The future of track and field: 192 youth athletes compete in four-day summer camp
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Over 190 future high school track stars assembled at Steamboat Springs High School’s Gardner Field this week for a youth track and field camp hosted by the high school’s track and field athletes and their coach Lisa Renee Tumminello.
The four-day camp ran Monday-Thursday and gave young athletes an opportunity to run, jump and throw while working with older students who were in their shoes not too long ago.
Participants ranged from kindergarten students all the way to eighth grade, and each group had the chance to take on high jumping, hurdling, long jumping, sprinting and modified throwing events.
This was the eighth year of the camp, and Tumminello said it has grown in popularity each year.
“What really changed the trajectory was getting the high schoolers involved in being the coaches,” Tumminello said. “Some of them have siblings here and some of them took work off all week long to be here.”
The first three days of camp consisted of working in stations and learning the basics of each event within the scope of track and field.
The high schoolers were there to mentor the younger athletes and offer advice to some of the more experienced competitors like rising eighth-graders Carson Dressendorfer and Jordanelle Neeley.
“The high school input really helped,” Neeley said. “For athletes who are already doing track and field, it is really motivating and helpful to get someone that is older and does the same thing as you. It’s great preparation for high school.”
Learning and working in a low-stakes, comfortable environment made everything much easier for the girls to absorb the knowledge.
“There are coaches from the high school that did certain events and specialized in jumps for example and they helped us and gave us tips on what they would do,” Dressendorfer said.
One of those coaches was recent Steamboat Springs graduate Trevor Harms, who said he was surprised by the maturity of his students this year. It has been a blast for Harms to see his athletes get stronger and faster over the years and incorporate what he teaches into their workout.
-
Young Steamboat Springs athletes worked on resistance and agility training at a station during a youth track and field camp at Gardner Field on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
Several middle school boys trained at a youth track and field camp to gain experience in the sport and potentially join the high school team in a few years. The camp ran from Monday, June 5, to Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
Older middle school runners learned how to push off blocks to start a relay during a youth track and field camp at the Gardner Field track on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
-
A young Steamboat athlete takes off as the first leg of a 4×100 meter relay during a youth track and field camp on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Gardner Field.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
A young runner closes out a 4×100 meter relay as the anchor to win the race for his team during a youth track and field camp at Gardner Field on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
On top of learning track events and throwing events, youth athletes had a chance to try pole vaulting during a track and field camp at Gardner Field on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
Two 4×100 meter relay anchors race side-by-side to finish the run for their teams during a youth track camp on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Gardner Field.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
Youth athletes experience jumping short hurdles during a track and field camp on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Gardner Field.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
The youth track camp gave young athletes an opportunity to try a plethora of events including a modified version of discus on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
A runner takes her mark to start a 4×100 meter relay during a youth track and field camp on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at Gardner Field.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
-
A young runner sprints down the outside lane of the track at Gardner Field to close out a 4×100 meter relay race during a youth track and field camp on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Harms was primarily a distance runner for the Sailors but took on triple jump over the last couple years. He said triple jump became a favorite within his group and seeing the students pick up a challenging event so quickly was very rewarding.
“I decided to teach these guys triple, which most groups did not do because it is kind of a pain,” Harms said. “They all got it really quick and when we went over to the jump pits today, most groups did long jump, but they wanted to triple jump. Some of them were jumping really far and it was cool to see that.”
As in any sport, track and field is experiential. According to Tumminello, when students get to try new sports, they learn what they can do with it and where they can take it.
A major driving factor of this camp was to show young athletes each aspect of track and field events and there is a whole lot more to it than just running.
“One of the reasons I believe track and field is one of the best sports is because there are so many different sports within the sport of track and field,” Tumminello said. “It is OK if you don’t want to run. You can throw or you can jump.”
To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.