[Much of what is said in the Introduction below is copied from an earlier year's introduction to the sport for newcomers and parents and there is little reason to "recreate the wheel!"]
Back in the Dark Ages, in the 1960's and 1970's, when Winter or Indoor Track was first envisioned by coaches here in South Jersey, the programs were designed largely for really tough athletes who wanted to excel in the Spring!! Many of the local meets were so-called "Polar Bear Meets," held outdoors when coaches thought having young people running around wearing shorts and singlets in freezing temperatures was good for their physical and personal development! In addition, other meets were held indoors although these facilities were badly designed for racing! They fashioned flat "tracks" of irregular lengths or set-up shaky banked wooden tracks in gymnasiums or "armories" generally untouched since World War II! At several places back in the 70's and 80's, the sprint track ended through garage doors into a parking lot! Yes, sprinters did 40 or 50 yard dashes and finished out in the parking lot where, on snowy or icy days, coaches caught them before they fell! At one major city Armory, before it was renovated, homeless people lived in the stairways and often urinated "close to home." And everyone who ever participated in Indoor Track back in the 70's and 80's will remember the pungent odor of "Atomic Balm" until the day they die! Today, the indoor facilities are much improved: the Toms River "Bubble" is tight but fairly comfortable, the renovated New York City Armory is used by both college and professional teams; and the Ocean Breeze facility on Staten Island is absolutely magnificent! If only someone could work on those long bus rides! (For more details, ask Coach Shaklee and former Marlton Rec Coach Shea what it was like "to be manly-men when they were just boys!")
Those early programs were designed as preparation for the Spring Season (and as a way to sidestep NJSIAA rules about coaching athletes out of season). Coaches concentrated on foundation and strength training for distance athletes, and skills training and conditioning for the sprinters, jumpers and throwers. That concentration continues today, although the team participates in a number of meets at decent indoor facilities (including the Throws Meets at Cherokee High School) for both experience and a change of pace.
Last winter, the season began with cold temperatures and gusting winds, with some snow thrown in before Winter Break, but that seems different this year as the average temperatures in South Jersey in early December have been about normal, around the mid-40s! Typically, Cherokee's athletes are unfazed: they'll ignore the elements and train outdoors looking forward to indoor opportunities to show their improvement! GO CHIEFS!
On December 7th, 2023, Haddonfield High School invited local schools for an unofficial "Scrimmage" . . . South Jersey's "lid-lifter" of the season, if you will! The meet was designed for the "experienced but rusty," the "brand new," and distance guys getting into their training groove after a "long" break between Cross Country and Winter Track! Most teams brought only a few athletes to compete/practice. It was "chilly" at 37 degrees but still an excellent opportunity for both the experienced and newbies to get their track spikes "hot!"
Wishful athletes bus blissfully to outdoor meets with dreams of PR's dancing in their heads but, after about 10 minutes at the site, where it might be in the 30's as it was yesterday, they start having "chill-mares." (Look it up.) Pack light, extra layers of clothing, a cap, gloves, or better, old socks that allow you to close your fingers inside. Old socks have the additional advantages of being inexpensive and easy to discard, AND a convenient place to wipe the snot from your face! Plan to compete in a long-sleeved shirt under your uniform top and long poly training pants, not a traditional and heavy sweat suit. Cherokee's nylon suit is good for meet day warm-ups but not as practical or comfortable as your own warm-ups but see for yourself. Save the cotton sweatshirt for warm-up and cool-down and hanging out afterwards. It's not a fashion show: buy cheap, sturdy stuff at places like Walmart! Hydrate, pre- and post- race, even on a cold day when you don't feel very thirsty! Finally, check out the senior runners, some often combine experience with common sense and are very helpful! ; < )
Head Coach Hoffman (Field), Assistant Coach Viscidy (Sprints/Hurdles) and Volunteer Assistant Coach Shaklee (Distance) took groups to this meet and our photographer made an appearance near the finish line to capture some of the guys in action! Not all the guys, mind you, because not all were near the finish line and not all of the guys wore something with school colors so he could identify them! Ho-hum.
An additional buzz arose when the Meet Director announced a possible mile race between Dennis' Mom and Senior Matteo Evola! Unfortunately, the NJSIAA official at the scene ruled that it would be unfair for a well-experienced and accomplished adult to race against a high-school athlete, a child! One beautiful young woman at the meet argued, "Look at that guy! . . . He's got "guns" like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger! . . . Let him race!" But the official stood fast mumbling something like . . . "guns? . . . derringers, maybe" . . . and walked off!
Volunteer Assistant Coach Shaklee agreed that this wasn't a formal "meet" but reported on his guy's performances anyway:
"The distance squad used this meet as a chance to do a little speed work - everyone ran the 800 and come back in a 4 X 400. Haddonfield held out most their top runners so the competition up front consisted mostly of Cherokee runners.
"In the seeded heat of the 800, Bobby Poplau, Liam Tindall, Ben Realley, Andrew Free and Tate Midora took places 1-2-3-5-7 with Liam establishing a new personal record in the process! Matteo Evola, running a controlled pace in his first "race" back from injury, took 10th while Silas Matteson, Liam Daimler and Anthony DiBattista swept 13th through 15th!
"In heat 2, Sean Sooy, Myron Paes and Leo Vyvyan went 2-3-5 behind the winning effort of fellow teammate (from the sprint group) Carter Rutter.
"On the first leg of the 4 X 400 Relay, Freshman Ben Realley showed a nice turn of speed as he handed off in first with a pretty fast time for an outdoor meet in December! However, the team of Tate Midora, Liam Tindall, Matteo Evola and Bobby Poplau ran away over the last three legs to win the event by a wide margin!"
Our photographer was there and took a number of pictures, some of which he selected for posting here because his first impression was, maybe not magical, but quality, charm, humor, etc. Read Ben R's mind and his wish for another pair of socks for his hands; does Bobby look lonely on the track?; who is Sam's nearby friend; imagine Anthony in a green suit with Santa? These and others on the District's Google site and you can see if there's one you especially like! No? . . . maybe next time?!
On December 7th, 2023, frustrated by the NJSIAA Official's decision not to allow Dennis' Mom race at the Haddonfield scrimmage, she went over to Gold's Gym, her favorite weight-training facility, and worked on her "guns." She knows this excessive arm exercise is NOT recommended for distance runners but she was just showing off!
On December 15th, 2023, a group from the Boys Track and Field Team traveled to The Bennett Indoor Athletic Center for the Olympic Conference # 1, 2024 and many did well for their first meet of the season!
Details at: NJ.MileSplit. The meet itself was a decent size and not mobbed as it is so often throughout the winter. It gave room for beginners and experienced, sprinters and distance runners alike, to compete in Relay and Open events on the Track. Off the Track, High Jump and the Shot Put opportunities were provided for the athletes.
Frequently, the coaches will report here on their athletes' successes but, sometimes, that is left to our editor! Without doubt, the distance guys in the Open 1600 deserve the greatest recognition! Liam Tindall crushed the opposition and his PR, taking 1st with a nice time of 4:27.00; Ben Realley closed (another PR!) behind him in 2nd after a furious battle with C.H. East's #1 man; and Andrew Free took a close 4th, a hare's breath off his PR! Two other distance relays competed as well: 2 X 4 X 800m Relay. The fastest was in the Seeded heat and finished 4th/12 overall in 9:27.82, while the second team was in the 2nd Heat, finishing 8th/12 overall, and clocking 10:08.55. (Names later.)
Sprinters Jack Couture and Carlo Brown set Indoor PR's in the Open 400m, with Jack taking 2nd/32 overall in the Seeded Heat at 55:36 and Carlo in the second heat at 57:00, 4th/32 overall! The 4 X 200m Relay (names later) took 9th/19 overall in 1:57.67; and the Sprint Medley Relay (names later) took 9th/10th overall in 4:37.93.
High Jumper Sam Green looked his usual masterful self in the High Jump but stalled at 6', enough to easily win the event but far below what he is capable of! It is, however, his first meet of the season and we all look forward to him challenging the PR's of many of Cherokee's champions in the near future! In the Pole Vault, the Horwath twins, Tobin (8' 0") and Shamus, (7' 6") got a chance to try out the event and we'll see what they do in the future!
Finally, two putters threw PR's in the Shot Put! Shane Sloan cleared 40' for the first time, squeaking by with a 40' 04" throw and taking 5th/30 overall! Thrower Fransisco Sandoval threw 37' 11", his own PR, taking 5th/30 overall!
Our photographer was there and, despite the annoying photo-destroying-darkness of the place, took a bunch of pictures, did a quick save on some of them and sent the rest to the Photographer's Digital Hell. A sampling (in lower resolution) is provided here while they and the rest are posted on our (higher resolution) Google site. Apologies to those who know what a real picture should look like, and special apologies to our Putters, Vaulters, and Sprint Med team whom he missed for a variety of reasons.
On December 15th, 2023, a small group of boys, mostly members of the Field Team and several Sprinters, traveled to The Bennett Indoor Athletic Center for the SJTCA Winter Meet # 3.
Only one Relay team is reported on the official results: the 4 X 200m Relay which clocked 1:45.54 and finished 23rd/28 teams overall. No names are recorded but the Sprint coach may provide those names soon.
In the Field (jumps), Sam Green matched his best from last week in the High Jump when he cleared 6' 0" and took 4th/22 overall. The brothers Horwath, Tobin and Shamus competed in the Pole Vault where Tobin cleared 8' 06" (a 6" improvement over last week) and finished 14th/23 overall, and Shamus cleared 7' 00" and finished 23rd/23 overall, matching last week's jump.
Among the Throwers, the Shot Put was especially busy. Anthony Maszlanka put his Shot 33' 07.75" (a PR improvement of a few inches) and finished 32nd/84; Brody Ludman followed in 37th/84 overall with a put of 33' 02"; Jordan Stone followed in 67th/84 with a put of 25' 03.25" (another improvement of a couple of inches); and Max Stone followed in 76th/84 overall with a put of 21" 11/50", his 1st PR!
Our photographer was unavailable but he copied some of Cherokee's friend, Mae Kellert's, work on the 4 X 200m Relay from the MileSplit website. There are no Shot Put pics because they throw in another building!
On December 21st, 2023, after school, several coaches held their practices on the school's track and our photographer happened to be passing by. He didn't have his cameras but he decided to try his trusty iPhone! Here are a few examples of what he caught and, as usual, these and others are posted on our Google site.
Afterwards, Coach Shaklee spoke highly of those who "bought into the program and ran the practice - both back in the neighborhood hills and on the track - very well! It's nice for them to go home afterwards knowing they did something well!"
On December 24th, 2023, our photographer received a picture (from Mrs. Tindall) of a number of distance guys doing Part II of their day's Threshold assignment in the evening of the 23rd. They clearly "bought in" and Coach Shaklee appreciated it: "I love these guys!"
Ten years ago or so, Dan Brown published a best-selling non-fiction book, The Boys in the Boat and our photographer liked it so much he gave copies to a number of Cherokee's cross country runners, thinking, among other things, they would see a lot of themselves and their sport in the book.
The book is now coming out in film and he believes a film will never capture the depth of the book, so he has an offer to make. He knows not all teenegers are avid readers but, if you would like to read the book, let him know and he'll buy it for you! Contact Coach Shaklee directly or our photographer's email address -- RunningWorksPics@aol.com -- and you'll get it straight away!
Enjoy!
On December 28, 2023, our webmaster received an unusual satellite message from a snowy location in the far west, possible Utah! Bobby Poplau's extraordinary "All-Things Track and Cross Country Device" with satellite wrist watch and finger warmer; altitude, location and radar detector; North Pole submarine and earthquake sensor; GPS; wilderness Salmon finder and baker; golf laser range finder; avalanche sensor; and apparently a variety of other devices, automatically sent a picture of Bobby immediately as he disappeared into a snow drift. Incredible! At least his legs were elevated so he didn't wreck them for another winter season! Now someone call his mother!
On December 29, 2023, our tech wizard accessed the security cameras on the slopes at several well-known ski resorts in the West and finally identified multi-sport athlete, Bobby Poplau, challenging a Bunny slope on his snowboard at Park City, Utah! Apparently, he had some trouble in the beginning and never actually rode his board downhill but at least this will insure he doesn't injure himself and miss another Winter season! GO SLOWLY BOBBY! Now, someone call his father!
