With Spring sports getting underway, Lake Highland’s Track and Field team is setting the pace, one personal best at a time. Even though the season has just started, the Highlander off season preparation has already been put on full display as the team made huge strides in their first meet of the season, dominating at the Seminole High School meet. But how has the team controlled the pace this season? Although Track and Field is considered an individual sport, unlike other sports, there are numerous events happening at once from races on the track, to triple jumps in the sand pit, with each athlete’s event score contributing to the overall team score. This year the team has many specialists, helping the team focus on developing individual skills, helping increase the team’s score at each meet. With more specialist athletes this becomes extremely important for the team’s ability to raise their score, with more athletes preparing for their specific event they are able to set the pace each week during their meets. But what leads to these new strides in improved scores? Both Coach Miriam Campbell and Coach Rudy Chihak have taken a new mindset to their coaching styles and lineups this season.
Coach Campbell has taken a new approach to practice this year and focuses on encouraging athletes to concentrate on the team aspect of the sport instead of individual talent and results. She explained, “We develop leaders by discipline and holding them accountable.” Even though Coach Campbell creates the workouts and runs practice, she reminds her athletes that, “The main quality that is necessary in track is being a self-starter. Most of the time, the coaches are not around to tell you when to warm up or how to warm up. You need to be aware of what events are happening and how long you have to make sure that you are preparing your body and properly warming up, so that there are no injuries.”
Coach Campbell’s success is not just because of her encouraging mindset but also her collegiate level experience and expertise with her personal experience of running track and field in college. This has allowed her to bring the communication and lessons in teamwork from also playing collegiate volleyball. With this mixed approach, the team has adapted to this new mindset. Along with coaching, Coach Campbell is a players’ coach who always brings the energy to practice as while motivating her athletes. Her fellow coach, Coach Chihak, said, “Coach Campbell is great at this, always encouraging kids to stay for the duration of the meet and cheering on their teammates in their races. When you become a fan of the sport and know what to look for, and what kind of marks an athlete typically achieves, it gets way more exciting to see them compete and see if they can achieve their personal bests.”
Coach Rudy Chihak is the Track and Field’s distance coach, who has taken a new approach this season when developing his relay teams. With most of his athletes coming from the cross country season, Coach Chihak has focused on bringing the cross country endurance to help prepare his runners for the postseason. He said, “I try to get the championship ready athletes accustomed to competing in multiple events during the regular season because in the postseason they will have to do that and also be at their best in all their events.” At the start of the season it is not only important to build endurance and confidence, but it is just as important at the start of the season for the relay teams to have a solid connection when switching lanes and handing the baton off to get the perfect switch. To make the chemistry stronger, Coach Chihak pushes the team to focus not on perfection but progress at their own pace. Practice gets more intense through the week with a, “Shift from doing more mileage into doing multiple speed workouts a week. Endurance is obviously important, but building the speed takes time and is a delicate balance so that you are at your best when the postseason arrives.” It is important to let each athlete set his or her own pace for improvement while approaching each relay with fluid connection in each handoff.
Although the season has just begun, the Highlanders have already proved Track and Field season is back. With each week of early practices and late meets the team has already found its rhythm and is ready to hit the track, dominating competition one event and one podium at a time. The team’s dedication and resilience is undeniable. From the personal bests set at each meet to the encouragement of the Lake Highland community, the team is not afraid to go up against some of the best teams and Florida.
