Recently, Hanover School Division kids in grades seven and eight took part in track and field meets at Stonybrook Middle School and the physical education (phys ed) coach from Bothwell, Eric Fast, believes that event and others like it, are very important for everyone involved.
"Just under two weeks ago, we had the grade seven and eights to the track," explains Fast. "Our first meet, we had to push back because of the air quality. So, we ran meets back to back on the Tuesday and Wednesday, one day for grade sevens and one day for grade eights. It was a great opportunity to have the athletes that have been training really hard from their schools come out and compete. It's not just individual sports, one of the highlights for us athletic directors is seeing the relay's and tallying up team points after. It was great, the weather was fantastic and I'm really grateful everyone could come together and have some great days."
As a phys ed teacher, Fast says it's always great to see so many kids from schools all over come together and compete. "I think I can speak for a lot of the physed teachers when I say building physical literacy and a desire, a love for physical activity starting in kindergarten and going all the way up to when these student-athletes reach adulthood, that's the ultimate goal. Seeing young people, grades seven and eight coming together and displaying what they've been learning and how they've been growing, combined with the chance to compete because that's part of the growth process as well, that's the epitome in terms of track and field."
Fast is also quick to point out that it's not like these athletes just roll out of bed and compete, they put a lot of time, dedication and more into their sport. "I want to highlight the work these athletes do before hand, it's not a one and done type thing. A lot of these athletes are training through other sports and when track and field season comes, they train more specifically for the events they're competing in. As physed teachers and coaches, it's an honour to play a small part in that process."
Bothwell isn't the biggest school but Fast says that the pride the athletes have in representing their community is pretty special. "Our athletes, they are grateful to come from a small school and represent the community of Bothwell. They've put the work in. For me as a coach, one of the highlights was at our grade eight track and field meet and seeing our athletes in the 4X400 meter relay, who had trained hard at school and some days while training at school, they were close to puking and on the day of the meet, one of our guys unfortunately lost his breakfast. That showed me how hard he was working and how hard the group as a whole was working. We finished just off the podium but we tried our best and the athletes were excited to be out there, putting in their full effort."
While most of the sports are individualistic, Fast says seeing the athletes from their respective schools come together to make a supportive community around each person, shows just how great these meets are. "It's special, you see these athletes backed by other teachers and coaches, it's a really great part of athletics. There's adrenaline that comes when competing and it's a factor that makes it unforgettable for these athletes and it also helps improve performance. It's really cool to see the other schools interacting, a lot of these kids know each other from community sports or other areas. They encourage each other even when competing against each other. It drives the competition higher and as a coach, it's a real joy to watch."
Through it all, Fast says the track and field programs across Manitoba are vital for kids of all ages. "I really believe that track and field is growing. Some schools maybe pursue it maybe more than others, but ultimately all schools are participating at quite a high level. I really have to thank upper administration, principles, teachers for making the accommodations to make these events possible. The track and field programs keep getting better and it contributes to the students wellness, students overall growth as athletes and we're so grateful to be able to offer this. Seeing athletes grow and find success, there's nothing like it."