The Liberty Christian boys and girls track and field team will be focusing on growth in its first season within the program.
“I really want the kids to learn and enjoy what they’re …
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The Liberty Christian boys and girls track and field team will be focusing on growth in its first season within the program.
“I really want the kids to learn and enjoy what they’re doing, enjoy being out here on days like this and really glorify God with their efforts,” Coach Doug Smith said. “We’re going to try to glorify God with everything we do, try our hardest and have fun.”
Smith started the program after he joined the Liberty Christian staff earlier this year as the head administrator. After having coached track for about 15 years, and having a daughter that competes in the sport collegiately, Smith brought the idea to start the program to Athletic Director Butch Clark.
“When you start something from scratch, it’s starting from scratch. The biggest thing is we show improvement every meet,” Smith said.
Smith is grateful for the support of his assistant coaches, Scott Townsend and Dana Buche, as well as the access to Wright City High School’s track and equipment.
The team is mostly composed of middle schoolers, with about 12 athletes expected to compete in high school meets. Smith added the team does not have any seniors and is a very young team.
Smith added he has no experienced runners but they are eager to learn.
“The first day we were out here, we had to walk the track and figure out where everything was and what things were,” Smith said. “It’s a blank slate but it’s fun. We’ve got some kids who are working hard.”
Junior Zach Goddard decided to join the team to stay in shape for soccer.He plans to participate in the throwing, relay and jumping events. He expressed some nerves about competing in his first meet, but is driven to do the best he
can.
“It’s been going good so far,” Goddard said. “I would say my body’s getting more used to it and I can run for a longer amount of time.”
In their first two weeks of practice, the Eagles focused on conditioning and learning the basic techniques and fundamentals of track and field. Smith said he’s already seeing signs of progress.
“The first time I tried to teach these kids a triple jump, you would have thought it was like a big comedy of efforts, I mean there was no concept of it,” Smith said. “Now, we’ve got some kids who are already going pretty far and who are doing a good job.”
The Eagles are slated to begin the season March 27 at Bowling Green.
