[This article current as of December 10, 2023]
With the North Mecklenburg Indoor Track team’s 2023 winter season about to kick off with their first meet, Coach Broome, the track coach for 6 years now, is looking forward to it. She understands she has a smaller Indoor Track team than an outdoor track team, yet is optimistic saying that it’s more “intimate” and “personal” and that they can work on what they need to for the Spring season once they get there. Furthermore, she “feels really great about the team” as they “already have state qualifiers.”
As student-athletes, Coach Broome wants her athletes to succeed not only on the track but in class and at life as well. She looks for players who not only “have a good attitude” but also looks at “how they’re treating their peers and how they’re treating adults.” When she looks at it her athletes are not only representing themselves on and off the track but North Meck as well. With this she wants to make sure that all of her athletes are doing their best stating their biggest challenge will be “ourselves.” Coach Broome states “a lot of times we stay in our heads a lot and if we can get outside of our heads and we can just focus on one race at a time…we can turn that around and focus on what we have worked on, what we’ve executed in practice then we should be able to dominate our own thoughts.”
Of course she also realizes that her athletes may have off races and days as well. And she likes to go into every season with a new fresh start. While she’s loved every season she’s coached she believes that every season is different and wants to “bring in new ideas because with the times changing training will change.” She says that “you don’t train the same way you would in 1998 as you would in 2023.” So she looks at the seasons as “what can my athletes do to improve and what can a coaching staff do to make sure our athletes are on point as a whole team.” And at this point returning players understand that they need to keep their skills sharpened and that while Coach Broome wants them to have fun there is also a time to work. She specifically states that while she loves returning players and feels a connection to them, “they can be cut just like anybody else and that their hunger has to be there.” Since, overall Coach Broome wants the best team she can possibly get as athletes and as individuals and that the experience they get is unmatched.
Coach Broome talks about the thrill of any track meet. “Just like outdoor track, the same excitement is still there. The races get really close… and it’s still that same excitement and energy and the players are working really hard to get to that goal.” And to keep up that energy and high performance levels, the connection between the players also has to be there. So “even though track can be an individual sport it’s also a team sport,” and making those connections strengthens the team when they “cheer each other on and be each other's cheerleader” while they’re racing and “especially when relays come into play.” It’s also important for individual runners in races to know that they’re team is behind them and supporting them as that extra drive and boost in which to try and reach their goal of winning. So the team part of Indoor Track and Field is very important especially when it comes to the meets.
Overall, the North Mecklenburg Indoor Track team is looking forward to another great season. With new players, training styles, and undeniable skill they’re learning to support and cheer each other on, while making connections on and off the field. And in the end they’ll work and fight hard as individuals and as a team. 🆅