September, 2007
September, 2007
Teammates & Friends:
The big story in this Newsletter is the Masters Outdoor Nationals. By now I'm sure you all know that this little
track club of ours has taken third place out of 141 scoring clubs. This is a mighty accomplishment for a team so
new and comprised primarily of sprinters. In addition, we were missing many due to injuries, who could have added
to our point total.
Also in this month's Newsletter, meet Henry Chukwuma Onwusonye from Abuja, Nigeria - Mass Velocity's first member from outside the United States.
Take the All-American on-line poll, read Bob Segal's take on the New Hampshire Senior Games, read all the notable
quotes and see Bob Marchetti take Mass Velocity globe-trotting. Finally, mark your calendar for the USATF-New
England Annual Meeting so you can cheer and vote for your fellow Velociteers.
Let's get started with commentary and photos from the Outdoor Nationals...
Mass Velocity grabbed the third place spot by just a few
points. Without the incredible efforts of each and every one of our competitors, we certainly could not have held
off Golden West Athletics. It should be noted that our Mass Velocity women were significant contributors to our
point total and without them we certainly would not have placed as well as we did.
I'd like to give a shout-out to a few people but please understand that each and every one who competed deserve
recognition. I hope I haven't missed anyone but these folks represented Mass Velocity at the Nationals:
Tucker Taft, Roger Pierce, Warren Graff, Carroll Blake,
Mary Roman, Laura Barre, Susan Wiemer, Gail Johns-Rees, Barbara Jordan, John Oleski, Bob Matteson, Mike Travers,
Brady Mayer, Ralph Souppa, Tom Gillen, Kim Williams, Jim Schoffman, Eric Bucher, Jon Tetherly, Brian Rowles, and
Jonathan Choate.
That's a pretty small squad for a third-place finish! Our big guns like Barbara Jordan, Roger Pierce, Mary Roman,
Susan Wiemer and Bob Matteson didn't disappoint and provided lots of team points. I was very impressed with the
performances of Kim Williams and Ralph Souppa - they peaked just at the right time. Brian Rowles is simply airborne
in the jumps, making a name for himself on the national stage. Finally, a shout-out to Jim Schoffman our lone member
from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (Minnesota). Jim, thank your for making the trip to Nationals. We wish
we could see you more often.
Thank you - each and every one of you for helping to remind everyone in Masters Track & Field that Mass Velocity
is for real! Here now are some of the reflections of those who were at Orono.
Although I was at Orono only Saturday and Sunday, my vote for the most exciting race of the meet that included MVTC folks was the M60, 400M final. Peter Taylor set the stage by letting the crowd know that this was a very strong field that included two current world outdoor masters champions (Pierce & Barnum). Roger took the lead in the first 200 as he often does, then Barnum decided to pass from the inside at around 250 and was still leading at the 300, with Roger and Ralph not far behind. Once on the straightaway however, you could see determination set it for Roger and Ralph, and the race to the finish was on. Barnum began to tighten up around 385 and Roger caught and passed him within the last ten meters. Then, in the last five meters, Barnum gets 'Ralphed' by Souppa - it was a wonderful finish and a glorious moment for MVTC! Much congratulations to Roger and Ralph! Everyone in MVTC should take a moment to find this race in Webcast archives on the Orono website for Friday August 3rd; it's about four fifth's of the way through, around the 6:40 mark on the tape. - Warren Graff
The 400 finals were Friday afternoon and my
two roommates in Orono, Roger Pierce and Ralph Souppa were contenders as well as finalists in the M60 400. What
a shocker - Roger a contender in a 400! I made a point of watching and cheering from the grandstand rail along
the homestretch. Also there was Larry Barnum's Aussie wife, Carmel. Carmel is a super nice person, a fine runner
and a new editor for National Masters News. Naturally I had to banter with her, letting her know that I loved Larry
too - which is true, he's a great guy - but that we probably should NOT watch the finish of the race together.
BTW for those who don't know, Barnum who now lives in Reno, Nevada, is the defending M60 gold medalist from the
2005 WMA champs, was the silver medalist behind Roger in the 400 and joined with Roger and Warren Graff in winning
gold in the 4 x 400 in San Sebastian.
Anyway, as the race started, announcer Peter Taylor shouted, "and there's Roger Pierce out like a rocket".
In truth, Roger did come out fast (what, he knows any other gear?) but he swears that Taylor rolls out this phrase
every time he races, no matter what's happening on the track.
Roger was clearly in front at 200, but then on the turn, Barnum - who's 6'4" - went after him hard and had
actually opened up a small lead at 300. Coming into the homestretch Roger battled back and they dueled into the
headwind. Roger thinks he broke it open with 50 meters left but from my close vantage point on the rail it was
only in the last 20 meters that Roger had more than inches on Barnum.
Meanwhile Ralph Souppa, though in 3rd position during most of the race, from a spectator's standpoint might as
well have been hiding behind the stadium wall only to slip into the race with 100 meters left. Hey maybe that's
what he did do, because Ralph easily had the best end speed. Over the last 10-15 meters, he passed Barnum for the
silver medal and was closing on Roger. The top three were finished within .31 of each other.
There was more fun after the race when Roger - in the spirit of a grateful and
gracious winner - said to Ralph and Larry something like: "that was a great
race, it couldn't have been any better." Larry pointedly replied, "I
can think of two or three ways it could have been better." Clearly there
was tension mixed with the camaraderie.
Meanwhile Ralph was basking in the glow of perhaps his best race ever and those of us who know him were really
happy for him. I do remember a race at Tufts in the NE Champs maybe 10 years ago when Ralph was a newly minted
M50 and he and Roger side by side dueled down the entire homestretch. It was a great race and honestly I don't
remember who nipped who at the finish (gun to my head, I'd say it was Ralph who won).
As a postscript, Larry Barnum blew out the M60 800 on Saturday and then on Sunday took the bronze in the 200 ahead
of Roger in 4th and Ralph in 5th. Probably one of the two or three ways he wanted that race to turn out. And yes
we have invited Barnum to be the first Nevadan to join Mass Velocity. He's politely mulling over the offer. - John Oleski
The weather was beautiful, though it did heat
up a bit on Friday. Mass Velocity was in great form, with almost always someone from the Big Red competing at any
given time on any given day. I had real trouble getting photos of everyone while also trying to warm up and run
some events myself.
I think everyone who attended the meet will agree that the most exciting race was the M60 400m final. It was amazing
to watch. MVTC had two entrants in the race, Roger and Ralph, but they had both trailed Larry Barnum's time in
the preliminaries. In the final, Roger got out to an early lead, and led down the backstretch, but Larry Barnum
refused to let him run away with it and he passed Roger as they rounded the second turn and headed for home. At
that point Roger put on his "face" which means "no way is he going to get away from me," and
he bore down and charged past Larry with about 40 meters to go. And then of course there was Ralph. He was doing
his usual negative split where he just keeps running at the same darn speed all the way to the finish. It was too
much for Larry, and Ralph caught him with about one meter to spare. It was a true, glorious, classic "Ralph"ing.
The crowd went wild. - Tucker Taft
Here's the M60, 400m race, photography
by Tuck (not last two)
~
Another real standout was Susan Wiemer, who
in addition to winning the Pentathlon by over 600 points, managed to win every other event she entered. Brian Rowles
pulled off a Daily Double with golds in both the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, and our own point "machine,"
Bob Matteson, hauled in three golds and two slivers. And Mary Roman cranked out three gold-winning throws in the
Shot Put, Hammer, and Weight throw.
For me personally, it was also a great experience. My 59-year-old brother Tom made the trip as well and competed
in the Pentathlon and Pole Vault. It was the first time he has competed since he had both knees replaced. He wasn't
dead last, and he is really looking forward to next year when he turns 60 and plans to win both events out in Spokane
(he just needs to find some time to train -- famous last words ;-). The other plan he has is to come up to the
Reggie in March and compete against me in the 400m, since I turn 55 before then, and he turns 60 after then. All
I need to do is convince him to join Mass Velocity, so we can be the first pair of brothers on the team, competing
in the same race.
In addition to hanging out with my brother, I managed to keep the MVTC "cats" herded long enough to put
together both a 4x100 and a 4x400 50+ relay team. Unlike last year, all four members of the team were official
Mass Velocity members, and so we ran in the "club" rather than the "non-club" division. That
was a bit of a mixed blessing, as we would have won gold in both events in the non-club division. But as it was,
we ended up with a silver in the 4x100 with four very clean baton passes and a time of 50.08, losing only to Bill
Collins' incredible Houston Elite team, and a bronze in the 4x400, missing the silver by only three tenths of a
second in a very exciting finish between Carroll and the SoCal anchor runner. Tom Gillen made the long drive up
Sunday morning from Sharon, Mass just for the relays, and he had blistering times in his splits in both. Jim Schoffman,
our "Minn" Velocity member from Minneapolis, and Carroll, filled out the rest of the team with Jim leading
off and Carroll anchoring in great form.
All in all it was a great meet, and our overall third-place finish in points as a team is a great testament to
the superb efforts by all the MVTC members who made the trek up to Orono. -
Tucker Taft
I
spent a little over four days in Orono. I ran three races and long jumped; setting
3 PRs and one FAT best. I saw friends from California and Canada, met new sprinters
who ran like the wind, and compared training notes with the best in my age group.
I had no 400 prelim on Thursday so I watched the pentathlon for a while. It
was hot and I got tired just watching. I don't know how they can compete for
so long in the hot sun. Friday I had the long jump and the 400. Laura Barre
helped me in the long jump. Despite my one "Superman dive" into the
sand, I did manage to jump a PR distance carried along on all the positive vibes
of my friends watching. In the 400 I ran the best time I've ever run which shocked
me. I managed to come in 4th and so got a Bronze medal thanks to the shared
Gold medals of Loretta Woodward (US) and Karla Del Grande (Canada). Gail Johns-Rees
got the Silver. Imagine how pleased I was to share a medal stand with those
three fantastic women!
On Saturday I had the 100 final as we had no prelim in that race either. My
coach was attending the meet that day. I was a little nervous with him watching.
The 100 in Orono was a tough race as anyone who was there will tell you. The
wind was pretty strong. I came in 6th out of 7. Afterwards I asked my coach
how my start was. He said I popped straight up so he wasn't very happy with
my race. I watched it over and over on the webcast. A week later at NH Senior
Games I ran a little faster, so I think the wind did affect my time at Orono.
Will work on starts for next year!
Sunday I had the 200 final. I was really nervous for this as it's the race I
like the most and in which I expect the most from myself. As we were sitting
in the clerking tent Liz Palmer (Golden West) came over to tap me on the shoulder
and say hi. She said I looked tense. That's when I realized how wound up I was
about the race. I remembered the woman at National Senior Games who said she
did not have butterflies in her stomach, but rather had condors. I had condors
before the 200. I drew an inside lane which I like as I can try to follow the
faster people out. I ran my best 200 ever and finally broke 33 seconds, which
a year ago I would have said was impossible. I was thrilled to fill out the
All American application later that day.
It was a "marathon" event and I was happy but tired at the end of
the 4 days. It was a good end to my year. I lowered my 200 time nearly 2 seconds
this year and my 400 nearly 5 seconds. I added long jump to my events this year
and improved over three feet from the first jump in January to the Nationals.
I know the improvements will come harder and harder as time goes on but for
now I'm enjoying seeing the rewards of my diligent training. Thanks to all my
friends who push me, challenge me, support me and help me compete.
- Kim Williams
I won three
gold medals in the field events: Shot put, weight throw and hammer in the 70-74
age group. The record for the shot was 8.15 and my closest was 8.14 I think.
The official moved the tape before they told him to hold it. They did measure
with a steel tape and one measurement came out 8.17 then the official in the
field said "I don't think the 0 is in the right place so I ended up with
the first measurement. I got a good start in the 100m but pulled a hamstring
and could not finish.
Enjoyed the lobster dinner Saturday night. Saw many Mass Velocity members and
I think Flo Meiler from Vt. is going to join.
- Mary
Roman
I have a story from Thursday of the Nationals. On the second event of the pentathlon, (the high-jump) I hit my head on the metal standard that holds the bar. Don't ask me how I managed to do that. All I know is that my steps were off and I jumped anyway, basically throwing myself backwards and head-first into an immobile object. I just lay there stunned for a minute or so, then I was led off to see the medic while they cleaned my blood off of the mat cover. I was told to leave immediately for the emergency room and I respectfully declined. (Well, maybe not respectfully...) I've had concussions before and I knew I wasn't that badly hurt. My friend Lisa gave me a bandana to wrap up my head in and I finished, and won, the pentathlon. Surprisingly, I ran a PR for the 800 part of it. Then my Mom drove me to St. Joseph's Hospital where I received 5 stitches. - Susan Wiemer
I was at Orono on Saturday, August 4,
to run the 800M. There were 11 of us, with no prelim, and since Maine is so far from the opposite end of the country,
they had never heard of a California start. Three lanes had to be shared. I shared my lane 8 with world champion
Larry Barnum. He quickly got out of my way, however. I finished 7th.
There were many cheers from the stands for the M90 100M as Bob Matteson battled this other man all the way. There
was much talk about the M60 400M, as Roger edged Larry Barnum to win it by 1/4 second. But at the end, Ralph "Ralphed" Larry to take second, getting in between them. Wish I had seen that one. Kim
and Gail ran together in the W50 100M. Both ran well.
As opposed to the relative isolation of everybody at the National Senior Games, everybody was together at Orono,
people you knew from all over, and our club members were very supportive of each other. The weather was gorgeous
on Saturday, but I heard that the heat on the track on Friday was very oppressive.
How did they deal out points - that is, how many points for each place? I couldn't find that on the Internet -
just team totals. How amazing that we came in third! If we could just recruit some field people, as you said Larry,
we would be unbeatable. Maybe we'd have to become "Mass Velocity and Power." - Jon Tetherly
Here are an assortment of photos from Orono that came
from many different sources.
Hopefully by now most of you know who everyone is so I didn't put in any captions.
I can't help myself but ... honestly Brian - using a chair? Is that legal?
The brothers Taft a.k.a. The BeeTees
That's Jim Schoffman, number 828
MVTC AIRBORNE DIVISION
John Oleski writes "Photo is of Brady
Mayer, Laura Barre, John Oleski and Brian Rowles. The growing number of Mass
Velociteers who jump and/or hurdle are going to stay more in touch about training
and competing in jumps. Primarily we'll do this by email but some of us will
also be getting together periodically for workouts. The
jumpers will form a subgroup called AIRBORNE DIVISION
and will get small patches to wear under Mass Velocity on the tee shirts and
speedsuits. Let me know at jperformax@earthlink.net
if you want to be on our email sublist.
Question:
Should we be highlighting those members who
have attained All-American status?
Take The On-Line Poll:
Fernando Gonzalez
- M45 from
Westfield, MA "The
last time I competed was in 2006 I ran the 5 mile New England cross country
championship in Boston, so this year I need to renew my membership to USATF.
Right now I have been running 5K's every week in Holyoke. I'm open to try the
400m and 800m. Last year I ran a 2:24 hopefully I will improve it."
Henry Chukwuma Onwusonye - from Abuja, Nigeria "I
saw MVTC as a health encouraging track club that motivate both old and young
people on the importance of continuous healthy life style. Joining MVTC will
enable me to have more international track experience, and it will motivate
me to compete in some European track meets. I will contribute to the state and
National growth of the club.
I am happy to tell you that I will do my best for the Club. Sprinters are happy
when the are motivated and with your motivation and my passion for the game,
I will bring smiles to the members of the club. I am expecting my first race
for the club at any time especially the 60meters short sprint.
Thank you for loving sprinting and I appreciate your interest in me. I will
soon send my pictures through your postal address. I hope you viewed the Athletics
World Championship? Very soon you will have Henry competing for your club. Thank
you for understanding the passion in track and field. Hope to hear from you
soon. Bye and stay fit." - Henry
[editors
note: Henry is 22 years old. If you would like to send Henry any words of encouragement,
click here for his e-mail
address]
"Larry, Third place is
great! You deserve a lot of credit for creating a club that attracts some of
the best masters athletes in the area. You have done a great job. I have started
talking to some of my distance running friends about the club. I also know a
few guys who do the field events that I am trying to recruit.
I realize that our club is made up mostly of sprinters,
but some of us like to switch over to distance running in the fall.
I am the race director for a cross-country event in Wayland on Sunday,
October 7. The main purpose of holding the event is to promote running
for kids (we have a 3k race for the kids), but we also have a 5k open race.
I would like to encourage our club members to come out and participate in the
event. Would you be willing to help me out by sending out an email to the membership
and adding a note about the event to our club website?
The name of the event is the Wayland XC Challenge. It’s a fun
course with a variety of terrain. Last year was the first year for the event
and it went very well. You can find out all about the event at the website www.waylandxc.com.
Thank you." - Eric Bucher
"Larry, Congratulations
to all , I knew there was a reason I joined . Nice to be part of a winning team
, I hope to contribute in the future. Ironically I had reason to contact my
old college coach Roy Chernock , believe it or not he is still coaching HS kids
at the age of 79 . He has had an illustrious coaching career he was my coach
@ CW Post , and later moved to Princeton and William and Mary. He also personally
competed at the masters level. In any event he gave me a workout to prepare
my "old body" for speed. I know you are starting your coaching journey,
and looking for knowledge . Perhaps time from time I can tap into Roy's 57 years
of experience. Incidentally the reason I contacted him I learned that CW Post
has eliminated the track and field program . Take care." -
Robert P. Miller, CFP
"Larry, Finally had a chance
to look over the August newsletter this morning. What an outstanding job! A
pleasure to read and look at the photos.
I don't know how you find the time and energy to do all that you are doing.
I will make a point of contributing more content for the newsletter." -
John Olseki
"The 4x100 was a lot of
fun. Our baton exchanges were very smooth, and there was no way we were going
to beat the Houston Elite team. I'm very glad we ended up beating SoCal on time,
even though they weren't in our heat. Our 4x100 time of 50.08 is not shabby
at all. I have watched the race a couple of times on the webcast site, and the
Golden West third leg was amazing, almost catching and passing me even though
my quarter seemed to be about as fast as our average of 12.52. But luckily,
Carroll totally dominated the Golden West anchor.
The 4x400 was set up better, with all the M50+ teams in the same heat. Alas,
SoCal had their 400m superstar running third leg, and I couldn't keep up with
him. Carroll almost caught them at the finish line after a very fast anchor
leg, so we ended up missing silver in the 4x400 by less than a tenth, I think.
Still 50.08 and 3:55:xx are pretty decent 4x100 and 4x400 times, and should
come in handy for Penn and Millrose relay entries." - Tucker Taft
"Dear Fellow MVTC-ers,
Congratulations to all those who competed in this year's Outdoor Nationals.
I regret not being able to run and cheer on others. Thanks also to our club
President Larry for his continued leadership. Now that the outdoor season is
over, many months are available before the indoor circuit begins for those who
must let injuries heal, or to increase or modify their training. Be well."
- Dave Neumann
Here
is part of a USATF Press Release: "While she wasn't setting
numerous records, Susan Weimer (Freeport, Maine) was making herself well-known
in Orono by winning a total of four gold medals in the W40 division. Despite
a false start, she blew away the field to win the 400m hurdles in a time of
1:09.41. That gold medal goes with the national championships she earned earlier
in the week in the shot put, pentathlon and long jump. Weimer also ran the final
leg on her team's second-place 4x100m relay. Including each event in the pentathlon,
Weimer competed in a total of nine events throughout the week. "It was
really a good week for me," she said. "I feel good right now, but
tomorrow I know it's going to be a little different." Susan
Responds: "Hi Larry, I hadn't seen
that article. That was pretty nice. The only problem is...I didn't win the individual
long-jump. I jumped as part of the pentathlon (and got a PR). The 4 events I
won were the pentathlon, shot-put, short hurdles, and long hurdles."
"Earlier this month at
Danbury H.S. the annual Connecticut rite of summer took place - The Nutmeg State
Games. The shot was 2pm so I dutifully arrived early. Got the pill weighed &
got my 4 throws completed by 2:30. The running events started at 4pm so instead
of laying around cooking in the 90 degree humidity I took part in the Long Jump.
Actually, I should re-phrase that. For me it should be called the short jump!!!
Any way, better to keep moving. The running events slowly ground their way to
the 400M at 6:30PM. I finished second but a lung full of smoke from the snack
bar in turn four killed my finish. ugh!!! After 7 1/2 hours of HEAT and humidity
I decided to leave and not run the 100M/200M which must have gone on under the
lights. Give me the BAY STATE GAMES anyday!!!! MVTC was represented by Mary
Roman, Jim Bobinski (and his lovely family) Spencer
Parish, and myself." -
John Novak
"Larry, Great newsletter
as always. I rarely write about my exploits, never one who likes to be in the
spotlight. But we have to learn to deal with fame however local and fleeting
it is.
So, today I am in Colorado for the State Games of America. Tomorrow is the opening
ceremonies with Michelle Kwan and I will lead the Connecticut group into the
arena. Two years ago there were some 6,000 people on hand for this. Last Sunday
I was in Danbury CT for the Nutmeg State Games where I won gold in the 100m
and 200m at 8pm under floodlights. A possible fracture of the left big toe prevented
me from competing in the other events that I had entered. Two days previous
I tripped on an uneven sidewalk and stubbed and crushed all the big toe joints
together. I should sue the town and get publicity.
As I mentioned when I saw you at the NE Championships, (one gold, two silver
medals), in the NSG in Louisville I got a bronze and 4 place ribbons. It was
there that the Louisville newspaper did a write-up with photo. Before I left
to come here the Waterbury Republican did a photo shoot of me in preparation
for an article when I return next week. In these interviews/photo shoots I endevour
to get a plug in for Mass Velocity. Ok that is it, "Coach Larry".
- Spencer Parish
"Larry, Represented Mass
Velocity in the Wyoming Senior Games. Won the 100 Meters 16 sec. Won the 200
meteres 33 sec. Won the 800 and 400 in 72 sec. 70-74" -
Abe Bernstein
"Coach Larry: As usual,
a wonderful newsletter. One that was the most moving and inspirational were
your closing remarks. First we are athletes . . . Peace." -
James Morton
"Hey Larry, I thought it
would be fun to have our members submit photographs while wearing their MVTC
colors in exotic places they may travel to. Here's my first submission while
recruiting (unsuccessfully) for new members in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Maybe
I'll have better luck in Hong Kong next month!" -
Bob Marchetti
It was great
to finally get back on the track to race and to reconnect with folks, including
a guy I used to work with who I hadn't seen in 15 years!
It was a long, hot day (90's) and it was my first meet in almost a year, so
I can't complain too much about my times not being my best. Felt good to be
out there and my rehabbed foot was fine. I can build on that and Maine Senior
Games going into the indoor season.
Was not a huge turnout but MVTC flexed it muscles in the women's and men's divisions
nonetheless!
You
know everyone in those pix, but ...
There was a new member there sporting his new MVTC suit. I think it was Bill
Devine, who took gold in the M60 100. No photo of Bill though.
That's the best picture my friend happened to take that included Jon Tetherly.
But those are mostly all young guys ahead of him. He did an amazing triple:
the 200, 800 (gold), and 1500 (silver).
The series of pix of me and Lee Hess is the 200m. We look closer than we really
were I think ...
Roger ran only the 400 because he was not a 100% healthy, but he was gracious
and supportive of others as always---as mentioned to me in e-mail later by my
former co-worker friend who labored to the finish of the 400, only to be greeted
by a smiling and enthusiastic Roger cheering him on.
Gail and Kim went 1, 2 in FOUR sprints: 50, 100, 200, 400!
Mike Fortunato drove 4 hours from NY with a bum car and a bum leg but still
managed two firsts: 50 and 100.
If the Bob Brown who was an official is the same Bob Brown in MVTC, he did an
outstanding job keeping things organized.
~
Kim Williams
writes: "Here are pix from NH Sr
Games. Well run event after a few glitches
in the 50 meter race. They generally do a very good job. Too bad the turnout
was small. Very light for female track competitors." The Annual Meeting of the USATF New England Association
will take place on Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Newton Marriott Hotel, 2345 Commonwealth
Avenue, at the intersection of I-95 and I-90. The meeting will begin with the past year's Athlete of the Month
Awards at 6:30 p.m.
Annual Meeting
This year, there are elections for all sports chairs and athlete reps (officers have another year on their terms.
The meeting will present a year in review, and discuss new programs down from the national level. All members are
eligible to attend and vote. The agenda can be found at USATF-NE board page.
All Mass Velocity members and friends should make an effort to attend in order to show their support for March
2007 Athlete of The Month - James Morton and to vote for Mike
Travers who will be running for Masters Track
& Field Chair (Carroll Blake declined to seek another term due to the increased responsibilities
he now has as a new middle school principal) and to support your fearless leader (Larry Libow)
who is seeking a second term as Athlete Representative on the Board of Governors.
As Mass Velocity has grown I've been
thinking about a number of issues. As the 2007 Indoor and Outdoor season has
almost come to an end, I think we should start preparing for a fall team get-together
- what I hope is becoming an annual tradition. For those of you who were able
to make the wonderful barbeque at the Blake home last year, it was a great time,
with great food and lots of laughs. I'm putting out feelers for a date and location
for this fall, sometime in October perhaps? I also propose that we form a committee
to join me in selecting candidates for awards. I think we have a sufficient
number of teammates and award-worthy performances that some recognition should
be given and trophies or awards handed out. If you'd like to host a team party
or assist me with awards, please drop
me an e-mail.
I have also been thinking about next year's Outdoor Championships in Spokane
and that we need to take steps now to find ways to provide assistance
to get as many of our members out there to compete. So please put your thinking
caps on and give me some suggestions on fund-raising ideas or other ways to
get the maximum number of Mass Velociteers to Washington State next August.
Finally, at Orono, our 1.5 point, 3rd-place finish over Golden West tells me
that just about anyone who scored even a single point for the team should consider
themselves responsible for our great finish. Absolutely every point was needed
to secure 3rd place and I can't tell you how proud I am, and how proud you all
should be, of the fantastic effort everyone gave. The product of a body's Mass
and it's Velocity equals Momentum - and Mass Velocity definitely
has some serious momentum going!!
Final food for thought - "We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing"
(George Bernard Shaw).
Peace, speed and good health,
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