Still runnin’: Summer programs offer chances for higher-level competition for aspiring stars

Jul 03, 2010

By: Oakland Press Sports

By MARVIN GOODWIN
Of The Oakland Press
It may be summertime but the living’s not easy for a number of track and field athletes around the area. That’s because they’re still training, even though they’ve finished their seasonal commitments to their middle school and high school teams.
On this particular evening, at the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory School track, members of the North Oakland Blue Dragons track and field team are

engaged in a variety of training disciplines under the watchful eye of coach Warren Skeete.
They’re huffing and puffing, and looking fatigued at times. But that’s what they want.
“I came here because I was on another team before,” said sprinter Tauren Keels, a recent West Bloomfield High graduate who will compete for Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, Ind., next season. “I was

Coach Warren Skeete (left), has the clock on Tauren Keels as she does an exercise during a a workout for the North Oakland Blue Dragons track club recently at Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory School. (The Oakland Press/Marvin Goodwin)

looking for harder training, more specialized training and I knew that coach Skeete would give it to me. My times have come down a lot.”
The Blue Dragons’ roster includes athletes from Rochester, Auburn Hills, Oxford, Waterford and other communities. Candice Mack, Zac Miklja, Trevon Salter, Yasmine Jones, Xavier Burns and Teanna Murray are among club athletes who stood out during the high school track season.

A number of summer track and field programs, who compete in AAU and USATF sanctioned meets, operated in Southeast Michigan. Among those are Maximum Output, Motor City Track Club, Southfield Mustangs, Swift and others. All provide

opportunities for youth competition in local, state and national arenas, and many have produced elite-level performances. Athletes such as Kendall Baisden of Birmingham Detroit Country Day and Southfield High graduate Bridgette Owens

-Mitchell, both national-class track athletes, have competed during the summer for club teams in the area, along with Phil Washington, who won the Division 1 state championship in the 400-meter dash for West Bloomfield High School.
Washington is in his second year with the Motor City Striders, one of the oldest clubs around, and Baisden is in her second year with the Motor City Track Club.
“I like AAU a little bit better,” Washington said, comparing high school with the club. “The team is a little closer … and they’re all track fanatics. These guys are real serious about the sport and they want to get better.
“You have to work harder if you want to be good. Every day I’m coming home dying. But it’s a good feeling after you work hard. If you’re not willing to work, you’re probably not going to go too far. It’s not easy, but eventually it pays off.”
Washington said in summer competition, athletes usually compete against others in the same age group. But the competition can be tougher.
“That’s why I love nationals so much,” he said, “and it’s always a better race if you know there’s someone there that can beat you. You have to be prepared every race.”
Baisden, who won the USATF Junior Nationals 400 last week, said high school track can be challenging because of competitions against older athletes.
“(And) it’s harder in high school because there’s less time for recovery because the meets last only a day,” Baisden said, contrasting national and regional competitions, which can be held over multiple days. “(But) I but I like them both.”
The Blue Dragons have been around for nearly a decade, assisting youth in preparation for various sports.
“We’re a youth development organization,” Skeete said. “We use track and field for core training for sports most kids are doing in school. We do a lot of core agility, flexibility and endurance training.”
Nearly 40 boys and girls from six to 19 years old are active members of the Blue Dragons, including Matt Campbell, who competes for the University of Michigan, and Isaac Marshall, who competes at Michigan State. The pair, former teammates at Rochester High, have spent years with the Blue Dragons program and have returned to help mentor younger athletes.
“One thing I like about it is you get a lot of personal attention … and good fundamentals,” Campbell said. “It gave you a mental edge to compete at a higher level.”
Skeete, a former volunteer coach at Auburn Hills Avondale High, started the Blue Dragons “to help a few kids I was coaching.” Originally from Guyana in South America, Skeete grew up in Toronto where he ran track in high school and competed at the club level. He is a USATF and IAAF certified coach with expertise in sprints, jumps, middle distances and basic throwing events.
Sometimes, club track and high school coaches do not think on the same plane, opening up conflicts, according to Skeete.

“What we’re having is a philosophical battle,” he said. “The high school coaches are going out of their way to be detrimental to the club runners. It seems to be a petty ego problem. What they’re most concerned about is scoring points to the detriment of the athlete.
“You should do what’s best for the team, but you have to have them (athletes) run their best event. That’s how you get your scholarship.”
But Skeete also knows that with the dwindling number of athletic scholarships available, particularly for non-revenue producing sports, academic achievement must be emphasized. And, collectively, the Blue Dragons are mostly high achievers in the classroom.
Still, competition for athletic scholarships remains tough, which adults must realize, he said.
“What parents have to stop thinking about is the full-ride scholarship,” Skeete said.
Other challenges include funding for travel and participation at meets. “Fund-raising is an absolute nightmare,” Skeete said, “especially in this economy because the state does not provide funds.”
Therefore, club members are involved in car washes, selling cookie dough, scratch cads and soliciting businesses for funding and travel.
“We’re always looking for sponsors,” Skeete said.
Even so, the clubs manage to continue operating despite financial challenges. And that’s good for the youngsters, who’ve made their choice for summertime pursuits.

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