New Youth Track Program Sets Good Pace For Future NHS Runners

By Andy Hutchison

Many of Newtown High School’s track and field team members had not experienced leaping over a hurdle, throwing a discus, or pole vaulting before stepping foot on the high school track in their freshman year — or, in some instances, even later in their high school tenures.

The number of inexperienced track participants is expected, the school coaches say, to start to decline sharply in the years to come. They should know. After all, this optimism is thanks to a new youth track program in town, one in which NHS girls’ assistant track coach Eileen Fish spearheaded and runs with the help of head NHS girls’ track and cross country coach Doug Russell.

Fish got the ball rolling on a new youth cross country program last fall and saw nine of the 12 participants join a couple dozen more young runners in this spring’s track and field program. Sponsored by the town’s Parks and Recreation Department, the program is run by volunteer coaches, parents, and Newtown High track team members. For the past couple of months, children in grades four through eight enthusiastically took to the high school track for twice-a-week practices and a handful of meets. The season winds down this month, but for some of the serious Newtown high track team hopefuls, the practice will carry over into the summer months.

“I’d never thrown discus or shot-put before. I’ve definitely improved and I plan on throwing next year,” eighth grader Erin Cunningham said.

“I’m excited about it,” said Russell, who coaches NHS cross country and indoor and outdoor track. “It’s something we’ve been needing for a while.

“Everybody knows how to throw a baseball and kick a soccer ball,” said Russell, adding that performing track and field events is not something that many of the high schoolers have been exposed to prior to their arrival. Therefore, a lot of time is spent teaching the basics and determining which events each individual is best suited for, whether it be the long-, high- or triple-jump, discus or shot-put, javelin, pole vault, a hurdles event, a relay run, sprints, or distance runs.

“Now, when they get to high school they’ll have a better understanding, obviously, of the sport,” Russell anticipates.

As a result of the jumpers, throwers, hurdlers, and runners having that prior-to-high school exposure to the activities, that early-in-the-season time can be spent fine-tuning skills and the teams stand to have better success.

“We spend the first couple of weeks every year of the high school season trying to figure out what events they’re going into,” Fish said. “We should be able to get through that preliminary stuff here.”

“I think it’s fantastic that they have a program,” said Joe Whelan, one of the Parks & Rec track program’s volunteers, whose son, Joey, is a fifth grader and runs the 800 and 1600 meter events. “Just to see the kids out there, introduced to track — it’s fantastic.”

In this, the first season, there are 27 girls and eight boys participating. The coaches are hoping to increase the overall interest and get more boys involved.

The benefits for the young track enthusiasts, in addition to learning which events they want to try in high school, include getting exercise and making new friends with common interests.

“It’s definitely keeping me in shape, and I like hanging out with my siblings and the people here,” eighth grader Erin Begg said.

Begg’s specialty is in distance running, and she is regularly one of the top runners in the 800 meter and 1600 meter events at the youth team meets. Her brother, sixth grader Billy, and sister, fourth-grader Molly, also participate in the program.

Alex Shkreli, whose favorite and best competition is long jump, said she enjoys interacting with other runners and meeting new people.

Erin Fish, Eileen’s daughter, is a junior at the high school and a member of the Nighthawks’ track team. She helps the up-and-coming NHS track team-hopefuls learn the ropes of the throwing events.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for them,” Erin Fish said. “The kids love it.”

It is a pretty good opportunity for the high school junior as well. She wants to work as a coach when she is through with school. Erin Fish also coaches Parks & Rec league basketball, AAU basketball, and cross country.

After two years of the Parks & Rec-sponsored, volunteer-run track program, it will be eligible to be recognized as a middle school team, and Russell and Eileen Fish are hopeful that this would happen. The program stands to get more exposure and gain more interest that way, the coaches say. For now, they are hoping to continue to attract more young track-fanatics, but recognize one of the challenges is the wealth of other athletic options. With so many sports to play, many athletes overlook track and field and cross country, the coaches recognize.

“We want them to think about it as a viable option,” Eileen Fish said.