Tiger tracksters getting in shape as season gets underway

Nevada senior Veronica Mosier catches air while practicing the first phase of the triple jump at a chilly track practice Wednesday. Mosier earned a state medal in the event last season. [Click to enlarge]

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada High School track athletes are hard at work, preparing for the 2005 season at Testman Field every day after school.

Coach Robert Watts and his throng of assistants have been working diligently in hopes that they can be competitive in the season that actually began Monday with a trip to Warrensburg and the Central Missouri State relays.

"We're trying to get back in shape," Watts said. "We're trying to find out with the new kids, where they fit and what their abilities are."

That is usually the case at the beginning of the track and field season. The experienced athletes have found their niche and are trying to take a few seconds off their times or add a few inches to their jumps.

The new athletes are trying to figure out whether they want to sprint, run distance, throw, jump, vault or run hurdles.

There are roughly 60 athletes working with the track and field coaches this season. Watts said the main obstacle this early in the season is soreness.

"Right now we're just working through some soreness," Watts said. "We don't have any real injury problems, we're just trying to get through the first-month soreness."

The athletes are getting a mixture of fun and work in, as was evident Wednesday during a chilly, but productive session.

While working with some triple-jumpers, Watts had to sort through a mixture of socializing and goofing off to get the girls to focus on the first phase of their jumps. Watts did not mind though, saying that he likes the laid back atmosphere.

"With as hard as we work them, we have to keep it fun so they'll come back," the coach said.

The triple-jumpers did get their jumps in, and then got to run some grueling 125-meter sprints afterwards proving that the sport is not all fun and games.

Similar scenes were going on all over the field, as the pole vaulters worked on their approach and the throwers got some work done with the discus.

The athletes had their fun hanging out with their friends, while also pushing their bodies to the limits in hopes of a state qualifying berth being in their futures.

Watts said the Tigers should be competitive in every meet they compete in this season.

"I think the boys we have are going to be competitive with every meet they go to," he said. "The girls are short on numbers in the upperclassmen, but we have good quality. We're real young with the girls."

Watts said the girls should get better as the season progresses, then be real tough in the future.

"I think we'll see the girls coming around in the next few years," he said.

The Tigers host their own meet Saturday, the Nevada Invitational.

It is the first full-fledged meet of the season for the Tigers and will be the only chance for anyone interested to see the Tigers at home this season.