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THE BATTALION Page 11
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1977
1
es in the Cot.
t Worth nitl
^'ing against
Tommy Lewis, David Reyna and Justin Meads (left to right
in foreground) practice running sprints at Kyle Field. They
tiare just three of nearly 300 youngsters participating in the
College Station Junior Olympics, a summer track program
sponsored by the city’s Recreation Council and the A&M
Consolidated Community Education program. Consol Head
Track Coach James Giese teaches the program which is now
in its tenth year. The youngsters range in age from six- to
13-years-old. Steven Bottsford is the high jumper (above
right), seen barely ticking the bar off its placement during
one effort. Occasionally, the team competes in local meets.
Many of the youngsters continue running track throughout
high school and college.
Battalion photos by Steve Goble
deo Club re]
from the
leo held
reek.
d to the final]
ub presideil
ssed disap-
-*rall nerfor-
d be so young. . .
Nearly 300 youngsters join Junior Olympics
d do better,'ll By PAUL MCGRATH
Battalion Sports Editor
John Ande[.i oac W ames Giese, stopwatch in
ary roundu V gestures a trio of girls forward
iled to plait n imaginary starting line.
hkay, girls,” he says, “last time
y Zwersdilt ^ 1 ; 50- This time let’s do 1.40."
nd roun j ( j he girls toe the invisible mark
tantly.
leady, set, goooo!’
le girls begin their strides, con-
irating on setting a pace and
ingback the tantalizing urges of
;h to run as fast as one can. To do
a third
ound of sail
so, means a loss of needed energy
down the backstretch and will gain
nothing but a glowering condemna
tion from Giese.
As they head towards the finish,
Giese waves the stopwatch in front of
them as if to tempt them, shouting
encouragement whenever possible
and criticism whenever necessary.
“One forty-one, one forty-two,”
he calls out as the girls sprint past
him. “Real good, girls. Now go sit
down until it’s time to run your sec
ond quarter.”
Giese, Head Track Coach at A&rM
Consolidated High School, is in
charge of the Junior Olympics sum
mer track program for area young
sters. The program is sponsored by
the College Station Recreation
Council and the A&M Consolidated
Community Education organiza
tion.
There are nearly 300 youngsters
involved with the program this
summer, Giese said, a program
which has expanded every year since
it was started 10 years ago.
fur-
Coach James Giese (above left) signals (left Anding, Karen Tatum and Missy Griensbeck
to right) Elizabeth Earle, Amy Basco, Kathy to begin their practice quartermile run.
Giese makes sure every youngster
who participates receives a T-shirt
with "College Station Track” let
tered on the front. He had to order
21 dozen this summer and will soon
order another two dozen.
The youngsters are divided into
three age groups: bantams, ages
eight and nine; midgets, ages 10 and
11; and juniors, ages 12 and 13.
There are several six- and seven-year
olds who compete in the lower age
bracket, however. Both girls and
hoys participate, working out twice a
day on Texas A&M University’s Kyle
Field. The morning workout is usu
ally for distance running while the
evening session includes speed
drills.
From time to time, the youngsters
compete as a team against neighbor
ing programs. They went against
Brenham two weeks ago and were
supposed to host Alief Monday, hut
the Alief team never showed up.
Alief s failure to appear was disap
pointment to Giese’s proteges as he
had built some adrenalin inside
them. Alief has one of the finest track
programs in the state and Giese
made sure to inform his team of this
fact.
“I told them all about how Alief
was going to come in with their club
uniforms and how they travelled all
over the country to compete” Giese
said. “The kids were real pumped up
to run against them.”
Giese was also unhappy that Alief
did not arrive as he seems to in
tensely want to defeat them. There
appears to be a clash of coaching
philosphies between his methods
and those of Alief.
He said Alief only competes
youngsters who will earn points in a
meet. Giese says he can’t do that, he
wants to give every youngster an
equal chance.
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“They (Alief) can spend year after
year with one high jumper, ” he said.
“Some of our kids have never high
jumped before. Some of them run at
it, jump on it, or throw themselves
over.
Yet, Giese does his best to help
each of the youngsters, a trait which
has not gone unnoticed by the
youngsters themselves.
“He’s a great coach. He really
knows what he is doing,’ Tanya
Feltz, 13, said.
“He’s a great inspirer. He really
helps you a whole lot,” Jennifer Ar
nold, also 13, added.
Twelve-year-old Ken Patranella
included another perspective of
Giese’s character.
“He doesn’t yell at you like all of
the other coaches,” he said.
The youngsters enjoy the program
for a variety of reasons.
“I really like running,” 11-year-
old aspiring distance man Peter
Glenn said. “I’ll nan as long as I live.
"I’ve made a lot of new friends and
I like it a lot,” Jennifer said.
“It gives you something to do in
the morning besides sitting around
the house and picking fights. Bill
Merka, 11, figured.
Merka claimed there were some
fringe benefits.
“It helps you get girls.”
How?
“That’s something that I can’t ex
plain. ”
While on the subject of girls, 11-
year-old Tommy Lewis seemed a bit
critical of his female teammates.
“They slow us down.
The youngsters apparently enjoy
running above the field events, often
saying the field events were too dif
ficult.
“I like running better,” Kyle Pat
ranella, 11, said, mocking the grunt
and form of a shot putter.
The youngsters, some who have
participated in the program for four
years or more, are determined com
petitors, but realize that winning is
not emphasized.
“We probably won’t win but five
events next week,” Giese said of the
team’s upcoming meet in Houston.
“If I was to just carry my winners
(those he expects to do well) I could
take them all in my Volkswagen. But
that’s not my way. ”
“The most important thing is to
want to try as hard as you can,”
Tanya said. “Winning is also impor
tant, as a group as well as an indi
vidual. ”
However, the ribbons or medals
won are held as preciously as any
treasure. Young eyes always
brighten when effort is rewarded.
1
jag > | ^
Wendy Mann clutches a ribbon to her chest after winning
her event. Victory is evident on her face.
1KEARTEU.
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