(photos courtesy Ms. Kara Penney)
By Victoria Novais, Staff Writer
May 10, 2023
ROCKLAND- The athletes in the Spring track athletes' relationships are growing and so are their wins.
The team's friendships have grown throughout this year, and they have good teamwork as well as a strong bond.
The track team is always looking for more students to join in future seasons.
“We have created this great bond and friendship, especially winter track going into spring track,” said freshman Jackson Davis.
Track is an independent sport but the team trains together. The girls and boys train with the same equipment but the methods they use are a little different.
The athletes have a lot of downtime after their race.
“There [is] a lot of downtime, if a track meet lasts three hours your race might only be 30 seconds… so kids talk to each other and the other team,” the boy's head coach Mr. Randal Grimmett, an RHS history teacher said.
For some students, training for track isn't hard.
“Training is not that hard right before meets; we usually go lighter,” said freshman Matheus Meneses.
But for others, training can be a little harder but the coaches are really understanding about it.
“Training gets difficult sometimes but after meets we have to recover days which helps a lot and the coaches are very understanding,” said freshman Lindsay Gillan.
The track team has won two out of three meets, and they won against Mashpee on May 3.
Track has lots of health benefits, you increase your stamina, boost your metabolism, and help stay fit.
Ms. Kara Penney, a History teacher and coach, said that track is, “Good for mental health if you are stressed exercising: running, jumping, throwing can help clear your mind. It's mind it's overall good to stay in shape and stay healthy.”
To participate in track, the players don't have to be fast or love running, as there are other events they can participate in and still be a part of the team. Rockland has players participating in jumping, throwing, and running events.
“You don't even have to consider yourself to be a runner, you can throw you can jump. A lot of the time track is just about improving on yourself so wherever you at on the pacing of a race, as long as you're improving yourself that's all that matters,” Ms. Penney said.
If someone is in track because they like to run, they don't have to be the fastest runner, just have to improve their time throughout the session.
The team’s season will conclude with the South Shore All-League Meet on May 18.