OS Track Athletes and Parents, WELCOME TO THE 2018 OLATHE SOUTH TRACK AND FIELD SEASON! If you are new to the Olathe South track & field program, I would like to welcome you. I have been involved in track & field for the better part of 40 years. My track & field background includes competing/lettering in track & field at Emporia State University competing in the 110 meter High Hurdles, Long Jump and Triple Jump. I have been coaching track & field for about 20 years. In my coaching experience, I have served as an assistant track & field coach at Emporia High School (4 years), DeSoto High School (2 years), and Mill Valley High School (2 years). My head coaching experiences include head track & field coach at Emporia High School and DeSoto High School, and head girls basketball coach at Mill Valley High School. Addition to my coaching experiences, I served as an Associate Principal and Athletic Director/Activities Director for 8 years at Mill Valley High School from 2002 2010. I feel these experiences both as an athlete and a coach have prepared me to assist your son and/or daughter in striving to be the very best that they can be in track & field. My goal as a head coach is to be someone who is knowledgeable, approachable and dependable. My hope is that your son and/or daughter to do their very best in all aspects of life. In the short time I am with them, I will do my very best to help them to improve as an athlete. In turn, I expect my athletes to be on time, be at practice and at the meets, give 100% to the track team and most of all HAVE FUN. Communication is very important to me. Parents and athletes are encouraged to contact me with any questions or concerns as they relate to OS Track and Field. My contact information is below. Sincerely, MATTHEW BOHM HEAD COACH OLATHE SOUTH TRACK AND FIELD EMAIL: MBOHMOS@OLATHESCHOOLS.ORG PHONE NUMBER: 913-780-7160
COMMUNICATION WITH COACHES Communication is vital and expected for any successful track and field program to operate. There should never be any excuses for why you haven t communicated in advance with your coach or coaches, when needed. Below are the best ways to contact Coach Bohm: Email: Coach Bohm s school email address is: mbohmos@olatheschools.org. He will respond to any email in an appropriate time. Because of Coach Bohm s teaching assignment, he will check email periodically throughout the day, but does not have time to respond after reading emails. Please allow time between the time you send the email and his response as in most cases it will not be an immediate response. School office phone: Coach Bohm can be reached at the Olathe South s phone number, which is: 913-780-7160. This is the number he prefers to be contacted, but during school hours use email for a faster response. ATHLETES ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO REFRAIN FROM TEXT MESSAGING ANY COACH DIRECTLY. INSTEAD, SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE AVAILABLE, REMIND.COM, OR COMMUNICATING THROUGH COACH BOHM, WHO WILL RELAY ANY AND ALL MESSAGES TO THE APPROPRIATE EVENT COACH. REMIND.COM FOR TRACK It will be an expectation that all Olathe South track and field athletes sign up to receive Coach Bohm s REMIND.COM team announcements on their cellphone. You may sign up via a computer or cellphone. Directions to sign up are as follows: From a computer: Go to www.remind.com/join/osouthtf, it will then ask you to enter your cell number. You may also choose to enter your email, but it is expected that all athletes have their cell phone signed up for this notification system. If there is an issue with this request, please come see Coach Bohm. Parents are also encouraged to sign up for these same REMIND.COM announcements, if interested. (REMEMBER, COACH BOHM WILL NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER IN THIS PROCESS. YOU WILL RECEIVE HIS ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM A RANDOM CELL NUMBER THAT REMIND.COM ASSIGNS. IN ADDITION, YOU CANNOT REPLY TO THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS.)
From your cell phone via text message: To sign up from your cell phone, send a text message to the number 81010 with the message @osouthtf. TEAM WEBSITE The OS Track and Field Website is a great place to find important information about the team and the current season. The website can be found at: http://teachers.olatheschools.com/ostrackandfield. ATTENDANCE Practices begin at 3:20 every day. You are expected to attend all practices. Practice time is vital. Coaches can t properly prepare you for competition if you are absent from a practice. Your failure to be at a practice will have an effect on you as a member in good standing with the track and field team. If you cannot attend a practice for emergency reasons, you must either speak with Coach Bohm, your event coach, or leave a message with the office to be placed in Coach Bohm s mailbox. A parent note or a note from the school activity sponsor should be given to Coach Bohm prior to one of the following excused emergencies: Illness (you are at home or at a doctor) Injury appointment for a doctor Family emergency Family vacation School function
ATTENDANCE (cont.) We will check on you if you were not at practice. We expect a note from your parents the following day, especially if you were in school and then left. We consider missing practice to be a major reason for holding an athlete from competing in a meet. Please schedule your appointments so you do not miss track & field practice time. Use the time before school or during seminar to make up work or see a teacher for help. The policy for unexcused absences is the following: Whether an athlete is allowed to compete in an upcoming meet will be on the recommendation of the event coach. The final decision will be made by the Coach Bohm. Attendance is critical for success. Excessive absences will result in the dismissal from the team. If you miss a practice because of an emergency, you will need to check with Coach Bohm and your event coach to see what you need to do in order to make up the missed practice. Please understand that even if your absence is excused, the coaches will determine if you will attend the next track meet. UNIFORM, SWEATS & BAG Please understand that much of our equipment was purchased in the last few years, so it is in very good condition. Treat all equipment with the utmost care. All sweats and uniforms issued to you have a number or size on them. You are expected to keep and care for these items throughout the season. When the season is over, you are expected to return these items. Lost sweats and/or uniforms and/or bag: If you lose a sweat top or bottom, you must pay the Olathe South track team $40 - $60 per item, before you are issued new ones. If you lose your uniform top or bottom, you must pay the Olathe South track team $40 per item, before you are issued new ones. Please keep track of all clothing items that you are issued. No replacement equipment will be issued until the school is paid for the cost of the lost items. PRACTICE As mentioned before, practice begins at 3:20 each day. Practice will mainly be held outside regardless of the weather. If it is raining, we will probably plan an indoor practice. You are expected to be on time to practice. You are expected to have all your practice clothes with you: sweats, shoes, gloves, and hats. You must assume that we will be outside for all practices. Just because it is cold or raining will not mean we are practicing indoors. A REMIND message will usually be sent explaining where we will meet for practice. Practice procedures will usually be as follows: Workouts will be run every day. Junior Varsity will not have a workout on a Varsity meet day usually Fridays. We will run these workouts to completion. Only a coach can alter a workout. You will stay until you have completed the workout. We will normally meet in one of three places depending on the day: the track, the auxiliary gym, or the commons. We will then go through a warm-up period. Daily announcements will be held after this session. Athletes will then go to their specific event for that day's practice.
PRACTICE (cont.) No musical devices will be allowed at practices. Again, you should be ready to practice outdoors no matter the weather. Bring your sweats, hat, gloves, spikes, etc. Do not leave practice without your sweats check your number for your own. Practice length will vary week to week. In general, practices will end approximately between 5 and 5:30 at the beginning of the season and closer to 5 PM later in the season. Please understand that we will stay until we have completed the day's practice. For the first few weeks, plan to be at practice until 5:30 or until we settle into a routine. If you have a job, DO NOT expect to leave early. The earliest you should realistically tell your boss that you can work is 6:00. Although we do not have school on Monday, March 19, we will have practice. Although this practice is not mandatory, it would be to your advantage if you attended. Practices are intended to get you prepared for competition and help you compete at the highest level. Self-motivation, determination, character, and attitude are absolute necessities for success. SPRING BREAK The plan is to have practice at 9 AM on Tuesday, March 13 and at 9 AM on Thursday, March 15. These will not be mandatory practices. However, if you are in town, it would be nice if you attended these practices. These practices are workouts to keep you in shape. These practices are also for individual events hurdles, jumps, and throws. VARSITY LETTERING An athlete will earn a Varsity letter by scoring at least one point in a varsity meet. All other letters are Junior Varsity letters. MEET & BUS CONDUCT When we travel to track meets, you are representing Olathe South High School, the OS Track and Field team, and yourself. We coaches expect you to act in an appropriate manner at all times. The following are the expectations for all track meets: All track meets begin at a certain time. We will allow enough time for you to get your equipment, treat bag and on the bus. Be on time for the bus -- the bus will not wait for you -- the bus will leave on time. No loud music will be allowed on the bus or at the meet. Only headphones will be acceptable. There are times when listening devices are not allowed. Remember, the school is not responsible for items that are lost. You should strongly consider leaving all valuables at home. Make sure you have all equipment (uniform, sweats, shoes, team t-shirt, and other equipment) with you when you come to school and when you board the bus. If you wish, bring something extra with you to eat and/or money to buy food at the meet. You shouldn t eat a lot, but you need to keep your strength up during the meet. You must wear the school issued sweats, uniform and team t-shirt at all meets. Most athletes wear the Olathe South team t-shirt over the uniform top.
MEET & BUS CONDUCT (cont.) No loud talking and other loud noises will be tolerated on the bus or at meets. If you need to be reprimanded, you will be asked to sit in the front of the bus next to a coach, and/or you may be left at home for the next meet. We will sit together at meets. You need to know what time your event is run and allow yourself proper warm-up time. We will pass out schedules to each athlete prior to each meet. It will be your responsibility to warm up properly and to check into your event on time. All JV meets will be finals only, there are no preliminary tries or heats. Runners: After your event is completed, all running event athletes must cool down properly. This cool down helps your muscles to recover, especially if you have other events to run. When your events are finished, we would love for you to stay and encourage your teammates and cheer them on. However, if you need to leave, you may only ride home with YOUR parent. You ARE NOT allowed to go home with anyone other than your parent. Also, you must check out with Coach Bohm or another OS coach. A coach must visibly see a parent and talk to them prior to you leaving the meet. You are at a track meet to compete to the best of your abilities. You have worked hard at practices during the week. Focus on the meet, eat the right foods, and have fun. Again, if you are leaving with your parents, please make sure Coach Bohm or your event coach sees and/or talks to your parent. SUBSTANCE ABUSE The use of alcohol, tobacco and/or drugs will NOT be tolerated. These substances are all performance impairments and degrade an athlete's performance and end up hurting you and the team. We will follow the school policy when an athlete uses any of these substances. We coaches hope that track and field will be a rewarding experience for everyone. We hope that track and field will benefit you in other sports and activities. We will work very hard in practice and hope that it pays you back with personal success and a successful season for the team.