practice for the 8U division. We are all looking forward to starting the season off on the right foot.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

Parent Meeting: Monday, February 6th at 6:30 pm at Buena High School Cafeteria. I highly recommend that you attend to get important information for the team and the season, particularly volunteer requirements.

Head Coach: Michael Oesterle

Assistant Coaches:

I am looking for 1-2 additional assistant coaches for the season. Please contact me if you are interested.

Goals for the season

1. Safety
2. Fun and an appreciations for the benefits of sports and exercise
3. Good Sportsmanship
4. Developing athletes abilities and helping them achieve their goals
5. Making friends

Practice:

8U (also known as “Gremlins”) will practice Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-5:45 pm. Practice begins promptly at 4:30 at the track at Buena High School.  Please have your athlete there a few minutes early to get their name tag and get settled. 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 of 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 in comfortable running clothes and shoes. 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 to have water in their water bottles on the track. No food is allowed 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 sit in the stands and we will have pop-up tents for shade

One volunteer role related to the meet are a Team Parent. They are there to help keep track of the kids when they are in the stands, take them to the bathroom, and to look out for them if they have events coming up. We are looking for 3.

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 sign ups will be on Thursdays on a separate 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. There is one night meet this season, which will start in the late afternoon and go into the evening.

If you pre-ordered uniforms (singlet & shorts), they will be available at a future practice closer to the first meet.  All your child needs is running shoes (no spikes at this age).

See you all soon!

Hello 8U Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that I will not be at the fun run today (2/6/2022) due to a conflict. Coaches from the 14U and 12U teams will be running the practice.

Thanks,

Coach Mike

Hello 8U Tigres,

A few more announcements as we approach the season:

1.  As a reminder, the parent’s meeting (virtual) has been announced for Monday, Feb 7 @ 6:30.  Please register using this link: https://carorg.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYsduqprDwiGNCCYqu6Eimuez11n-bg_egZ

2.  Practices begin Tuesday Feb 8 @ 4:30 on the Buena HS track and will end at 5:45. Tigres practices are dropoff (you do not need to stay) but you do need to sign your child in and out. It is critical that athletes are signed out and picked up when practice ends at 5:45. Please do not be late.

3.  Optional Fun Runs will be held for the next 3 Sundays @2-3 PM at Camino Real Park – starting on Jan 23! VERY unofficial, VERY informal, VERY voluntary.  The next part is important- Fun Runs are not dropoff. You must be in attendance the entire time if you choose to bring your child.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Mike Oesterle
8U Head Coach
8U@venturatigres.org

Hi 8U Tigres Families:

I wanted to put out another call for Assistant Coaches. For us to have a successful season and support the 45-50 8U athletes, we need about 8-10 coaches. Coaches will help at weekly practices (Tues/Thurs from 4:30-5:45) as well as at meets (helping to ensure athletes get to their events.)

NO PRIOR TRACK EXPERIENCE is required to be an assistant coach- we have a very thorough training plan in place. Assistant coaches mainly help by encouraging and supervising athletes. More adults also allows us to break into smaller groups during practice.

If your schedule doesn’t allow you to be at all practices, that’s okay! Please reach out and we can figure something out.

Bonus – all assistant coaches get a free Tigres polo shirt and hat to wear proudly at the meets. Hope that sweetens the deal.

Finally, a reminder that the pre-season Parent Meeting is on Monday, February 7 starting at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually, and you must register in advance to attend. The meeting will give a full overview of the program, followed by a breakout session for 8U families where I can answer any questions.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://carorg.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYsduqprDwiGNCCYqu6Eimuez11n-bg_egZ

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Mike Oesterle
8U Head Coach

It looks like the rain is working against us. Please email me your events for Saturday!!

I made a mistake in my email yesterday and said it was not an 8U event

Practice tomorrow is at 4:30 at Arroyo Verde Park. We will meet at the first bathrooms. 

Our next meet is this Saturday March 14th at 1:00 PM at Nordhoff high school in Ojai.

Please be at the meet in the Gremlin tent with your runner by 12:30 to get their sticker on and line up for our first event

Our athletes have many more options this week.

The order of running events is:

3200 (NOT a Gremlin event)

Hurdles (NOT a Gremlin event)

4×100

1600

400

100

800 (NOT a Gremlin event)

200

4×400 (NOT a Gremlin event)

Field events will include:

Long Jump (Gremlins usually go first at 1:00pm so be on time!)

High Jump (NOT a Gremlin event)

Shot Put (NOT a Gremlin event)

Gremlins can run in 3 events and do long jump. If an athlete exceeds their event total, they will be disqualified for all of their events for that meet. We will try to monitor this as best we can, but ultimately the athletes themselves need to be aware of their events.

Sign-ups will be on the clipboards at practice starting tomorrow. If your 8U Gremlin in not going to attend the meet, please have him/her draw a line through his/her name. Please do not email me after Friday at noon to add your child to the roster for the meet.  If your child signs up for a relay, please make sure they have attended practice to work on this skill – if we don’t have a multiple of 4, we may be unable to run everyone in a relay – please know I will do my best to give everyone a chance.  Additionally, if your child signs up for a relay, their other 3 teammates are counting on them to show up – if they can’t make it at the last minute, please let me know ASAP.

Since we missed Tuesday practice you can also email me your athletes events for the meet if you cannot be at practice tomorrow.

My email is: gremlins@venturatigres.org

Starting with our first official meet Saturday, you will find the results posted on our website.

See you tomorrow at Arroyo Verde Park

Coach Jim

Looking forward to practice Thursday.

We are unable to use the track Thursday because Buena High has a meet and The baseball fields are being used. So we will be holding practice at Arroyo Verde Thursday this week at same time.

I will send another message prior to Thursday confirming.

Kids did so awesome at the practice meet!!!

Thank You

Coach Jim

Some last-minute reminders regarding tomorrow:

Please arrive at 8:00am at the 8U tent in the stands.

Your runner will need their uniform, black shorts, running shoes, water, snacks, and sunscreen.

No food or drinks (other than water) are allowed on the field. They can keep snacks and stuff under the tent in the stands.

Label Everything!! I have some water bottles I have collected already.

If you were not able to pick up your uniform yet, they will be ready tomorrow at 7:45. Please allow time for this if you don’t have uniform.

As this is our first meet, please be patient as we work out the kinks and everyone learns their role