As a new Stoughton High School track season begins, the latest additions of coaches and new routines bring new energy and hope to the team. As athletes lace up their spikes and step onto the track, they are filled with determination. It’s a fresh start, a chance to push their limits and leave behind any doubts.
The SHS boys Head Coach, Jason Becker, is gearing up for his second year as a head coach. With one year under his belt, Becker builds up from previous experiences and takes the team to new heights.
“With last year being the first year as head coach, I used it as an opportunity to observe the things that we were doing. One of the things that I have noticed is that most athletes were peaking early in the track season, or they are getting injured a lot,” Becker said. “I explored ways to try to build better track athletes within our program; one of such is to take more rest days and change training methods.”
Issues like injuries always come and go, but dealing with them constantly and noticing that they are happening to most athletes is when it causes problems.
This year’s new mindset for sprinters has changed. The mindset called “Feed the Cats” was created by a coach in Illinois named Tony Haller. The idea is that you’re training at full speed for a short time and always rest after intense training.
“We are seeing that it pays dividends. Our relay team scored points for us in our first outdoor meet on April 9th,” Becker said. “We won the 800-meter dash and took third for the 400-meter. Something that we always talked about as a team is winning a conference championship on the boys’ side.”
The last time the boys won a conference in Stoughton was in 1981. Becker is trying new things, especially with the boys, since girls track has always had more consistent success.
“Over the last ten years, we have had numerous female athletes that seem to be competing at a college level. We are always sending multiple female athletes to state and do those things that we haven’t done on the boy’s side,” Becker said.
This year, the conference and regionals are being hosted here at Stoughton. This brings huge advantages for athletes as they are in front of their families and community, ready to cheer them on.
With encouragement from many coaches and practice changes, they will likely find the balance they need. Pushing themselves to improve and taking care of their body is crucial, as well as coaches being there for any challenge that arises.
The SHS Girls Head Coach, Bailee Eggers, is making her debut as this year’s head coach, having previously served as an assistant coach.
“In past years, the boys met before practice, and they did their warm-up, and they left and let the girls do their warmup,” Eggers said. “A big thing that coach Becker and I wanted to do was kind of make the program more united rather than have two separate teams.”
Even though track and field is mostly an individual sport, it is still important to maintain team bonding, especially for those new to the program.
“Seeing the kids grow throughout the year is rewarding as a coach,” Eggers said. “We have kids who have never done track before, and then seeing their improvement just makes my job much more exciting. Just because they’re proving to themselves that they can do something that might be challenging for them.”
Training is a big part of the track; it is the only way an athlete can improve, and when not training properly is where there is lack of preparation for the meets. It also causes athletes to have discomfort.
“We have a phenomenal and expert athletic trainer named Sam, and we always encourage our athletes to see her if they feel slightest off,” Eggers said
This track and field season is bringing new athletes and ideas. Returners this year have to make the possible adjustments to fit into the new leadership and system.
“The most significant adjustments from last year to this year is athletes adjusting to the new leadership because how I want to run things isn’t the same as how other coaches previously ran things,” Eggers said.
Athletes and head coaches hope to leave with something by the end of the season. A total of 120 athletes continue to grow and support each other.
“In general, things are about more than just ourselves, right?” Becker said. “We are out there competing for ourselves, but also, we are out there competing for each other and our community.”