National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

In a year of extraordinary opportunities for the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation’s Project Javelin and Project Triple Jump athletes, this long weekend soon to complete has been historic for these groups, unique in scope and very special in venue.

The NSAF brought all 16 of its Project athletes to Chula Vista, California (near San Diego) last Friday to engage in four days of training at the United States Olympic Training Center – a beautiful facility surrounded by mountains and lakes that support and even houses many of the nation’s finest athletes preparing for Olympic opportunities ahead. 

This is the first time the Foundation has brought together all of its athletes from both elite athlete Projects to train together and try and mesh their “communities.”  This event comes a week after the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, where nearly all of the Project athletes competed, and after all of the high school competition for the season.  However, most of the athletes will continue competing into the summer, with a large handful headed to Eugene in a few weeks to vie for Team USA spots for the IAAF World Juniors, also in Eugene later in July.  Others have started and will continue to participate in Junior Olympic competition.

As always, the athletes came here to train under our outstanding Project coaches.  The javelin throwers are learning from former Olympian and U.S record-holder Tom Pukstys, 1972 Olympic medalist and NSAF board member Bill Schmidt and aspiring Olympian Barry Krammes.  The triple jumpers are under the tutelage of Bahamas national coach Peter Pratt and Project Coordinator and Dallas-based coach Macka Jones.

And while here, they’ve also had an opportunity to learn from, observe and/or meet Olympians and aspiring Olympians like Will Claye, Joe Kovacs, Eric Werskey, Tia Brooks and others, as well as coaches like Art Venegas, Mac Wilkins and Tonie Campbell, among others.

As they prepared last week to come to Chula Vista, athletes and coaches alike were excited about the opportunity.

Said veteran Project Javelin athlete Kristen Clark (Reston, LA senior):  “I was really looking forward to this weekend because of how much of an honor it is to even train there.  Most Olympic athletes jump right into the Olympic Training Center not ever experiencing anything like it before, but I will have already not only experienced the United States Olympic Training Center, but Finland's as well. You really can't get much better coaching then at the Olympic level and it is such an honor to experience it as a senior in high school.

“I really just want to be like a sponge the rest of my time in the program.  I want to fully take in all of these awesome opportunities and not only learn, but enjoy myself.  I'm coming into these camps with a different mindset then last year, because I am going to throw in college next year and I will have a coach who knows what he's talking about.  But you really can't beat moments like these when you are doing the thing you love with people who are equally as passionate about it as you are.”

From Coach Barry Krammes:  “What I am excited about the OTC is that the coaches have pin-pointed some individual technical improvements from the New Balance and New Mexico (Great Southwest) meets and now we have some time to implement those changes before their next big meets.  Trying to get the athletes to make quick changes before a meet is tough, but this allows us the time to get the changes to stick.  So I'm excited to go to work and apply the technical improvements that the Coach Jeff Gorski and the coaches staff have suggested.”

Project Triple Jump athlete KeAndre Bates (El Paso Burges, TX senior) had this to say:  “This trip has been on the top of the list since I first heard of it!  For one, it's the freaking OLYMPIC Training Center!  Then it's in California, which couldn't be any better!  I can't wait for our ‘surprise’ as well.

“The past two weeks (NBNO and GSW) have very successful, I would say – mostly speaking of the first week, because I jumped my first 24 in long jump and jumped a US #1 in triple and also PR'd in high jump – so that was successful!  These past two weeks have showed, even if I didn't do as good at NBON, that I can still jump and that I haven't lost it – because I always need a confidence booster!  I want to jump a 52 and hopefully a high 24 – or just a regular old 25 to cap off the season.”

Along with KeAndre, the other Project Triple Jump athletes are Keturah Orji, Darrielle McQueen, Chinne Okoronkwo, Ja’Mari Ward, Felicienne Axel, Nashedah Mu’min and Arielle Mack.  Along with Kristen, the other Project Javelin athletes are Tairyn Montgomery, Katelyn Gochenour, Sophia Rivera, Todd Ogden, Emma Fitzgerald, Trevor Danielson and Grayson Hill.

Coming later this week:  A wrapup of the Chula Vista weekend and a review and look ahead for each Project athlete.