Charles Jones of Cardinal Ritter HS in Missouri is US#1 in the 800m; Jones is contemplating his role as the hunted at the Marion Freeman Invite (Paul Everett photo)
There are two things that are guaranteed in the month of May --- Floyd "Money" Mayweather having a big boxing match and winning it; and times will drop as well as jumps and throws will increase. It happens every year. I cannot explain it but it is guaranteed. Just like Mayweather's nickname is "Money", its quickly approaching "money" time on the track. Conference, sectionals, and state are coming quick. As the meets get bigger, coaches are tightening the screws and athletes are getting frequent visits from the "Voice and Nerves." Hunters have been lying in the weeds all season and are now appearing as major threats to the hunted athletes with huge performances. Meanwhile, the hunted athletes give performances as to why they are the best. We will soon see who really has been practicing and who is mentally tough.
The month of May exposes all of that as each week brings a bigger meet than the week before. I remember in high school how the team seemed to grow closer in May. Why? Well, if you are a senior you are down to your final practices and meets. Everyone is on the same page, and has the same goals of being city, conference, and sectional champions as well as qualifying for state. If you are a great team, pressure slowly begins to build as talk of being state champions is mentioned more. Everything must fall into place as some teams and coaches will only get one shot at history. I can recall as a senior and favored to win state in '86, how each week at practice, I paid more attention to detail and each week I got faster and faster. The relay team did more handoffs and encouraged each other to be perfect every time as continuity improved.
Jones completes the first task of "Money May" by slaying the hunters with his national leading 1:50.19 clocking (Paul Everett photo)
As sprint coach of the '92 state championship team, I tried not to allow them to think past the next meet. It is hard to do, if you have already beaten the teams in your conference and sectional. Thinking ahead in May can cost you as you look past an opponent, an opponent who has been training and waiting on their opportunity to make a name for themselves. May brings a slew of personal records (PRs), team, city, conference, and sectional records as the weather warms up. My best times, as an athlete and athletes I have coached best times, showed up in May.
I encourage all athletes from this point forward to put in the extra work, run an extra set, do some more run-throughs, and tighten up handoffs and techniques. This is May! It's "money" time!