Indoor track is nothing like outdoor track. For starts it is indoor, it’s to cold in January and February to be running and doing field events outside and all that snow can get in the way also. Second there are very different events going on because the track is much smaller (it is 200 meters around not 400 like an outdoor track). Events are like the weight throw, 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles. Those events don’t even exist in the outdoor track season.
Indoor track is also different because it’s not as tight as the outdoor season would be. In outdoor season there are buses and everyone on the team goes to the meets, unlike indoor you can sometimes go alone and be the only one representing your entire team and school. Donita Hampton coach of the Jonathan Alder indoor/outdoor track and field team says “Indoor track is more of and individual sport, even more then outdoor track. In indoor you are mostly by yourself with no coaches to help you out.”
Jonathan Alder indoor track is not as big as the outdoor season, but almost just as important. When you are in indoor track you had no practice; you just go out and do it. You have to want it, because there are other people their that want the exact same thing. Coach Garsia -a club coach that helps the JAHS pole vault- says “It is tough in every event; to go out and run or jump an event that you probably haven’t done in maybe a year, but if you compete hard that first meet everything will fall into place.”
Jonathan Alder may not have it power in indoor, but the few that do represent the school they take pride in what they do. Most of them this is what they would want to do for college. Maybe even for some they would want to do this for the rest of there life. Track athlete Justin Picklesimon says “Track is one of my passions, I hope to always participate in this sport in college and hopefully maybe the Olympics; I work hard at this sport and I don’t plan to stop working hard at it.”
–Caleb Sarver ‘13
