Written by Eli Mattingly – Journalism Staff Reporter
Allatoona is no stranger to excellent athletic teams, ranging anywhere from football to golf. But perhaps one of the most unique and diverse teams this wonderful school has to offer is the Track and Field team, a team which I am fortunate enough to be part of. The Track and Field team is as diverse as it is because it does not just focus on a single event or type of sport. Most people think Track and Field is only running events; however, it offers various different events anyone may be well suited for, like the pole vault, throwing shot put or disk, or the hurdle events. The team is also massive, with hundreds of athletes training and conditioning every day to be as good as they can be at their various events. A team on this scale needs to be highlighted, as the coaches and athletes are some of the hardest and most consistent workers Allatoona has to offer.
Track tryouts are incredibly unique as no one is cut. If you try out and are dedicated, you will make it on the team. After you have made the commitment, general conditioning begins. Before it is decided what events you will specifically train for, the season begins with general speed, explosion, and endurance training, as well as various stretches to ensure no injuries occur. As the season continues, however, coaches begin to evaluate the athletes to determine what event they would be best suited for. If you have incredible endurance, they may recommend the 400; if you are more inclined to just a quick burst, they may recommend the 100-meter dash; or if you are a massive creature that despises running in all forms as I did, they will probably recommend that you become a thrower. It is quite possibly the least discriminatory team Allatoona has to offer, with options and events for any kind of athlete.
Once it is decided what event would best suit your abilities, practices begin to take a shift. If you do purely running events, you will stay with the main group on the track to condition. But if you have decided to do a more specific event like the pole vault or throwing, you will split off from the main group to focus on your main event, especially if you are a thrower, as it takes radically different conditioning to become exceptional with the forms. The Allatoona Track and Field team is one of the few fully staffed programs in Georgia, meaning there will always be a coach to help correct or guide you in fixing small mistakes. Each coach is trained to instruct their individual event and evaluated to see if they would fit best coaching that event. Due to this, the coaches can push athletes to achieve things they never thought possible.
As the season continues, we eventually have our first actual competition, a track meet. Meets are both extremely exhilarating and humbling at the same time. You quickly learn that you can never go into a meet with the intent to win your event, as with the number of athletes competing, odds are there is always going to be someone a little faster and stronger than you. Comparing yourself to your competitors is almost always the wrong approach when competing. So, meets end up teaching you to instead focus on competing with your greatest rival, yourself. You learn to focus on competing with how well you performed at the previous meet and striving to do everything you can to beat your previous mark. And once you do, especially if it is by a wide margin, the feeling is simply exhilarating. Just finishing and realizing you have beaten your previous best as your teammates cheer and shout for you is a feeling that truly cannot be captured anywhere else.
Allatoona’s Track and Field team is one of the most expansive and complex teams that the school has to offer. It offers such immense variety that no other sport can even come close to. No matter what kind of athlete you are, Track and Field has something to offer you. I cannot help but recommend trying out for track. Not only is it incredible to compete and improve, but the community formed from both the whole team and the individual groups is equally remarkable. Competing and training with various colleges is a highlight of my high school career. If this article has intrigued you to try Track and Field in some way, I urge you to do so. No matter how it may turn out, I doubt you will regret it.
