Directors:   
Sandy Martin    track@eaasports.org                                        Program Information
Joe Martin        track@eaasports.org                                         News               Dates

Grade Level Coordinators for 2008 season: 

There are always volunteer opportunities at each track meet to help with field events and timing.  These are arranged by the age group coordinators and coaches prior to and during the meets.

Track Fee
$40 for all ages (K - 6^th)

Coaches Worksheets

Important Dates

v     Online registration opens:  2nd week of January

v     Walk-in registration:  Jan 22 (this is the only walk-in registration date for track)

v     Registration closes:  February 25 (after this date registrations only accepted on a space available basis and late fees will apply)

v    Coaches meeting:  Tuesday, April 1 at 6:30 pm at DHMS Lecture Room A

v     Practices: once a week starting March 31st – May 18th

o       Team Practices held at Eagan High School Track

o       Priority Evenings (subject to change if coach determines a different schedule)

§         Grades K-1 on Monday evenings

§         Grades 2-3 on Tuesday evenings

§         Grades 4-6 on Thursday evenings

v     Track Meets: 5 consecutive weekends starting April 18-19 through May 16-17

o       held at Eagan High School

o       Grades 4-6 Friday evenings at 6:00pm

o       Grades K-1 Saturday mornings at 9:30am

o       Grades 2-3 Saturday afternoons at 12:00pm

The Program

The EAA track program exists to introduce and promote the sport of track & field to Eagan’s youth.  Our goal is to stress the importance of team, friendship and good sportsmanship in the track and field experience.   In 2008, we anticipate about 700 children from Grades K to 6^th to participate in our program.  Five meets are held Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon, depending on the age group.  There is typically one practice per week.  The cost of the program remains $40 per child. 

Running and field events change as your child grows through the program.  Our goal for every age group is for each child to do one field event and run 3 races each meet.  This aids in their skill development and stimulates their interest and enthusiasm in track.  The K-1 ages start off running a distance from 50 to 100 meters (includes two shuttle relay events within the same distance parameters) with field events including the running long jump, standing broad jump, and baseball throw.  When your child moves to the 2^nd and 3^rd grade, the field events remain the same, but the races are expanded to include the 200 and 400 meters as well as the 4 X 100 meter relay. When your child reaches the grade levels of 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, the events change again.  Field events include the shot put, high jump and running long jump.  Running events are expanded to include the 55-meter hurdles, 800 meter run, 4 X 200 meter and a medley relay race. We plan to continue with the optional 1,600-meter run for kids in grades 4^th-6^th.

Each child receives a colored ribbon for every race they are in. Ribbons are also awarded to the top 8 field event participants.  The K-3 teams are formed primarily by school as much as possible.  The 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade team formation also considers previous year performance of the top 20 kids to ensure more balanced teams, more competitive races and a positive experience for everyone.

The weather in the spring can be anything from beautiful to downright nasty.  As was the case last year, meets may be cancelled or rescheduled if it is too wet and/or too cold.  But we're working on arranging five weekends of great weather so that we won't have to worry about that.

News

We have decided to eliminate the team scoring for the 2^nd and 3^rd graders this year based on how these teams are formed and the events run at these age groups.  We will maintain team scoring for all but the first meets for the 4^th graders and the 5^th/6^th graders.

Scheduling around the many events at the stadium will again be a challenge this year with the high school and lacrosse programs.  The dates for events seem to change with little notice.  This year we will try to keep this web page updated with changes.  We will also continue to email coordinators whenever we are aware of schedule changes.  Feel free to check the high school website calendar also at www.district196.org/ehs.

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