Spring is almost here and the West Middle School Track and Field and Swim teams will be starting soon! Track and Field will start on April 22 and will be coached by Mr. Barnes, Mr. Wooster, and Mrs. Horvath (Medley). Track and Field practice will take place immediately after school outside at West. The swim team will start practicing on March 11 and is coached by Ms. Heather Colombo, Mr. Bob Cummins, and Mr. Dave Workman. Swim practice and meets will take place at the Salem High School pool. Both sports are no-cut and open to all 7th and 8th graders.

Track and Field is a multi-event sport. There are long-distance events (400, 800 and the mile), there are sprints (70, 100, 200, 400), relays (4 by 100, 4 by 200, and 4 by 400), hurdles, high jump, long jump and shot put(throwing/pushing a metal ball). It cost $200 to play, but it’s free if you have already done and paid for a sport this year. Students can sign up through the Track and Field Google Classroom using a soon to be released code.

Mrs. Horvath is excited to be a full-time track coach this year, unlike last year, where she was only a part-time coach. This will be Mr. Barnes first year coaching track and field. Mr. Wooster is the only full time returning coach. Mr. Wooster states, “I love track because each individual, it doesn’t matter if they’re great, like some of our best athletes or some of our worst-they improve, and I just like a place where you can set a goal and get better and improve.”  Track and Field requires lots of preparation. Mrs. Horvath suggests, “ Running, sprinting, push-ups, crunches, and lunges.”

Swimming, the other upcoming sport at West, meets at the Salem pool for practice from 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can sign up by finding Mr. Wells during lunch and recess. Mr. Wells will give you a sheet with a google classroom code. The West Swim team also competes at Salem against the other middle schools: East, Pioneer, Discovery, and Liberty. Tannah Hessenberg, a 7th grade West swimmer, says, “Swimming is fun and it’s healthy for you too!”

Don’t let money discourage you from participating in either of these sports. You can always talk to the secretaries in the office for more information.