The unstoppable girls’ track and field team has been off to a strong start this indoor season. The girls know there is more to come and continue to focus on practice and improving.
In recent years, the girls’ track and field team, both in their indoor and outdoor seasons, has had some great campaigns due to their record-breaking and state-qualifying players. As of now, looking at the indoor season and the effort the girls are putting in this year, they feel it is going to be another exhilarating stretch.
“We have distance, we have jumps, we have sprinters, and we have throwers, and every single girl has a different plan each week,” Kyle Draghi, head girls’ track coach, said. “We try to make things as consistent as we can and, yes, we have quality workouts, but we also have recurring workouts, and I think every player implements that.”
Indoors, the girls make use of all of the space they can to compensate for the less practice area in comparison to outdoor. They are very resourceful in maximizing the efficiency of their workouts with the varying exercise sessions.
“We love the weight room. We are in there all the time, we hang out with the football team, we hang out with the boys’ throwers,” Michelle Kaczmarek, throwing coach, said. “All of us share space and resources because we really struggle during indoor season because we can’t throw in the hallways anymore.”
The indoor series is often regarded as a “pre-season” time by the players, partially due to the lack of a team record being kept, unlike the outdoor series. This gives them a lot of time to concentrate on their individual targets.
Ashlynn Sabatini, junior, said the skills she’s working on currently are “just staying engaged and not being too hard on myself, and focusing through it all.”
Even though indoor track and field is often thought of as extra practice, it emphasizes the long-term aspect of the players’ aspirations. The sport still has its own challenges, just like its outdoor counterpart.
“I think the biggest challenge is that indoor doesn’t have my main event, so I’m having to adjust to wanting to do a certain event that is not available,” Kacey Timm, junior, said. Her main event in outdoor is discus, so she has to adapt to primarily competing in shot put in the indoor season.
With all of the minor setbacks the indoor season brings, the team has to find strong driving forces to guide them back to focus on their success.
“I stay motivated by leaning towards my family and my teammates because they give me a ton of support and motivation that helps me a lot,” Anna Swider, sophomore, said.
The coaches provide some of their own energy to keep the girls dedicated, as well, knowing that the sport can be tough on teens.
“Y’know, I tell them ‘onward and upward.’ Success is not linear. It looks like a roller coaster at times, and everyone’s path to success looks different,” Draghi said.
The girls will be continuing their season Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. at Batavia, and March 7 at Bolingbrook at 9 a.m.
