Track and Field

Eric and Jonathan signed up for Track and Field through the Mandan Parks and Rec this summer.  It runs through the month of June, with practice being on Mon and Wed, and meets on Tue and Thurs.  it is for ages 6 and up, and is co-ed.  That's right..... co-ed.  Boys and Girls.  Together.  I am not used to seeing the boys interact so much with girls their age.
The kids get to compete in their choice of sprint and mid-distance running, jumping events, and throwing events.

Jonathan has competed in a variety of events, including the long jump, high jump, shot put, 4 x 100 relay, 4 x 400 relay, and the 100 m dash.
Here are some pics of his 100 m dash:

Click here for a video.

Both he and Eric did the high jump on Tuesday.  Jonathan placed 3rd in the 9-10 year old division.  Both boys use the Fosbury Flop method of jumping.

Eric and Jonathan were teammates on the 4 x 100 relay.  I'm not sure who there other teammates were.  Jon was actually not signed up for this event, but Eric was on  a team of only 3, so he was going to run the last 2 legs of the relay by himself, so we recruited Jonathan.  J ran the 3rd leg, and Eric was the anchor.  In the spirit of great Olympian Carl Lewis, Eric was a strong anchor.

Eric also did the high jump, and took 2nd.

He is conscious

Next up is what we refer to as The Great Hurdle Controversy of 2013.  Both boys wanted to compete in the hurdles.  The first day of track, they learned that hurdles are for athletes ages 11 and up.  There was no written disclaimer for athletes 3 weeks away from their 11th birthday who are taller than most of the 11 and even some of the 12 year olds in the hurdles.  "No Worries" said the young man coaching hurdles.  Close enough.  Boys can hurdles.  Relief.  Fast forward to the next week, when it's time to sign up for events for the first meet.  The young gal leading Eric's group did not, repeat did not, let him sign up for hurdles, since he wasn't 11 yet.  Eric was crushed. When he went to get his T-shirt, I asked the gal in charge to clarify the rules, since last week they were told they could do them.  She immediately said YES he COULD do the hurdles, then looked at Eric and told him to just tell people he is 11 :-). 

He loved it!  He said he had little heart attacks before each jump.  He didn't fall, and only clipped one hurdle.  Good Job!