SEASON KICKOFF TO DO LIST
Here's a walkthrough of things to do and know to start the 2026 season.
1
Join the team WhatsApp
We have a group chat where we share latest updates, discuss questions, and celebrate achievements. Only parents are allowed to join. Text or talk in person with Coach Doug to get an invite.
2
Join Athletic.net
Athletic.net is a treasure trove of season info, meet info, team info, and decades of stats. Set up a free account. We already created required profiles for all team athletes. You can find your athlete and connect them to your account so you can get notified when a new meet result is recorded for them.
We will always take care of registering your athletes at meets. You won't be able to register your athletes for meets independently.
3
Download Athletic App
Most results during meets are sent live to the Athletic.net App, so you can see, sometimes within seconds, how your athlete did. Some field events at some meets will only report results once the whole age group has finished. We won't use this app for internal communication, since we will use the Hub for that.
4
Decide on shoes
Your athlete will want good supportive running shoes but they do not have to be expensive.
Separate from running shoes, track spikes are not required but helpful. We are building a team collection of used spikes that increases as athletes grow out of their spikes and donate. ebay is a great resource for finding lightly used or new spikes, often at half the cost of store bought spikes. $25-$35 is a great range. At youth age levels, the improvement in expensive spikes is negligeble compared to the other ways an athlete can improve.
Sprinters, distance runners, throwers, and jumpers all have different shoes at the higher competitive levels. But as youth, follow these simple guidelines. Sprinters and jumpers: track spikes should be light with no heel cushion. Distance: thicker heel cushion. Throwers: no spikes with flat smooth tread. If your athlete does multiple or all: get distance spikes and wear running shoes for throwing.
5
Get the Calendar
We've made a public Google calendar with practice, meets, and any other events. We regularly keep it updated. Subscribe to add it to your own calendar.
Questions? Email doug@canbytrack.org