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Ken Williams was a coach with the Virginia Prowlers track and field club in 2012 when he brought a group of athletes with him to Vision Community Church in Stafford County.
The youngsters were scheduled to compete in the Junior Olympics. That alone was enough to pique the interest of Wesley and Donavan Burton, who were in attendance at the church.
?Immediately my kids said, ?I want to go to the Junior Olympics,?? recalled their mother, Paulette Burton.
Williams and two other coaches branched off from the Prowlers to form the 2nd To None Track Club.
The Burton brothers are two of 23 athletes in the club, which focuses as much on community service as it does on developing athletes.
?We?re more than just an athletic club,? Williams said. ?We support the community. Our whole objective is to not only develop a good athlete but to develop a well-rounded person.?
The club participated in Agents of Change Day last month at Colonial Forge High School. The event is designed to encourage youths to become leaders. Three months earlier it took toiletries and Christmas gifts to The Crossings at Falls Run, a nursing home in Stafford.
Last weekend, 2nd To None participated in a sneaker drive in Charlotte, N.C., while competing in its second meet of the season.
?It gives them an appreciation for other things that are going on in the community,? Paulette Burton said. ?My kids are in the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. This is another layer of community service and I think they enjoy this more because it?s with kids they hang out with.?
The club practices four nights each week at Dixon?Smith Middle School in Stafford. And while community service is a major part of the club?s mission, it trains hard, too.
It competes in AAU and United States Track and Field sanctioned events. Williams and coach Lori Sims?Ware have each received Level One certifications from the USATF.
?My kids come home sore,? Paulette Burton said. ?They have discovered epsom salt and bubble bath. I think that?s good, because it shows that they?re working. They?re not just out here playing. They?re really learning the sport.?
Athletes range in age from 9 to 14. The club has had to turn down prospects because the coaching staff wants to maintain a ratio that allows individual attention.
?Our goal for next year is to get more volunteer coaches,? Williams said. ?One thing we hate to do is tell any kid or parent we can?t accept them because we don?t have enough coaches. We want to provide quality training. It?s not about numbers for us.?
Club members arrived for various reasons. While the Burton brothers were intrigued by the Junior Olympics, 12 year-old Kenny Sherrod wanted to get in shape before next football season at A.G. Wright Middle School.
He said preparing to play linebacker was his initial goal, but he later began to enjoy track and field. He said he now spends time running even when he?s not training with the club.
?If I don?t do something right, I want to fix it right away,? Kenny said. ?I don?t want to disappoint myself or my team.?
Paulette Burton said she?s been pleased with the club because Williams and the other coaches focus more on improvement than results. She said Wesley, 11, is a ?little, itty-bitty? boy who wanted to throw the shot put, an event more suited for heavier kids.
He?s improved by 2 feet in the event since last week.
Sims?Ware said it?s ?very rewarding? to see those strides in a sport many of the club?s members knew very little about last year.
?That?s a wonderful thing to witness, because at the end of the season they aren?t the same kids they were at the beginning,? Sims?Ware said. ?For every child, their growth is different. But at the same time, it?s recognizable.?
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
tcoghill@freelancestar.com
Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/05/03/recreation-club-builds-muscles-self-worth/
Source: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/05/03/recreation-club-builds-muscles-self-worth/
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