The Fauquier Track and Field team competes in both a winter season and a spring season. They both are great in their own ways, but many players favor spring track. Coach Quentin Jones, head coach for the entire track team, likes spring more, saying, “… spring track is a little bit more of my go to one.” One key reason for this is because the weather is just so much nicer for the athletes during their spring season. The warmer temperatures allow them to train outside longer and more comfortably. “I just love when that weather starts getting warmer,” said Jones. Junior Zach Seidel, who Coach Scott, the distance coach, referred to as one of the best hurdlers in the state, prefers competing in the spring as well. “I definitely like the spring more because my body is warmer and I don’t get cold and tight.” said Seidel.
There are different events available in the different seasons which is a big contributor to why athletes and coaches prefer one season over the other. The longer hurdle event, preferred by some athletes, only takes place in the spring. “I like the 110 hurdles a lot more than the 55 [hurdles] just because [the event is a longer distance],” said Seidel, as another reason why he prefers the spring season.
The different seasons also affect the performance of athletes. In winter track, the season has both indoor and outdoor meets, but, in spring, there are only outdoor meets. Some athletes perform better when competing during winter track than spring track. “I’d say I do better in winter track, because…I’m better with the indoor meets,” said junior Brooke Armistead. However, she prefers the experience of running in the spring season. “I prefer spring track because it’s not as cold,” said Armistead.
Sophomore Seneca Scott is the opposite, doing better in the spring season despite preferring the experience of running during the winter. “I probably prefer spring because by the time it’s spring I’ve had more training and had the winter to train for spring season,” said Scott. “The spring is hot and it’s not fun to run in the heat,” said Scott.
From a coaching standpoint, Head Coach Jones says he coaches athletes similarly in each season. However, in the winter season there is time to focus on growing ability before the spring season. “Spring track is the extra building that happens,” said Jones.
