With an inexperienced team this year, Warrenton track and field coaches John Jeskey and Mark Thomas are focusing on the athletes’ progress this season.
Warrenton has a lot of freshmen and …
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With an inexperienced team this year, Warrenton track and field coaches John Jeskey and Mark Thomas are focusing on the athletes’ progress this season.
Warrenton has a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the team this year, Jeskey said. They have many track athletes with no varsity experience. Jeskey added the team’s numbers are low this season. Both coaches agreed part of the reason for the low numbers was the season cancellation a couple seasons ago.
“That would have been this year’s seniors,” Thomas said. “So a lot of kids never came back after they lost that season. Now it’s just trying to get people to come back out and participate.”
The Warriors had their first meet of the season against Montgomery County Tuesday. As of last week, the coaching staff was still going through the process of determining which events the athletes would participate in.
“We don’t even know what kids are able to do yet and then what they want to do,” Thomas said last week. “So we’re going to sit down and try to figure out what they’re good at. Use this meet basically as that. To get times on them for certain things. See where people fit better. And with a young group, the main goal is just to try and get that kid to improve each time we go out competing on the track.”
The focus is on improving the individual athletes’ personal records, he added.
Jeskey noted they have more throwers on this year’s team than last year. However, almost all of the throwers are new to the team this season. They do have more sprinters than throwers, which is expected, Jeskey said. He added they have a healthier balance between runners and throwers this year than in past years.
Both coaches agreed new track and field athletes will have to adjust to how track and field meets work. This includes getting used to the time schedules and where to be during the meet, Thomas said.
“You have to learn how a meet operates,” Jeskey said. “Learn where you need to be and when you need to be there.”
Multiple athletes participated in winter sports, which Thomas believes is beneficial. They are already in shape, he said.
“We just need to get them back in the mindset of running track,” Thomas said.
