START SOMETHING Coach Ed Dear Coach Ed, My name is Cody. I am a student in Minnesota. I am a participant in the program "Start Something". It is sponsored by Tiger Woods, and the Target Stores nation wide. I came across your Web site at a neighbor's house. I am wanting to start a track and field program this summer in my community for the youth. I am 14 years old and not sure how to make my dream of starting something become a reality for me and all the youth that my tow has has. I know I am on the right track as far as research goes. I have a presentation to give at the city board meeting. I am trying to convince my community board people that a track team would be a good benefit for a summer program for their youth. I was wondering if it could be possible for you or anyone from your organization to come to my presentation and help me present my proposal to the city board. Or if you are not able to make it, you could write a letter of recognition to my idea. Thank you for your attention on my request. Thanks for your help, Esther Dear Cody, Congratulations on wanting to "Start Something". I had the same vision of a youth track team in 1996 but I was 46 not 14. You can do this! I have a 100 member team and some of my assistant coaches are 14 and 15 years old. Feel free to use my reply to your letter in any way you can. I'll try to touch on some basic ideas that will help convince the city board how youth track & field will benefit the community. Youth track & field generally refers to athletes between 7 & 14 years old. So I will go on the assumption that is age group of the kids in the program you want to start. Everyone can compete in track & field. There are no bench sitters. Some kids that are naturally small and light sometimes make good distance runners. Kids that are strong and muscular tend to like the sprints. For the powerful kids that are not fast runners they can compete well in the shot put and javelin. There is a place for every kid in track and field. The best part is this is all fun stuff. What can be more fun for a kid than running, jumping, and throwing? It is what kids do best. As a coach I teach the basics of track and field to kids but kids learn skills and values that will last them a lifetime. They gain confidence by getting better as they practice and compete because they become more fit. These young athletes learn to develop a work ethic that will stay with them the rest of their lives. That ethic being the more effort you put into something the greater the rewards. When kids compete in track and field on a team they not only compete with other teams, they compete against their own teammates. This promotes respect for each other which sometimes is not present in other team sports. Some practical aspects are that by the time an athlete reaches high school they already know the fundamentals of the sport. They know how to train and they know what is expected of them by the coaches. Youth track & field is like a farm team for the high schools. The young people will also gain a great respect for a fit and healthy lifestyle. They will learn how to get in shape and how to stay in shape. Before you close your presentation go back to the point that there is a place on a track and field team for everyone regardless of experience, size, shape, or background. Track and Field is for everyone. Good luck, Coach Ed Ed Poirier, "Coach Ed", recently was invited by the United States Olympic committee to attend a workshop and training seminar at the Olympic training center in California. Feel free to email the kid's editor at goodrow@infi.net with comments on this column.