Liz shows her appreciation of the track meets by lending a hand and helping out
Everyone knows there is a lot that goes into running a track meet. We know it’s a lot of work for the starters, the timers, the coaches, the volunteers, etc., but it’s so easy to forget just how much work in takes to run a track meet smoothly, and it’s easy for us athletes to forget to appreciate it.
Over the last two weeks we had a co-ed dual meet at Bolingbrook high school and a tri-meet at Glenbard East. I was not able to compete in either meet due to a minor foot issue, so I became one of those behind the scenes people helping out with the meet. Between taking splits, holding blocks, and organizing athlete’s warm-ups, I remembered how we athletes should not take for granted everyone who helps us out.
I also got some great cheering in these last two meets and some quality time hanging out with all the parents and fans. Through the course of four years I’ve realized there are many different types of fans who bring their own unique strengths to the cheering section.
There are the track geek fans. These are the parents, or maybe a good friend, who comes to every meet no matter how far away, what the weather is like, or even if their kid isn’t running. They know every athlete, not only on their own team’s roster, but most of the athletes on the other teams too. They always have some new, interesting bit of information about something that is going down in the world of track and field. I would put my dad in this camp. He came to the past two meets even though I wasn’t running simply because he loves the sport and he loves to see my teammates compete and get better. He’s legitimately friends with many of the girls on my team, and he’s even friends with many parents and athletes from other teams.
Similar to the track geeks is the timer gang. These are the people who always have their watch going for every heat of every race and they get every kind of split you could imagine. It could be the 2 mile on a 160 meter indoor track, but they’ll know what you have to hit each lap in and they will be more than happy to go through your splits with you after the race.
There is also the casual fan that has no clue what’s going on. They may be a boyfriend or parent who doesn’t really know anything about track and field, but they’re trying to be supportive for their athlete. Usually they get stuck walking in front of a high jumper, get scared by the gun, and have to keep asking people for clarification as to what event is going on. Inevitably, by the time the athlete they are there to see is competing they are at the concessions or in the bathroom and completely miss it. Its okay, the fact you are at the meet matters a lot to us.
The truth is it doesn’t matter what type of fan you are, we appreciate you coming out. I sometimes joke around with Palatine fans saying “I do it for the fans”. In reality I run for my teammates, my coaches, and to represent our school, but the fans are great too. So again, thank you to every track and field fan who comes out to support us. And a big thank you to all the people who help out at meets so we can do what we love.