Throughout the week, athletes will compete in a variety of sprinting events. They will be timed in the 55m dash, 100m dash, 200m dash and 400m dash. Athletes also have the option to run the 800m dash on Thursday. Athletes will learn about how to position themselves for "down-starts", proper running technique, as well as the mental components of racing and pacing.
Aside from being track-specific, this camp is all about keeping your child moving! Scattered throughout the week are various opportunities for your child to work on their speed, agility and conditioning. We've got everything from agility competitions and races to 6v6 Hand-Ball Games to Tic-Tac-Toe relays in order to work on fitness and conditioning in different, exciting ways!
A perennial fan favorite, we make sure to include the Long Jump in our afternoon "field rotations" often at camp. There's something about sprinting down the runway with everyone watching and waiting to hear the callout of "feet and inches" to see if you got a PR (personal record) that gets the kids fired up and keeps them wanting more. A little friend-to-friend competition doesn't hurt, either!
Come learn the proper technique to hold, swing, and launch a 1kg/2.2lb discus as far as you can! One of our three throwing events offered at camp, the discus throw combines proper technique, body control, torque and strength to send this flying disc as far as you can into the stratosphere! Tip: If you can get the discus to fly like a frisbee in the air, you're golden!
Come learn the proper technique to excel in the javelin throw - it's harder than it looks! One of our three throwing events offered at camp, athletes will get to wield a 300g, 400g or 500g plastic and rubber "Turbo Jav" which is a youth throwing instrument that is specifically designed to teach the basic fundamentals and mechanics of an authentic javelin throw. Much like the discus, if you can learn the proper technique to send this javelin flying straight and spinning like a dart in the air, your throw will be sure to go far!
To excel in the shot put, you've got to combine lower body and core strength with proper throwing technique to launch one of these 2.2lb / 3.3lb / 4.4lb or 5.5lb rubber "Thera-Band" Soft Weight Balls as far as you can! One of our three throwing events offered at camp, the shot put is by far the one event where technique is paramount to success. Throw it like a baseball or softball? Nope, that's a foul. Tuck it into your neck, stick your elbow out, bend your knees, explode from your lower body and push your palm to the sky - now you're throwing like a true shot-putter!
Athletes will learn and train the proper techniques for baton handoffs. They will put these techniques into play during various 4x100m relays during the week. Proper technique and practice will surely come into play on Friday as the 4x100m Relay is the final event of the camp-wide "Olympic" meet.
This is what we work towards, this is what it's all about! So what is the Olympics?
1. Monday thru Thursday athletes compete in all of our sprinting, throwing and jumping events and their personal records are recorded and updated daily.
2. On Thursday during lunch, athletes are split into even teams based on age, ability and their performances throughout the week. Much like "fantasy leagues", each team is tasked with the job of assigning team members to specific events, based on the performance data, in order to maximize their team's chances to win the Olympic Meet.
3. On Friday, we run an official, scored track meet and we invite parents and friends along to enjoy the spectacle. Not only are athletes competing against their division adversaries (Senior A vs. B, Junior A vs. B, Freshman A vs. B), but there is an entire scored meet for all "A" teams vs. all "B" teams.
Friday's Olympics is the perfect way to put into play everything the athletes have learned and trained for during the week. As it turns out, when the competition turns up, so do the number of Personal Records (PR's). Come watch this wonderful display of competition, sportsmanship, and teamwork as the perfect way to end the week for these athletes!