Inuvik has some fantastic athletic ability among its youth, but not all of those genetically gifted students will be attending the Track and Field Championships in Hay River this June.
“I’ve got kids out there high-kicking now,” maligned East Three Secondary School coach Kenzie MacDonald, looking through the window to the school’s main lobby, outside of the gym where track and field hopefuls were practising.
“They should be in here doing high jump, but can’t convince them.”
The one-foot high kick translates particularly well to the long jump in track and field, he said.
“There are a lot of athletic students in this school and they just don’t come out for one reason or another,” said MacDonald.
Still, about 16 students are trying out for the team, with MacDonald expecting 14-15 to compete in Hay River.
“At this point, it’s based off of their grades and their attendance in practice,” said MacDonald. “We have some fundraisers that will also contribute to whether they go or not, if they show up, how hard they’re working, that sort of thing.”
Athletes get to pick four events to take part in, split between running and field categories. Events include multiple distances of running, shot put, long jump and more.
MacDonald said he generally lets athlete pick their own events, within reason.
“They have a lot of freedom to a point, because I want them to succeed,” he said. “I don’t want a sprinter running a 5k and getting blown out, or likewise a distance runner running a sprint and getting blown out.”
Inuvik has always had good distance runners, he said.
“Depending on the year, we’ve also had a lot of really talented high jumpers,” said MacDonald. “I find high jump is similar to the one-foot high kid, which a lot of our students do in their spare time.”
More than 1,000 student athletes take part in the annual Hay River event, most coming from the big Yellowknife schools.
MacDonald said he doesn’t put pressure on his athletes, except to tell them to do their best.
“If you’ve done your best, I will be happy with that,” he said. “I don’t care if you came first or you came last. We’re down there to learn, we’re down there to have fun.”
That said, some students will have added pressure this year, as the event will also be used to judge their suitability for Canada Games and North American Indigenous Games.
“There is a little pressure if they want to make these higher-performance teams,” said MacDonald.
The students will be fundraising and training up until the June 7-9 event in Hay River.