Welcome to Potomac Valley Track Club
Thank you for joining Potomac Valley Track Club's Young Flyers youth track & field program!

Our next session is Sunday, November 6, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd Street South, Arlington VA 22204.

Please remember to set your clock back one hour between Saturday night and Sunday morning. That change means your young athletes will have a 25-hour day. The sun sets on Saturday at 6:00 PM but at 5:00 PM on Sunday. If the weather is nice on Sunday, we can go outside, but please dress appropriately.

TJ is one block south of Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) and one block east of Glebe Road (Route 120). Parking is ample and free. Enter thru the main entrance, Door #12, next to the playground.

Directions: Arlington Blvd. (US 50), south on Irving Street (1/4 mile east of Glebe Road), west on 2nd Street South, entrance on right thru Door #12

Each week, I send a message about the program on the upcoming Sunday.

Please tell your friends who have young athletes that we welcome new participants. They can sign up on-line or on paper on any Sunday afternoon. See www.pvtc.org/youth for full information. Now that we are half-way through the season, the price is $45.

We thank our dedicated coaches: Albert A. Arcand Jr., Craig Chasse, Jim Darr, Desta Beriso Morkama, Betsy Peace, Abdelillah Razah, Phillip Riblett, Michael Souryal, Feru Dadi Wake, Chuck Williams, and Jay Jacob Wind

Here is our daily schedule:

  • 2:40-2:45 PM: Administrators and parent volunteers arrive to set up check-in -- please help us unload the coach's van outside Door #12
  • 2:45-2:55 PM: Athletes and parents arrive, enter thru Door #12, and pick up your name tag in the lobby outside the gym
  • 3:00 PM: Introductions, circle time - stretching and strengthening exercises + dynamic warm-up
  • 3:20 PM: Break into groups:
          • Sprint (50 / 100 meters) for athletes in K, 1st, or 2nd grade, or older athletes who specialize in the short distances
          • Middle distance (200 / 400 meters) for athletes in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade
          • Long distance (800 meters, one mile) for athletes in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, or younger athletes who specialize in the long distances (for example, they have run 5Ks)
          • Race Walk for all ages
  • 4:00 PM: Re-group for water and break into groups:
          • Hurdles
          • Short Distance / Sprint
          • Long distance
          • Race walk
          • Shot put
  • 4:30 PM: Regroup into four-person 4x200 meter relay teams
  • 4:55 PM: Regroup to enjoy post-workout refreshments

    Each week, families brings post-workout refreshments, for example, 2 gallons of apple juice, 50 pieces of fruit, 50 energy bars.

    Trader Joe's, 1109 North Highland Street, Arlington VA, sponsored our first practice, and we recommend shopping at your neighborhood Trader Joe's.

    For our workout on November 6, our refreshments are thanks to these families:

  • Parents of Christopher Goodwin
  • Parents of Colin Beckner
  • Parents of Lillian Hardin
  • Parents of Nathaniel Bohlen

    Athletes:

  • Sunday will be chilly but sunny. Please wear a warm shirt, jacket, and gloves so we can go outdoors if not too cold
  • For indoor track, please wear light clothing and running shoes (not spikes, not court shoes or street shoes)
  • On nice days, we run some of the time outdoors, so prepare for the weather -- jacket, hat, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen if you're sensitive
  • Please bring a filled water bottle with your name written on it.

    On the next three Sundays in November and the first Sunday in December, we welcome any of the parents to present a prepared five-minute lecture on any topic that will help our young athletes. In past years, our parents have lectured on fascinating topics:

  • Posture and Balance
  • The Limits of Human Performance
  • The progression from young athlete to high school to college to national championships to International Competition to the Olympic Games
  • Allergies and how to avoid allergens when running

    At all our workouts, we welcome parents to run with their young athletes. Think of it as Suzuki running!

    This Sunday, November 6, I run New York City Marathon. I'll bring my finisher's medallion for show-and-tell next week. Coaches Albert Arcand, Jim Darr, Betsy Peace, Abdelillah Razah, Feru Dadi Wake, and Chuck Williams will be in charge.

    I shall be tardy on November 20 because I direct a marathon in Carderock MD that morning starting at 8:00 AM, and somebody always takes 7 hours to finish.

    We look forward to coaching your young athletes this season. Welcome aboard!

    BTW, every Sunday, we promote membership in Potomac Valley Track Club -- see www.pvtc.org/join -- or take a membership flyer. It's a club for All Ages, All Paces, All Ways.

    -- Thank you
    -- Jay Jacob Wind, secretary
    -- Potomac Valley Track Club
    -- www.pvtc.org/youth
    -- 703-927-4833