By TOM BONE
BLUEFIELD, Va. — In its third year, the Graham High School indoor track and field team has tripled in numbers. That’s music to the ears of coach Mike Hayes — with one small exception.
“It’s going to be hard to get them the individual coaching that they need ... but we’re going to do the best we can with it, and I think we’ll be very competitive,” he said as his students waited to take a team photo just before the season began.
Surveying the large group, he said, “I’m pleased with it, I really am.”
The turnout of 33 young athletes is in keeping with a state trend, Hayes said.
“Last year when we went to the state competition, the state coordinator, Joe Curico, told us that there are more participants in the state of Virginia in indoor track than in any other sport,” the coach said.
He said the attraction comes from being “inside, in the wintertime, and these young kids get the chance to do something. They don’t want to stay cooped up in the house, so they come out.”
In Graham’s case, another motivation factor is also at work: Maegan Henry and Ashley Burkhalter reached the state level last year, ramping up interest in a sport that labors in the shadows of the school’s basketball schedule.
The indoor version of track and field includes most of the events of its outdoor counterpart, with discus being an exception. The distances are shorter in some running events. A 55-meter run stands in for the outdoor 100-meter dash.
“The rules are basically the same,” Hayes said.
Henry specializes in the shot put, where she finished 16th in the state as a sophomore, and Burkhalter runs the 55-meter dash. Both are back for another year.
Now a senior, Burkhalter said a return to the state competition will take “that same enthusiasm — maybe a little more.”
Hayes said, “Ashley’s very competitive. She likes to win, but she’s one of those that you have to push hard.” He added, “She enjoys it — and she’s just got a fantastic personality, and it rubs off on the other participants.”
He said that Henry stays busy playing basketball as well as reporting in for track. “Maegan is an exceptional basketball player, and she’s an exceptional shot-put thrower.”
Henry’s effort in the state meet last year is something to build on, Hayes said.
“I think, as a junior, with one (more) year of growth and strength, she can increase that,” he said.
Her two-sport role is manageable, he said. “I know she can do both. I have no problems with that. Her being able to practice is what’s the problem,” Hayes said.
“Hopefully, both of them will excel like they did last year and (that success) will rub off some with my younger kids.”
Burkhalter has set a goal to return to the state level again, and hopes to get at least a partial college scholarship based on her ability.
How did the two reach that level last year?
Burkhalter said, “Really, it was the coaching, because I’d never been taught to really run right. Then you add that one-on-one attention ... .”
She said the Graham group gets along well. “We’ve grown to like each other,” she said.
“And we’re not going to have complaints, because you’re mainly (practicing as an) individual, and by yourself.”
That involves individual commitment. She said, “It takes time, after school.”
Hayes is happy with the mix of experienced performers and relative newcomers on the Graham team. “We’ve got a very competitive group of seniors, and I think it’ll rub off greatly on the underclassmen,” he said.
“I’ve got some really good young participants coming in,” he said. Providing an example of a freshman addition, he said, “Forrest Yates went to the state meet in cross-country. He’ll be running for us.
“I think we’ve got a really talented group of young athletes,” Hayes said.
Graham is gearing up for the Southwest District meet on Feb. 13, to be followed by the regional meet on Feb. 20 and the 2010 state meet on Feb. 27 at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com
