The Normal West girls track team will be starting the outdoor season Friday, April 4th.
With many coaches and one-on-one work, the girls will be a strong opponent this season.
Greg Rogers, has been head coach for two years now at West.
“We have made it a key points to add to our coaching staff, and thankfully our school district was very supportive of that, so we were able to add another paid assistant track coach in both of our girls and our boys programs.
“It really starts with having coaches that can fill each of those event areas that we have. There’s 18 events in track and field and and our outdoor season and so just having enough coaches to be able to work in small groups with our athletes is really important as well as being able to come together for team success,” Rogers stated.
Roger’s love for the sport didn’t just come out of nowhere; he loved to play soccer before he really became in love with track.
“I was a track and field athlete in high school, and I started out in a lot of different sports, and the sport that I focused on before track was soccer and through that, I just found out that I was a better runner than a soccer player,” Rogers expressed.
Rogers was really good in high school as well, so much so, he earned a D1 scholarship from Eastern Illinois. That is also what led him to becoming a high school track and field coach.
“I just found enjoyment out of being part of a team and just helping support my teammates and so through that I decided to be a PE teacher and track Cross Country Coach to I’m just help support student athletes in high school,” Rodgers said.
Going along with Rodgers supporting high school girls, he keeps his girls motivated throughout the season by building culture, and more things.
“I think it starts with building a program culture that allows for our athletes to be invested in building that culture, so how we do that is for some of us, it starts in the offseason, and the seniors lead the pack,” Rodgers added.
The goals for this season are already going great, with a school record being broken by Sophomore Abby Jackson, and doing really well in the indoor big 12 conference, placing 3rd place.
“There’s 11 teams in our conference, and so it’s a yearly goal for us to compete as well as we can and hopefully this year, we can place high in the meet and as well as qualify as many athletes out to the state track and field week as we can,” Rogers expressed.
Being a track athlete is no joke, there is a lot of training in season, and off season as well.
This is how he makes sure they stay intact: “key qualities are to just number one have a love for the sports and a desire to learn new things especially as freshmen coming in just being willing to try out lots of different areas to see what they’re good at and just the ability to be a good teammate as well and support other people,” Rodgers noted.
Jackson, a sophomore runner, just broke the school record in the 400 meter dash.
Abby is a very motivated runner and plans to reach more of her goals throughout her high school career.
“What keeps me motivated is having reasonable, reachable goals that I know I can get to if I stay consistent and focus on one thing at a time” Jackson stated.
Many of Jackson’s team looks up to her and her motivation and passion for the sport.
“Just focus on one race at a time and try not to worry about what’s going to happen next, so that I can run my race to the best of my ability. I also make sure I am doing the right amount of training each week, so that I’m not too burnt out and can have fresh legs for the next meet” Jackson noted.
For training and competition, it all starts in the off season and focusing on the little things each day to continue to beat yourself and other opponents.
Mental toughness plays such a big role in track and field.
“There is a lot of technique that goes into sprinting, jumping, throwing, pole vaulting that takes a lot of mental toughness,” Rogers said.
Through practice and repetition drills that helps fine tune the athletes technique and learning to visualize meet days to prepare mentally.
The Wildcats have been having indoor meets and soon will be outdoors on Friday, April 4th.
Come out to support the Wildcats as they beat their records and place in events.
