Goodbye Phones, Hello Track

Four-year-old Kairo Johnson had her eyes glued on her mother standing behind the finish line of a 55-meter race, motivating her to speed past her opponents and take the win. 

The race took place during a community track meet to celebrate a month-long summer track program run by Hillhouse track coach Gary Moore.

Pre-Covid, Moore ran a youth track club for New Haven’s aspiring runners. This summer kicked off Moore’s return to youth coaching for the first time in four years. 

He brought it back to teach youth the fundamentals of athletics while also encouraging kids and their parents to chase healthier lives together and as a community. 

The track meet this past Thursday evening hosted a 55-meter race for kids under 5 years old, both 55- and 200-meter races for students K‑8, and 400-meter walk for parents. 

To kick off the hour-and-a-half-long gathering, the program’s K‑8th graders warmed up with the program’s dozen youth counselors made up of current and former Hillhouse athletes and eight Youth@Work summer employees. 

From high knees to toe touches, the group stretched to prepare for the afternoon of running. When one student in the K‑3rd graders group watched from the back as the rest did jumping jacks, Hillhouse assistant track coach Darrell Brown paused the group and said, ​“We’re going to have to start these over. We’re a team, right?” 

Yes!” the group responded in unison. 

Then the group restarted the jumping jacks.

As kids practiced their 55-meter sprints, Brown called out to the students slowing down at the sight of the finish line, ​“All the way through the line!”

Moore plans to host a second and final summer run for families at the conclusion of the camp on Aug. 1. 

Children under 5 years old took to the starting line to show off their skills in the 55-meter dash. Kids ranging from 1 to 4 years old watched their parents lined up at the finish line until former Hillhouse track star Travis James called out, ​“Ready, set, go!” 

Despite it being Kairo’s first time on the track, she was not new to running — or to keeping her chest and gaze in front of her, her arms swinging, and her body driving forward. She has spent three days a week watching her 8‑year-old sister Kamili Johnson, who is officially a part of the summer program, from the stands. 

Kairo and her mom Jazmi Zanders celebrated with a tight hug after she took first place in the under‑5 55-meter sprint. 

Zanders, a former dancer, had a goal for this summer: to keep her kids off tablets and phones as much as possible. When she heard word of the track program, she immediately knew it would be the perfect way to stay active, get outside, and end the day tired out — as a family. 

“They are always ready to run and excited. They talk about it all day,” she said. 

She added that it also gives her kids a chance to meet other children during the summer despite being on break from school.

As Kairo readies up to enter prek‑4 at Beecher School this fall, Zanders hopes for the summer track program to continue in the coming years so that Kairo can officially join her sister. 

Mother Laura Dixon watched her kids — ages 9, 7, and 5 — on the track Thursday, then joined the other parents in a final adult walk around the 400-meter track.

She said she is grateful for free organized activities that include socializing for youth in the summer. She added that it also helps that the program gets parents involved by allowing them to be at all practices and get on the track with the kids. 

“I’m so busy,” she said, ​“this is the most exercise I get during the week, and I don’t have to pick and choose who benefits.”

After a day’s practice, she said she hears from her kids what friends they made, the new tips they’ve learned. and most importantly, who they beat in race.

Hundreds of families expressed interest in the summer track program when its return was first announced. It had a waitlist of about 100 kids. In total, Moore enrolled 107 kids this summer.

Moore used the youth races Thursday to hone in on one specific teaching moment: ​“Run in your lane.” 

As dozens of K‑8th graders went on, Moore stood at the finish line, motioning to runners with his arms to avoid crossing into other runners’ lanes. He pulled groups aside after races to remind them to ​“focus in between those lines” for the sake of all runners’ safety.

He also called out to runners to ​“keep your head up,” and said that ​“when you’re running, you can’t be so focused on the guy next to you.”

His goals are to teach youth about athleticism. Rather than the typical practice of throwing a child into a major sport without any pst athletic experience Moore said he aims to build of each childs motor skills that will improve their mobility for any and all sports. 

Those foundational skills Moore said will promote health and wellness at a young age, especially if they see parents also getting involved, and teach youth about safe athletic training. 

His goal next summer is to enroll 300 – 400 students to continue encouraging families to be aware of their health and moving daily.

Two friends heading to Worthington Hooker in the fall — 10-year-old Mace Williams and 9‑year-old Terrill Phillips — said they enjoy that their parents get to watch them as they practice because ​“they make it fun and push us harder.” 

“It’s been hard, but since it’s hard we get better,” Terrill said. 

Mace agreed — while practices each week are hard, they are ​“worth it and get easier over time.” 

So far, Terrill said, learning to sprint has been most challenging because it requires him to learn to keep his stamina. Mace said getting his form right has been hardest, though he is determined to improve because ​“when I have proper form, I do run a little bit faster and it looks better overall.” 

Terill trained with Moore when he was around 5 years old, during the previous youth track club. 

The duo said they will consider joining a track team as they get older to build their endurance for other sports. ​“I really do like track. I wasn’t expecting it. I came just to get faster, but I realized it actually is a fun sport,” Mace said. 

Their concluding advice to others considering track are to ice your legs before and after practices, to stay hydrated, and to always have the proper attire. They both learned at the start of the program the importance of wearing the right running shoes.