Of Interest
Alumni FootNotes
Congrats to Henry Wynne. What a race!!! Watch
Henry at the NCAA 1500M
In
Case You Haven't Seen It
Go to
SI.com/HSathlete. It begins with the phrase "Celebrating exceptional student athletes who are making an impact beyond the scoreboard."
Then continues with marvelous look at Hannah DeBalsi.
Laddie's Hall of Fame Induction
Books About
Running
I saw this list(
http://huff.to/1NUAZMP ) of running books today and thought you might be interested.
I want to add Running With Buffaloes and The Perfect Mile.
Congratulations, Laddie!(12/2014)
This coming June, Laddie will be inducted into National Coaches Hall of Fame at the National High School Athletic Coaches Association annual convention in Rochester, Minnesota.
Updated!
Laddie In
National HoF
In case you missed the announcement earlier this year,
Laddie is being inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches
Association Hall of Fame. Pretty awesome!
Read the Westport News here
Newest Member of Team Lawrence
Congratulations to Katie and Laddie Lawrence on the birth of their grandson, Max!
Katherine, Laddie, Max and Katie
Congratulations to two former Staples runners:
Ingrid Johnson(S'11) and the Johns Hopkins DMR earned 4th place and DIII All American status at DIII Nationals.
- Jack Hennessy(S'10) and his teammates set the BU 4x4 school record at IC4As.
Recognize This Group?
There's always a good showing of current and
former Staples runners at the annual Pequot Thanksgiving Day race. This
year's chilly weather didn't stop this crew.
Just Reading About Running
There are some really great stories in the
world of running and Sunday morning I was reminded of a few.
The first is
Lopez Lemong.
If you don't know his story as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who
relocated to Tully, NY and then became an Olympian, go to his website.
He is an inspiration.
The second is
Lauren Fleshman.
Her
blog's question and answer section is entertaining and informative.
Some great hints like
'Spokes of a Wheel' and 'How
to bounce back from a bad race.'
Finally, I continue my focus, some say obsession, with the renowned
coach, Jack Daniels. Watch/listen to him talk about optimism.
Congratulations,
Coach McCray!
... and ofcourse, the entire McCray family, on the birth of 7 lb 7 oz
Christopher Ashton early on March 12th.
Christopher McCray
I received a wonderful email from Assistant Coach Andrew Lawrence today sharing his good news. In addition to graduating from basic military training at Lackland AFB in Texas on March 1st, Andrew announced his engagement to Danielle.
A few photos from Andrew
In Case You Missed It
-On February 9th, Yale junior Paul Chandler(S '10) vaulted 4.80m (15'9")
-Ben Aldrich(S'11), Emily Hanrahan(S'11) and Olivia Massey(S'09) competed at the Patriot League Championships where Massey won the long jump.
-With the help of Ingrid Johnson and Alex Popkin, the Johns Hopkins indoor teamwon the Centennial Conference.
-Emily Troelsta and Henry Wynne committed to college. Read more
-Hannah DeBalsi has been featured in two recent stories. Read them both ... Athlete of the Month in the Daily Voice and then Fast and Furious in the Westport News
Katherine Lawrence
The very talented Katherine Lawrence, Laddie and Katie's daughter, danced at the Kennedy Center this past weekend. BalletWest on Facebook ...she's the cover photo. And here's another.
Town of Runners is a feature documentary about young runners from Bekoji - an Ethiopian highland town which has produced some of the world's greatest distance athletes...
See more at townofrunners.com
Shotumentary...Who Knew?
A shotput documentary called Throwing Iron.
Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, & University Colorado Men's Cross-Country Team by Lear, Chris
Once a Runner: A Novel by John L. Parker Jr.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete by Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Any suggestions?
Be Seen on the Side of the Road(12.04.12)
there are many products out there for runners to be seen. Check out Road Id , Runner's World suggestions, Road Runner Sports. I am not endorsing any of these products...they are food for thought.
Last Friday and now again this morning, avid track and field fans have sent me this story of the end of men's track and field at the University of Richmond. And now I send it on to all of you. Flotrack calls it a disgrace. You decide. Read more about University of Richmond's decision to end the men's soccer, indoor and outdoor track teams here.
Every so often you can read about a runner's style, plan and training regimen that is contrary to expectations. Yesterday's WSJ article about Bernard Lagat is just that. Open practices, straight forward talk and lots of rest.
Read The Secret to Running: Not Running.
Yep - that's Laddie and his co captains
Laddie forwarded the above photo and a link to an article written by his former co-captain, Creigh Kelley entitled Retro Racing. [Read More]
In a recent email by 1965 Staples grad, Hal Heitzmann 65, he commented on Laddie's long coaching career and keeping up with the team through the website. To help out with the lack of news/coverage prior to 2003, Mr Heitzmann forwarded several newsclippings...they are a must see! 1964 Indoor Article Ι 1964 Outdoor Part 1 Ι 1964 Outdoor Part 2
Sportsmanship
Lisa Marriott was kind enought to send this in to the website.... In case you havent seen this, take a look.
Our Youngest Fan
The newest member of the Staples fan club is Sara Vannucci's son, Brady...
TrackTown12
Check out this list of Olympic hopefuls on one of my favorite new sites, TrackTown12.
Entertaining interviews on FLOTRACK(4.29.12)
While I'm sure you have more important things to be doing(like homework), here are a few interviews worth watching:
Galen Rupp on mental focus
Jason Richardson on being a track and field athlete
There's many more on Flotrack.org.
Pole Vault Moving(04.03.12)
The pole vault is moving back indoors. See below.
Pole Vault and Track report
Learn more about our pit & the rules
The pit on the move...
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Dana is a trainer, nutritionist and all around great resource for athletes and parents.
Dana White Nutrition Check out the resources page on Dana's website.
Varsity Parenting A varitey of topics regarding high school athletes.
Healthy Eats Interesting recipes for healthier food
The CIAC and PlayOn! Sports jointly announced the launch of the CIAC Network covering Connecticut High School sports. Read more from CAS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff Update: I heard from David Rudolf, CEO of Play On! Sports, that they have plans to cover the outdoor season this spring.
Sometimes athletes don't want to compete until they're in shape, faster or stronger. Or maybe they're waiting to feel not stressed by school, family or friends. This is when they should be competing, to see what the result will be. To see, knowing all the circumstances of high school life, just how close the athlete can come to their full potential on that given day. Whether they are a seasoned record holder or new to track and field, no one expects the first event in December to be as good as their final event of the season. The process starts with stepping up, putting a toe on the line and competing. (Many of you had heard me say this a zillion times. This is just the opinion of the webmaster and our coaches cannot be held responsible for my ramblings!)
An interesting article on running style, heel strike, training shoes and Emil Zatopek, read NYTimes, The Once and Future Runner.
Our runners hear this from our coaches...but as parents you may be interested in Learning To Run When Uncomfortable(this is not about running with an injury!)
It's true! This should be motivation to get off my couch...100 year old, Fauja Singh, finished the Toronto marathon in just over 8 hours, setting a record for the first person over 100 to do so. In case you're wondering, he also set the 90+ record in 2003, running 5:40:01. More
Thirsty Thursdays with Jack Daniels on Flotrack is always interesting. Coach Daniels wrapped up his 7th season with his interview yesterday. If you haven't seen these, he covers everything from confidence, nerves, workout recovery, etc. For those of you who think you just go out and run, watch the purpose of a workout(you'll learn the difference between intervals, tempo runs and threshhold runs.)
Paul McNulty and Laddie, the lead off and anchor legs of the record holding 4x200 team, at the Scholar Athlete Banquet.
In this week's NY Times Science Section, there was an article about the pain versus fatigue during exercise(and specifically running) Read More
The most acclaimed running film of the decade, Spirit of the Marathon, is showing at the Community Theatre in Fairfield
for one night only,
I know I keep putting stories about my old home town on here. Read More...
It's worth it...Check out the Flotrack series featuring Coach Jack Daniels. Hear his talks about
pre-race nerves,
being an optimist,
getting confidence back,
the science of a workout,
on happy runners,
about learning from mistakes and much more. The entire series is on Flotrack.
A Trackie Wedding...
On July 3rd, track stand outs Allie Parkhurst and Will Caffery were married on the grounds at West Point. Along with their bridesmaids and groomsmen, there were five Staples record holders in the wedding party!
Every so often there's a story that has to be shared. This is one of them. Read it.
Irv Black, long time coach at New Britain High School & President of Northeast Sports Timing, passed away on July 14th after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Here is what Laddie had to say about him...
"Without a doubt Irv loved our sport. There in no one individual in Connecticut who has done more for the advancement of track and field than Irv. Although at times Irv may have seemed to be a gruff and ornery individual, he always had the welfare and interest of the athletes in his heart. He was an honest, hardworking and dedicated man whose loyalty to track and field is beyond question. He was a man of integrity who readily accepted the responsibility of improving our sport at every opportunity. As a pioneer of electronic sports timing at the high school level Irv revolutionized the preciseness and accuracy of our sport to a point which is now common place throughout the world. Through the years he has remained steadfast in his belief that the high school track and field athletes of Connecticut deserve the best coaching, officials and facilities that we can provide for them. I treasure his expertise, dedication and passion for our sport. More importantly, I treasure our friendship."
The Staples running community mourns the death of Charles Lucas,
a great supporter of all things running and a kind gentleman.
Our condolences go out to Katie, Charlie and all of his family.
I came across these articles again recently and was reminded about this training philosophy...from the coach's perspective and from the athlete's perspective. I am slightly jaded..in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that we lived in Bronxville for ten years before moving to Westport.
Added 12/1/09 - Recently a parent sent a suggestion to me for a great gift for runners...see www.roadid.com
Added 11/09 - I read an article about the mental aspects of racing and thought this might be of interest. More on this...