Track and field: First Elyria Youth Track Club Summer Games has organizers excited about future

ELYRIA — The point of the inaugural Elyria Youth Track Club Summer Games at Ely Stadium on Saturday wasn't so much winning and losing as just participating. Looks like mission accomplished. Approximately 80 youth ages 5-12 got their initiation to track and field competition at the event, the culmination of four weeks of twice-a-week practice sessions that got feeder program off the ground. "The weather turned out well for a beautiful event," said EYTC founder Aric Bowens, a 1995 Elyria West graduate. "We've had a great turnout. The fans seemed pleased. The children seem pleased. It's a great atmosphere to introduce our kids to track and the fundamentals of track and the concept of a track and field event. Things have been flowing pretty well. I'm very pleased with all the help, all the children, all the parents and the support from the community. "Our athletic director, Heather Beck, is here along with our junior high athletic director. We appreciate their support and to show them that we can do this and can continue to do this and we want to continue to keep it growing." The event was divided into two age categories: 5-7 and 8-12. The order of events was the 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, the 4x50 and 4x100 relays, the long jump and shot put. Tianna Madison, a 2003 Elyria High graduate, three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time long jump world champion, served as grand marshal. "What we want to do is to introduce kids to the sport," Madison said. "You don't know if you hate or like something till you at least try it and to do it in a way that's a relatively stress-free experience for them so they can determined if they want to go out and do it again. Whenever I've been here for practice, my goal was did they have fun and did I make them want to come back? Based on the turnout, we've been successful with that. The community buy-in for year No. 1 is pretty incredible and that's pretty much how you know. It doesn't really matter what I think. The city pretty much tells you what they think about it." Madison was inducted into the 2023 University of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on July 22. She recently completed her final three semesters of college to earn her bachelor's degree in social work. "The hall of fame was special," said Madison, who lives in Richmond, California. "Earning my degree was the most special because that was the thing that was unfinished and I don't like that feeling. I went from a young kid and three semesters to go and no kids to having a little one (Kai, 20 months old). It was very different. I'm very proud of my effort that I got three straight semesters of 4.0." Robert Madison, Tianna's father, is EYTC's coach with Tammy Porter, Kevin Huff and Terrence Pride serving as assistants. Robert is a former Elyria High boys coach (2010-13) and Elyria High girls assistant (2001-06). He also was Oberlin High track coach in 2018 and Oberlin High assistant (2019-20) under his daughter, Christina. "The kids have been out here working out twice a week for four weeks," said Robert, a 1976 Elyria High graduate. "They're doing a good job considering the amount of time that we had to train. I'm proud of them. Next year is going to be a little bit more serious because we're going to join USATF (United States of American Track and Field). That means we have to be a little more structured than what we've got right now. "We won't be using this exact format again except for the little ones (7 and younger) and somebody wants to do something separate with them. I want them to be out here, but they probably won't be a part of USATF (which is for ages 8 and older). But I want them always to have something to do and something to have so they can be encouraged to learn. I don't want the little ones to think they're too young to run. "I started running in the 1960s in elementary school. That's when I fell in love with track. My cousin Timmy (Johnson), along with Al Robinson, Ricky Nelson and Tommy Harris, I looked up to all of them. It wasn't so much about Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard. I lived right across the street from Ely Stadium so I always saw these guys running." Robert's wife, JoAnn, along with Tianna's sisters Adrienne and Christina, also helped out Saturday. EYTC board member Randy Smith was also upbeat about the inaugural event. "My great uncle (Jimmie Barnes) used to do something in Oberlin called the 'Little Olympics,' so it kind of gave me the idea of creating something like this with what the Madisons brought to the table," said Smith, a 1992 Oberlin High graduate. "Giving the kids this opportunity to do this is incredible. We talked about this pre-COVID 19 pandemic, a long time ago, but the idea really warmed up again this spring. Aric and I said let's jump in. When the Madisons came on board and Tianna indicated her support, we had a steering committee meeting and it took off." Porter has been on board from the start, helping out as an assistant. "It's exciting" said Porter, a 1978 Elyria High graduate. "It's been an experience. The kids are doing great. To see so many kids come out and participate has been wonderful. This is my first coaching experience in 45 years since my first year after high school before I went to college. Aric called me up and asked me to do this and I said, 'Wow.' It's been great." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.