Meet/Invitational Schedule 

Girls run first in events at home *this may be different at other meets/invitationals

Field events: Girls first in shot, Boys first in discus

Open pit for jumping events

4x800 relay

100m hurdles

110m hurdles

100

4x200 relay

1600m (usually ran together, but not always)

4x100 relay

400m

200m hurdles

800m

200m

4x400 relay

Practice Expectations

You are expected to be at practice everyday. Practice is after school until 4:00 or 4:15. You will know beforehand when practice ends.You are expected to have a ride ready to pick you up immediately when practice ends. If you are walking home, you need to leave as soon as practice ends. Being on our team means you MUST have an on time ride everyday. 

 If you need to miss practice, please be sure to send an email explaining why you are missing (sick, appointment, family matter, musical practice, etc). If you skip practice, that is considered a strike.

You will change in locker rooms right after school. It is recommended to have a lock on your belongings so nothing will happen to them. We expect best behavior in the locker room. Change and get out quick to begin practice. Do not plan on going to your regular school locker or classrooms after practice. All of your things should be in the locker room.

You need to be dressed for practice. This means your outfit is appropriate athletic clothing and it makes sense for the weather. Layers are a good idea! Everyone needs to keep their shirts on while practicing even if it is super hot.

You have to have appropriate shoes to run in. If you come to practice with crocs, boots, flats, sandals or something else that isn’t a running/athletic shoe, you will not be able to practice.

Effort matters at practice. You need to complete the workout to the best of your abilities. Everyone gets sore, gets cramps, and experiences days where we just don’t want to run. We need to push through those feelings and have a good workout. Pushing when we don’t want to is what makes us get faster and stronger. If you have an injury, we will work with you to alter the workout. If it is a big injury, you will be excused from practice. 

Attitude matters as well. You are expected to be kind and hardworking. Be a friend to your teammates. Push yourself and others to do their best. No negative language or insults. All behavior is positive. If we have to stop practice because of your behavior, that may be considered a strike depending on the behavior/frequency.

There are multiple workouts happening at the same time. In general there is always going to be a distance and sprint workout. You are completing the workout in which you have the most events for meets. You will complete your jumping and throwing workout after your running workout. Some throwers may just have a throwing workout for the whole practice with an altered running workout. Check with your coach if you are unsure of which workout to do.

Discipline/Strikes

We hope we never have to discipline any of our athletes. In the case that we do, we will use a strike system. If an athlete gets three strikes, there will be a meeting with our athletic director and it could mean removal from the track team. We always will pull athletes aside and let them know if they are behaving in a way that could lead to a strike. We also will let the athlete and parent know if they receive one.

Reasons strikes are given:

• Skipping practice or a meet (it isn’t excused by email or you weren’t absent from school).

• Being inappropriate in locker rooms, at practice, on the bus, or at a meet.

• Starting fights or drama with teammates or other athletes at meets.

• Being defiant or disrespectful to coaches, officials, or parents.

• Skipping/missing events at meets and invitationals

• Repeatedly not having appropriate gear to practice or compete

• Any behavior that is against the student code of conduct

Event Selection

Everyone will get to pick the 3 events they would like to compete in for each meet. If there are too many athletes who sign up for a running event, jumping, or throwing event, coaches will have practices to determine who is competing in the events. Everyone must have at least 2 events.

If you are one of the fastest runners in a particular distance, you will be selected for a relay team. You will have additional practice with handoffs to make sure your relay is successful. Relays can change throughout the season based on times and performances.

Invitational Selection

There are a few invitationals throughout the season. The athletes with the best times, throws, and jumps get to compete in these. Everyone will be notified the week before an invitational of who is expected to compete. If you are not invited, you can come to a meet with your family to cheer on your friends, but you are not required to attend. Invitational lineups consist of the top 2 athletes in each event in addition to a relay team for each of those races. The line ups can change throughout the season depending on times and performances.

Expectations for Meets & Invitationals

When you wear your Delaware jersey you are representing our school and our community. You are expected to be on your very best behavior at all times. This means you are acting and speaking appropriately. When we arrive we will “set up camp.” This is where all of our belongings will be. You are to either be in this area, warming up, competing, or standing somewhere it is appropriate to cheer. 

You should not be: running around in areas where you are in the way, throwing things, making a mess, being disruptive or disrespectful, bothering other teams, or flirting with other teams and trying to get phone numbers. Anything you do or say should be appropriate. 

We will warm up as a team before the meet starts. You also should warm up before your events to make sure you are ready to do your best. Be sure to warm up in areas where you are not in the way. Also, you need to be on top of knowing when to warm up. It is not ok to miss a race because you were not paying attention. If you are in a relay, you need to warm up as a team.

You will hear calls for when to check in for your events. You are doing this by yourself. You will hear a first call, second call, and final call. Try to check in during first call to give yourself plenty of time. If you have events that are overlapping, be sure to let officials know so you can compete in both (such as a race + a jumping event). Relays must check in as a team.

After you have competed in your events it is ok for a parent to take you home. They will need to fill out the form each time you leave with a parent (put link to form here). These need to be filled out beforehand. You may not leave with another athlete’s parent even if your parent says it is ok (sorry, this is a school rule). If you choose to stay for the remainder of the meet/invitational, you will ride the bus home. Make sure you have a ride home from Dempsey. This should be arranged before the meet/invitational. You will need to call your ride when we are within 15 minutes of the school to let them know we are close. You are expected to be picked up from school immediately once we return. You will have access to locker room to grab your things before heading home.

We need to be on our best behavior on the bus. This means we stay in seats, keep our voices at a normal talking volume, and we don’t eat or make a mess on the bus. We should leave the bus exactly the way it looked when we exit. We want the drivers to say how awesome the track team is after they take us to our events. There will be a bus for boys and for girls. Sometimes we get a third bus as well.

We will dress up at school on days we have meets. We will discuss this at practice. We will either do Track/Pacer gear or we will do a fancier dress up. This just means you wear something nice to school (some girls like to wear dresses and some boys like to do khakis and a button up or polo shirt). Please do not not let this stress you out or force you to to buy new clothes. Pick an outfit that you think fits best. It is just a really great way to represent who is on the track team to all of Dempsey.

Being a Healthy Student Athlete

It’s important to keep yourself healthy during the whole year, but especially when you are in season for your sport. We want you to think about your overall health and make good choices so you can do awesome at school and on the track:

• Get 8 hours of sleep a night if you can. Getting enough sleep means you will have a clear mind to learn at school and it gives your body recovery time it needs after workouts.

• Eat all three meals everyday. Don’t skip meals! Make sure you are feeding your body throughout the day. This will help you have energy and also feed your muscles you’re growing.

• Pack snacks for after school when we have meets.

• Drink plenty of water throughout the school day. Carry a water bottle with you. Make sure you pack water for meets as well.

• Make healthy choices for your meals and snacks! Make sure you are getting proteins, carbs, fruits, and veggies! Try to limit fast food and junk food.

  • Healthy snack ideas: bagels, pretzels, nut/seed butters sandwiches, fruit, veggies, granola, protein/granola bars, fruit leather, popcorn, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, and trail mix.