Success at Colgate Games
Five youngsters from Te Puke Athletics measure up against North Island’s best
Five athletes representing Te Puke Athletics competed at the Colgate Games held recently in Inglewood. This is the largest athletic meet for the North Island for up to 14-year-olds and a chance for them to see how they measure up against the best.
The numbers were high this year and so the competition was increased to a very high level.
Te Koha Kete-kawhena had a fantastic weekend, performing well in all her events. She is very fast and strong and so has done brilliantly in the field events.
She reached various finals and was first in the 100m, second in the 200m, sixth in the long jump and first in the shot put and discus.
All the help from mum and dad Paulette and Graeme and her coach Ethney Barnaby has certainly paid off.
Kayden Theron performed very well in the 12-year-old grade with 4th places in 800m and 1500m finals.
Liam Harrison was also in the finals of the 12-year-old grade and placed 8th in the 800m and 1500m.
Corin Jack ran the 1500m final and came home in 8th place for the 11-year-old grade.
Nathan Theron ran the 10-yearold 800m and 1500m events and came seventh in both.
Track running is where natural speed is vital. We are born with this natural phenomenon; our muscles have fast twitch fibres and slow twitch fibres or somewhere in between.
Our boys are not speedsters and so have done incredibly well in these short distances.
Some young 800m and 1500m runners who have this speed can perform really well at those shorter distances. This makes it very difficult for a slower sprinter to close the gap.
You can improve speed a little with training but you can’t make a sprinter out of a non-sprinter.
Middle distance up to long distance, the dynamics change as the longer distance athlete works on their stamina training. A big effort is made to create training that is varied, covering a range of different activities so it is fun and rather social. Anyone can improve their stamina a huge amount.
Coach Ethney, parents and club members are all proud of the boys’ performances.
The club is not just all about results. A lot of emphasis is on fun, self-improvement and much more.
Athletics will start again on February 10, 5.30pm sharp at Litt Park and new members are welcome.
Te Puke now has the facility to accommodate older athletes, however the children’s athletics are up to 14 years old. Training at Litt Park after school 3.45pm week days, 9am Saturdays. Holiday training is 9am at Litt Park.
Contact Paulette 0211077128, or Jen 0210393631 for administration or Selwyn 0272518779 for coaching and more of what we have to offer. We are on Facebook Te Puke Harriers.