Family Track and Field History
In April 1992, nine year old Stephanie came home from school
and told me that she wanted to participate in Track and Field. I did not know
anything about Track and Field outside of the public schools and I did not know
at the time that girls ran track. So I
had to search for someone who knew something about it. In May 1992 she ran in the Hershey Track and
Field Program, running the 400 Meter Run.
In June 1992, Stephanie entered her first AAU Meet, running the 400 Meter and 800 Meter Runs. Stephanie went on to rank 11th in the nation in the 80 Meter Hurtles in 1995 and 20th in the nation in the 100 Meter Hurtles in 1997.
Her son Daniel started at 5 years old in USATF by going to the Cross Country 2K National Championships in 2012 ranking 57th. In 2013, Daniel ran in the USATF Indoor National Championships ranking 6th in the Nation in the 1500 Meter Run, 9th in both the 800 Meter Run and Long Jump.
AAU -- Territory includes: New Jersey, (south of Mercer and Monmouth County); all of the
State of Delaware and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (east of and including
Bedford, Centre, Clinton and Potter Counties). The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is
one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports
organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is
dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur
sports and physical fitness programs.
The Amateur
Athletic Union offers participants sports teams in their local community that
they can join and compete with other athletes their own age. There are teams in
most sports ranging from 9 years old to 18 years old, allowing children to play
for championships in sports against other children similar in age and athletic
development.
The AAU offers
sports teams in:
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Trampoline
and Tumbling
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USA Track
& Field (USATF)
is the United States national governing body for the sports of track
and field, cross country running, road
running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics
outside the US). The USATF was known for a number of years as The Athletics
Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed
the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its
responsibility.
Many of the
nearly 100,000 Americans members of USATF participate in athletics competitions
through one of the thousands of clubs established in all 50 states. While most
of these members participate as athletes, coaches, officials and supporters of
athletics at the grass roots level, elite athletes who represent the USA in
international competition are also required to be members of USATF. USATF also
has 57 Associations to promote the sport locally, and membership in USATF also
constitutes membership in a local association, with the dues being divided
between the national and local group.
How the money is spent
Before l go on about Daniel, I want to tell you about sports finances. AAU and USATF have expenses. Very little is donated to these
organizations to pay for expenses. A friend just came back from the Washington
DC area complaining about how much money her friend is paying for their
children to play AAU basketball, $250 to $300 per weekend. It cost $25 for the
weekend to see them play. One day was $15. Most of that money goes toward
getting the many gyms for the games. Someone has to pay for officials and for
medical people standing by.
At Daniel's AAU track meet in the Harrisburg suburbs this weekend
AAU had to pay for the use of the track. AAU wanted to get the track at the University
of Pennsylvania. The university wanted
$28,000 for the weekend. That was not going to work financially for the members.
AAU had to pay for timers and officials. They had to pay for equipment and
medical personal. Here is why spectators had to pay a fee of around $20 to get
in and athletes had to pay $6.00 per event. Nothing is free. This is why athletes have to
raise money for travel expenses and for equipment.
For example, a Javelin cost from $50 to $250. A discus cost up to $60.00. An athlete's traveling expenses
would include meals, travel, and fees. Depending where the event takes place,
it could cost anywhere from $100 next door to your home to $2,000 on the other
side of the country. International competition can cost over $5,000.
So next time you want to know what these organizations and
your athletes are doing with the money, think about what I just told you.
Daniel after running the 400 Meter Run late morning at the Hershey meet in Palmyra, Pa.
Saturday Morning June 14, 2014
The morning of Saturday June 14, Daniel ran the 1500 Meter in
the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), 2014 AAU Mid-Atlantic District Qualifier Track&Field
Championship at Bishop McDevitt HS.
Harrisburg, Pa. 17111. This event was sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union
of the U. S., Inc.
Daniel finished with a time of 6 Minutes 11.30 Seconds. You may have heard me say that Daniel did not
qualify to move on to the next level in this race. I was wrong. Daniel is in so many programs that I am
starting to get my rules mixed up. Each program has their own rules for advancement
to the next level. Daniel came in 7th. The first 16 finishers move on to the
next level, running in the AAU REGION 2
AAU NATIONAL QUALIFIER on June 28th and 29th.
We left the AAU meet for the day and traveled to the Hershey
Track and Field Program in Palmyra, Pa. were Daniel already advanced to the
District Level in the 400 Meter Run. But his advancement ended here for Hershey,
coming in 3rd in his heat with a time of 1 Minute 27 Seconds. and not finishing
in the top 6 finishers. The 400 Meter run is his weakest event and only the top
2 or 3 finishers advance to the Hershey State Meet at Penn State, Centre
County.
Sunday Morning, June 15, 2014
By 10:00 AM
Sunday, Coach Andrew Lofton of the St. Luke
Spirit Track Club, Stephanie, and I talked to Daniel about his running pace.
Basically, if Daniel is not crossing the finish line half dead then he is not
running a good race. To many times, he is crossing the finish line ready to go
play. That means that he has too much energy left at the end of the race. We
want this energy used up in the race.
When he ran the 800 Meter Run, his
performance improved. When he was done, he looked tired.
Daniel ran
the 800 Meters with a time of 3 Minutes 5.28 Seconds placing 16th. We did not
think that he would qualify in this race. We had him down as placing 20th to
22nd. But that extra effort set him up to fight another day.
Sunday June
22, 2014
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