After making the decision to homeschool, one thing that I immediately put some energy into was trying to find things that would help make our transition to a homeschool family an easy one. Both of the big kids enjoyed running club in public school, so when my friend sent me info on a homeschool cross country team called the Owasso Falcons, we signed up. As you can read here, running cross country as Falcons was a great experience!
Because of how much the kids had enjoyed running cross country, when Coach Renee told us that she'd be coaching a track team in the spring, the kids were definitely interested. We got them signed up, and practices began the first week in March. Coach held practice three mornings a week (M, W, F) from 8:30-9:30am at the Owasso High School track.
Ready for track practice on a bright and clear day!
The twins and I would typically try to do math during cross country practice, but during track we made some friends. A couple other of the team moms have kids that are Brooke and Brecklyn's age, so they enjoyed playing with Samantha and Vernon (who Brooke always called "Verdinand") while I visited with the moms.
For those of you like me that don't know, track is really different from cross country. Cross country is running - that's pretty much it - but track involves lots of things like hurdles, long jump, shot put, discus, etc. Watching elementary kids learn to run hurdles was hilarious!
Brianna hurdling in purple (doing well!)
Brenson hurdling in yellow
We got into a routine where Grampy would take the kids to track practice on Fridays and walk the track while they practiced. One Friday, we had quite a scare when someone came out to the track and told Coach that the school was going on lock down due to an armed robbery in the area. All the kids and guardians ended up "taking cover" in the eighth grade center near where they were (adjacent to the track practicing shot put). When I got word about what was going on, I hated that I wasn't there with the kids. However, everything turned out okay, and they were "released" to go home about an hour after the lock down began.
2021 Owasso Falcons Elementary Track Team
Our first track meet was hosted by us at the Owasso High School track on Saturday, April 3rd. It was nice that we didn't have to drive far, but being a "home" meet meant that parent volunteers were needed :-). We certainly didn't mind, though, and enjoyed helping out.
The following Saturday (April 10th), we had another "home" meet. However, when we arrived at the track the lacrosse team was warming up. Even though our coach had reserved the track, the administrators gave it to the lacrosse team at the last minute. She had to scramble to find a track and successfully secured the Collinsville HS track for our meet. It was sunny, but very breezy and cold this day. I ended up sitting in the van part of the time with the twins so they could be warm.
Coach had another meet planned at the Owasso HS track, but found out that they had double-booked that one as well. Since our team is not part of Owasso public schools, we automatically get the boot when a facility is double-booked. So, instead of hosting the next meet, we drove to Okmulgee and participated in a meet there.
Bren doing long jump
Brianna and Kyrie just after competing in shot put
Bren running the 50m
Bren winning the 50m
Brianna running the 200m relay
Both kids did really well and came home with a handful of ribbons. Brianna won two first place ribbons, a second place ribbon, and a third place ribbon.
Bren came away with two first place ribbons and two second place ribbons.
Bren (running a relay)
Bren running a 100m dash
Bren came away with all first place ribbons!
Brianna had a handful of ribbons, too!
This meet ended up being kind of a nightmare. We left before 8:00am to get to the meet, and Mom went with us. Our kids' events were scheduled to begin at 9:00am, but the organizers of the meet ran hours late. We were there before 9:00am, but our kids didn't compete until after noon.
It was hard on our kids mentally to wait so long to run, but they still held their own. This was also a larger meet compared to the ones we had hosted.
She also ran the 400m, placing 17/21 (1:43).
Brianna running the 1600m
Bren running the 100m dash
Coach Renee signed Brooke and Brecklyn up to run with the younger kids. They took this very seriously.
Brooke stretching before her race.
Brecklyn running the 100m
Brooke running the 100m
Brecklyn was very focused and ran a good race. Brooke struggled to focus, weaved in and out of her lane, and looked at the crowd while she was running 😂. BUT, she loved it!
Bren doing the long jump
The meet drug on through the entire afternoon, and finally several parents (including Chris and me) went down to the field to help move things along. I helped measure for the long jump while Chris helped with another event. We didn't end up leaving until almost 6:00pm! We felt like we were being held hostage, and I felt terrible for my Mom being stuck there with us. Whoever organized the meet had three times the participants than the year prior, and they just weren't prepared for it at all. Coach Renee even said that it was the longest meet she had ever been to!
The bright side was that after that day, we knew much better how to be prepared for Nationals. Without the Okmulgee experience, I think Nationals would have been much harder for us.
Homeschool Track and Field Nationals was a two day meet held on May 5th and 6th in Bolivar, Missouri. That was a Wednesday and a Thursday, so our plan was to eat lunch on Tuesday, drive to Missouri, spend the night, and be at the track ready to go on Wednesday morning. I often say life with kids is unpredictable, and this was definitely one of those times. While at lunch on Tuesday, Brecklyn suddenly became ill and threw up. On the way home from the restaurant, she threw up again, then again once we got home. I made the quick decision to stay home with the twins while Chris took the big kids to Bolivar. Brooke was also saying her tummy hurt and she wasn't feeling well. However, Mom and Dad offered to let the twins stay with them so I could go to Nationals. It was a tough decision for me . . . I felt like the twins needed me (and I hated leaving them sick with someone else), but I also really wanted to go to Nationals to support the big kids. Mom finally convinced me to go and that they'd be fine with the twins. Since we were all packed, it was easy and fast to just get the twins' suitcases out of the van and hand them to Mom and Dad.
Once we arrived in Bolivar, we checked in to our hotel and went to eat at a delicious restaurant called Smith's. It felt super strange to only have four of us, but it was also kind of nice. We got a good night's rest, and arrived at the track bright and early the next morning for a full day of competition!
There were over 800 participants at Nationals and several hundred events. The crowd noise alone was a big adjustment for Brianna and Brenson.
Brenson ran 8U and participated in five individual events. He won his heat in both the 50m and 100m dash, and placed 4/24 (9.39) and 8/24 (18.22) overall, respectively.
Bren placed FIRST (out of 11) in shot put for 8U, throwing 5.07m.
He came in 6/14 in long jump, jumping 2.49m.
Finally, in discus, Bren placed 4/10, throwing 11.33m. He certainly had a successful first day!
Brianna participated in four individual events on day one. She competed in 10U, so there were some girls there that had a few years of experience on her. She held her own, though!
She ran both the 800m and 1600m, placing 10/12 (3.57) and 10/11 (9.09), respectively.
Finally, she competed in discus and placed 6/12 throwing 9.95m.
We were at the track on day one from 8:30am to 6:30pm, and went straight to bible study after leaving. By the time we got back to the motel, we were ready for bed!
Day two of competition found us arriving at the track about 9:00am. Both kids were participating in the triathlon that day. The triathlon included a 200m dash, shot put, and long jump.
After our experience in Okmulgee, we purchased a tent, a wagon, and an extra chair. We also brought a huge tub of snacks with us!
Coach Renee saved us a space right next to her tents for our tent, and all the kids hung out in the three tents between events. Not too many of the elementary kids stayed for day two (as it was only the triathlon competition for that age), but Bri was happy that Kyrie was there!
I took these next photos to get a feel for the competition. There were many events happening simultaneously, and we all helped each other listen for the events our team members were competing in.
There was even a sports medicine clinic set up on the field free to anyone who needed it. Brianna has had some trouble with her calf hurting her, so Chris took her down to the tent and she got it worked on a bit.
Bren placed 3/12 in the boys 8U triathlon. He was happy with this! He placed 2/12 in shot put (5.22m), 7/12 in long jump (2.51m), and 7/13 (2nd in his heat) in the 200m dash (38.21).
There was no shade to be found at all where the field events were being held, and my skin was hating the sun. I spent the afternoon looking like this:
But, it was worth it to support my kiddos!
Brianna placed 7/18 in the girls 10U triathlon. We were very happy for her! She placed 8/18 in long jump (2.49m), 5/18 in shot put (4.42m), and 14/18 in the 200m dash (41.07).
Meanwhile, the twins were having a ball with their grandparents and both feeling fine (thankfully!)
We packed up and headed for home around 6:00pm after another long - but good - day. The kids both fell asleep pretty quickly. G-Jo told me the twins were great until the sun went down, then they got a little homesick for us. We arrived to pick them up just after 9:00pm.
To end the season, Coach Renee hosted a reception for the kids. We were unable to attend due to JT & Mallory's wedding, but Coach came by our house just a few days later with a photo collage for each child and Bren's medals and ribbons from Nationals. He was pleased!
We are thankful for a great season, and the kids are already talking about running track next year!
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