All sports · Sport guide
Track and field, for the parent in it.
Every read, drill, calendar, pathway, rule, and recruiting note we have on track and field. Use this as the front door.
42 pieces.
From The Drawer for track and field
Cost
What does track and field actually cost?
Pre-filled annual estimates by tier. Edit any line.
Pathway
Track and field by age
What good looks like at 7, 10, 13, 15.
Calendar
The track and field year
High school outdoor track under NFHS rules. Practice opens late February or early March, dual meets and invitationals run March through April, league and district championships in May, state in late May. No tryout cuts at most schools: track keeps everyone.
Rules
Rules at-a-glance
Five-minute primer.
Reads
Track and field articles
age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026
Building a track recruiting profile, by event
A sprinter's profile and a thrower's profile should not look the same. Here's how to build the one your kid actually needs.
age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026
Track and field recruiting: what parents need to know
One sport, four or five different recruiting processes depending on the event your kid runs, jumps, or throws.
age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026
Varsity track: the real odds inside your kid's event group
Almost nobody gets cut from track. Almost everybody still finds out exactly where they rank against four or five teammates who run their same race.
age 15-plus · Jul 6, 2026
When your kid doesn't get recruited for track
The stopwatch already told your kid the truth all season. This is about what to do with it.
age all-ages · Jul 4, 2026
The Meet With No Sideline: Watching a Track Meet When You Can't See Your Kid Race
Four events happening at once, one program that doesn't match the announcer, and a kid who ran the 800 while we were watching someone else clear a high jump bar.
age 11-12 · Jul 4, 2026
Track Times Don't Lie: Talking to a Kid Who's Chasing a Number
He'd run the same 400 four times that season and improved every time. All he could talk about was the one race where he hadn't.
age 11-12 · Jun 11, 2026
What track event is right for my kid?
How event selection actually works, and why the best answer is usually to try several.
age 11-12 · Jun 11, 2026
Youth track and field events explained for parents
Every event category, what they involve, and what to watch for as a parent in the stands.
age 15-plus · Jun 10, 2026
Varsity Track: The Stopwatch Doesn't Politick
Every time is public, every mark is ranked, and nobody can argue their kid onto the 4x100. The most honest sport in the building, for better and worse.
Drills
Track and field drills
13 drills total. Most recent shown.
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· fundamentals
1 Minute On, 1 Minute Off
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· fundamentals
200m Repeats
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· fundamentals
Arm Swing Form
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· fundamentals
Even Pace 200 Meters
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· fundamentals
Block Start Progression
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· fundamentals
Knee Drive Form
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· fundamentals
Long Jump Approach Progression
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· fundamentals
Negative Split Run
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· fundamentals
Three Point Start
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· fundamentals
Shot Put Glide Intro
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· fundamentals
Long Jump Approach
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· fundamentals
Interval Ladder
The Sideline File
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Artificial turf temperatures: the burn-risk parents don't see
Synthetic turf can run 40 to 60°F hotter than air temperature. The skin-burn risk, the heat-illness contribution, and the practice-modification thresholds.
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Cold-weather practice: frostbite, layering, the temperature threshold
What an outdoor practice should look like below 40°F, when the wind chill makes it actually dangerous, and the layering rule for kids who run hot.
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Heat and hydration
What an August practice should look like under NATA's youth heat acclimatization rules. How much water, when. And the signs that say stop now.
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Heat exhaustion vs heatstroke: the line that matters
Both look bad. One is recoverable with rest and water. The other is a true emergency. The signs that distinguish them, and the protocol for each.
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Heatstroke right now: cool first, transport second
The protocol that saves lives in the August heat. Cold-water immersion before EMS transport. The signs that mean act now.
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Humidity and dew point: practice modifiers when WBGT isn't on hand
WBGT is the gold standard for heat decisions, but most youth programs don't have a reader. Humidity and dew point are the backup metrics, and they tell you more than air temperature alone.
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Hypothermia on the field: recognize, warm, escalate
The signs the kid is past 'cold' and into hypothermia. The protocol that warms safely. When to call 911.
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Mosquito-borne illness in outdoor youth sport: West Nile, EEE, and the basics
Outdoor practices at dawn and dusk during summer carry small but real risk of mosquito-borne illness. The repellents, the timing, and the regional patterns.
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Pole vault helmets: the unresolved debate
The published research on whether helmets prevent the catastrophic injuries in pole vault is mixed. The current state of the rules and what some states do.
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Pollen and allergic conjunctivitis: the spring eye-irritation kids underreport
Itchy red eyes during outdoor practice. The seasonal patterns, the over-the-counter management, and when to see a doctor.
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Sun and skin: youth athletes, sunscreen, and the melanoma math
The cumulative-exposure problem with kids in outdoor sports. SPF, the two-finger rule, when to reapply, and why hats and shirts are still the best UV protection.
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Tick prevention and Lyme disease: the protocol for outdoor youth sports
The repellents that work, the post-practice tick check, the bullseye rash, and when a tick bite needs the doctor.
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Track spikes by event: what's safe at each
Sprint spikes, distance spikes, jumping spikes, throwing shoes. The pin lengths, the surface considerations, and the youth-event guidance.
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Wildfire smoke and AQI: when to cancel a youth practice
The AirNow AQI thresholds for kids, how PM2.5 affects developing lungs, and the practice-modification rule the EPA actually publishes.
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What's actually dangerous about youth track and field
Stress fractures, hamstring injuries, throwing-event acute injuries, and the heat profile of an outdoor spring-summer sport. By event group.